The Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique, also known as the IF-AT, is an
exciting and revolutionary new testing system that transforms traditional
multiple-choice testing into an interactive learning opportunity for students
and a more informative assessment opportunity for teachers.
|
Here’s How. Use of the
IF-AT testing system enables students to be provided with immediate feedback
about the accuracy of their answers to each question in a test/quiz/homework
assignment, etc. as the students are completing each item. The IF-AT system
provides immediate affirmative feedback (if a student’s answer choice is
correct) and/or corrective feedback (if a student’s answer choice is incorrect).
Key Benefits. Using the IF-system allows students to continue answering a
question until they discover the correct answer. This ensures that students’
last response is the correct one. Thus, the IF-AT teaches while it assesses,
facilitating learning and improving students’ retention of the information being
tested. In addition to all of these benefits, perhaps most importantly, students
love using the IF-AT -- it makes assessments enjoyable for them! Because the
instructor is able to determine how many answer attempts it took for students to
discover the correct answer, the instructor who uses the IF-AT is able to give
partial credit to his/her students.
Psychological Principles. The IF-AT was developed by a psychology
professor whose specialty is human learning and memory. The IF-AT is based on
solid psychological principles:
- Immediate feedback is beneficial for learning (and is superior to delayed
feedback)
- The best test/quiz/homework assignment, etc. doesn’t just assess; it also teaches
- The
last response given by students on a test item are the ones they learn (i.e. the
students leave the test item believing they have chosen the correct answers)
|
 |
The IF-AT uses a multiple-choice answer form with a thin opaque film
covering the answer options. Instead of using a pencil to fill in a circle, each
student scratches off his/her answer as if scratching a lottery ticket. The
student scratches off the coating of the rectangle corresponding with his/her
first-choice answer. If the answer is correct, a star or other symbol appears
somewhere within the rectangle indicating he/she found the correct answer. The
student’s learning is immediately reinforced, the student receives full credit
for the answer, and moves on to the next question.
If incorrect, the student must re-read the question and remaining answer options
and scratch off a second or even third choice until the correct answer is
identified. The student will earn partial credit for multiple attempts and learn
the correct response for each question while taking the test. One of the keys to
the IF-AT system is that students never leave a question without knowing the
correct answer.
See the illustrated example of the IF-AT forms on the left.
|