A Comparison of Assessment Practices and Their Effects on Learning and Motivation in a Student-Centered Learning Environment

With recent interest in moving from teacher-directed instruction to approaches that incorporate greater opportunities for student-centered learning come concerns that traditional classroom practices associated with assessment and grading may be inappropriate for learning environments grounded in a constructivist perspective. The study reported here compared three different assessment methods used during a student-centered program. Participants were seventh graders who used Alien Rescue, a hypermedia problem-based learning program, over the course of three weeks in their science classes. The effects of the different assessment methods on students' solutions to the problem posed in the software, their performance on a factual knowledge test, and their motivational orientation were examined. ********** Perhaps the greatest potential that computers hold to transform K-12 education lies in their ability to transform innovative educational approaches, which up until now seemed unmanageable, into viable instructional alternatives. Such is the case with student-centered learning, which, despite advocates from throughout the 20th century, failed to take hold in schools (Cuban, 1982). Yet computer-based programs designed to be student-centered must be implemented in K-12 classrooms indelibly marked by a long tradition of teacher-directed instruction. This tradition has resulted in firmly entrenched structures and procedures that are at odds with the philosophical underpinnings of student-centered learning. Among the most entrenched of these structures and procedures are those related to assessment and grading. Student-Centered Learning Traditionally, K-12 classes have typically been teacher-directed, meaning that teachers set objectives, determine and direct activities designed to help students meet those objectives, and assess students' learning. Teachers are the ones who normally resolve problems that their students encounter. In contrast, in student-centered environments, students are given a complex, interesting task (Jonassen, 1999), and in the process of addressing that task, they recognize the need for certain information and skills. They then identify the resources that can help them meet those learning needs. Through discussion with peers and the teacher, they reflect on their products, refining them based on the feedback they receive. In this light, it is the student who sets the objectives, directs his/her activity to meet those objectives, and assesses his/her own work. Instead of directing students' work or solving problems for students, teachers work as facilitators, helping students to think through their problems and encouraging collaboration and reflection. Theorists argue that student-centered learning makes learning meaningful (Hannafin, Land, & Oliver, 1999), supports the development of problem-solving skills, and enhances motivation (Barrows & Tamblyn, 1980). Approaches such as problem-based learning (PBL), learning by design, and project-based learning fall beneath the umbrella of student-centered learning. Essential to student-centered approaches is student ownership of their goals and activities. Because students make decisions about, which actions to take to meet their goals, their work is meaningful to them, a condition that encourages depth of understanding and an intrinsic motivational orientation. This has been supported by our own research, in which students expressed a greater degree of intrinsic motivation for their work in Alien Rescue, a hypermedia-based PBL program, than for their normal class activities (Pedersen, 2003). However, what happens to student ownership within a student-centered learning environment when an extrinsic motivator such as grades become part of the mix? One of the reasons students in Pedersen offered for their heightened intrinsic orientation was that they did not receive grades during Alien Rescue. Therefore, one possible reason for their intrinsic motivational level may have been an absence of extrinsic motivators, such as grades. …