Inspired by the current scholarship that indicates that, if used well, formative assessment and feedback can advance student’s learning, this paper explores the practices of feedback in formative assessment in Rwandan higher education, specifically at the University of Rwanda. The study used aqualitative approach with the aim of gaining lecturers’ and students’ perspectives on formative assessment and feedback; and exploring different ways formative assessment and feedback were practiced. Using data collected through interviews, student focus group discussions, and document analysis; the paper shows that formative assessment and feedback were understood in the context of binding prescription within the boundaries of limited description in academic regulations. Feedback was in most cases reduced to marks, and lecturers – who portrayed themselves as information providers, mastery checkers, and performance appraisers - were in full charge of all formative assessment efforts. The paper also shows that lack of clarity and feed forward instructionsin too-much-delayed lecturers’ written feedback led students to just receive feedback and not use it to enhance their performance. Building on this study’s findings and on the existing literature, the paper suggests three important moves whereby a collaborative research-based approach that will bring together different stakeholders will help to move away from a single-sided approach to a multifaceted approach in both perception and practice of formative assessment and feedback at the University of Rwanda.

The link between student engagement and academic performance has been widely examined. However, most of these studies have focused on ascertaining the existence of such a relationship on the summative assessment level. By comparing students’ experience points in an online course and students’ scores on online knowledge surveys (KS), this study examined the relationship between student engagement and performance on online KS on the formative assessment level. Knowledge surveys were developed and formatively administered in four sections of an online Integration of ICT in Education course. Using Moodle Feedback Module, knowledge surveys were designed based on three key elements: learning objectives, the course content, and the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning objectives. Using rated multiple choice KS questions, the correlation between students’ scores on KSs and students’ experience points was calculated using SPSS. The results show that students’ confidence levels in ability to answer KS questions increased in some of the course sections and decreased in others.  The student engagement in online course was positively—but weakly—related to student performance on online KS and the strength of this relationship increased as the course unfolded. Our conclusion is that student engagement in online courses would not be an accurate predictor of student performance on online Knowledge surveys right at the beginning of an instructional process.

Student-generated questions and peer-responses can support formative assessment practices through student self-questioning and peer scaffolding. So far, the studies on student-generated questions and peer-responses have focused on reading comprehension. This study focused on student-generated questions used in the context of the student-based formative e-assessment through peer scaffolding. This study's aim was two-fold: Firstly, we wanted to examine whether there was a relationship between the thinking levels exhibited in student-generated questions and the thinking levels exhibited in their corresponding peer-responses. Secondly, we wanted to analyse the level of students’ satisfaction with their peers’ responses. Using a Bloom’s Taxonomy-based assessment rubric, the student generated-questions and peer-responses were rated following three thinking levels: basic, medium, and high. The results show that the thinking levels exhibited in the student-generated questions are not the same as the thinking levels exhibited in their corresponding peer-responses. In addition, all students were not immediately satisfied with their peer-responses. In the end, we realised that through this exercise, the student-questioners and the student-respondents were respectively engaged in a “meaning-seeking” and “meaning-making” exercise and the longer the time for reaching the consensus, the more this exercise grew stronger and became much more significant.

Studies on the use of electronic journals to promote reflective learning among student-teachers have mainly focused on the students’ reflection and their learning experience in the context of the teaching practicum. Using e-journal guiding questions and an analytical reflection rubric, this study examined the extent to which the student-teachers reflected on their learning and how their reflective skills evolved through e-journal keeping in the context of the teaching and learning process of a blended course. The results showed that most of the students’ responses to e-journal guiding questions were in non-reflection and reflection levels while few responses were in critical-reflection reflection level. The study also indicated that the longer the time for using e-journals, the more the student-teachers’ reflective skills improved. In the end, the study recommends continued efforts in designing, developing and implementing instructional events whereby student-teachers can have opportunities to exercise and sustain their reflective skills over an extended period of time.

The student experience with different aspects of online instructional settings has been the focus of educational practitioners and researchers in many studies. However, concerning technology-enabled formative assessment, little is known about student satisfaction regarding different possible formative e-assessment strategies the students are involved in. Using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, a web-based survey was developed to examine students’ satisfaction with the formative e-assessment strategies within an enriched virtual blended course. The results show that, in general, the students were satisfied with the quality of their engagement and the quality of feedback across all the formative e-assessment activities offered. The results also show that the student satisfaction varied between and within the formative e-assessment strategies. However, the gap between the student satisfaction mean ratings across all formative e-assessment strategies was marginal and could not help researchers decide upon which formative e-assessment strategy that stood out as the most preferred one. Learner satisfaction with different formative e-assessment strategies was positively correlated to each other at various levels but no relationship was found between students’ scores on the final course exam and learner satisfaction with formative e-assessment strategies. In the end, the study recommends a sustained and integrated use of the all three formative e-assessment strategies (online knowledge survey, online student-generated questions and peer-responses, and electronic reflective journals) in the context of hybrid courses. Further studies that would widen, diversify both the scope and the research instruments to investigate learner satisfaction with formative e-assessment strategies were also suggested.