Abstract:

This paper focuses on the implementation of online exit tickets combined with gamification tools within high-school students and in the analysis of its impact on student’s perceptions and testing performance, during a three months length period at a specific subject. This study has four goals:
(i) to know student’s perceptions concerning the importance of providing short formative assessment tools;
(ii) to assess the impact of online exit tickets in students test scores evolution;
(iii) to evaluate the impact of gamification tools, like Kahoot, on daily-students learning and test-taking preparation routines and
(iv) to determine if online tools, both formative and game-build, do enhanced science learning.

Several studies on formative assessment have indicated feedback provided through formative assessments do motivate students and enhance their learning. An example of a formative assessment are Exit tickets which offer easy and informative assessments that help encourage student connections to content, self-reflection (Marzano, 2012). Exit tickets have been used in different contexts and areas as a formative assessment for learning (Sosa 2013). To Dellos (2015) one of the most important formative assessment toll consists in the online game Kahoot. The online game Kahoot can serve as an interactive technology based instructional tool. It is an online game that tests student’s knowledge of subject specific content. To Johns (2015) Kahoot allows educators to create surveys and game-based quizzes that they can join using a pin number. The students can then select answer choices on a personal device such as a smartphone that coincide with questions that are displayed on the smartboard. According to Dellos (2015) using games in class can promote independent learning, collaborative learning, and problem solving. The intervention took place among a sample of 51 high-school students, from 14 to 18 years old.

The following quantitative methods were used in this study:
(i) 2 questionnaires (learning online students’ survey), before and after the formative assessment system implementation;
(ii) students global testing average scores, before and after the formative assessment system implementation.

As qualitative methods, it were developed 3 instruments:
(i) training sessions with exit tickets (analysis of students’ progression checklist fulfilment);
(ii) training sessions with gamification tools - Kahoot – (analysis of students’ progression – observation scale fulfilment by the teacher);
(iii) semi-structured interview, during and after intervention, to randomized selected students.

All formal procedures were performed with local education authorities. Data collected from students, before and after feedback-providing program intervention, as the students’ questionnaires and global testing average scores were analysed using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v.23).

Along the next four months (until January 2019) we expect some students’ final achievements as the following ones: (i) see training sessions (which occur previously to test taking) using exit tickets and gamification tools, as stimulating and promoting the achieving of higher scores; (ii) to make them to self-reflect and self-monitor their learnings while practicing with exit tickets and (iii) global test scores average significant increase after formative assessment system intervention.

Keywords:

Assessment, Feedback, Innovation, Technology.