Feedback Use in Process-Based Assessment in University Piano Courses

Abstract

Process-based assessment has become an area of interest in research on assessment in university piano courses. However, the fact that assessment takes place during the learning process does not necessarily mean that the information generated through assessment will naturally inform students’ subsequent learning. Existing studies have examined the relationship between feedback and learning from various perspectives, including formative assessment in piano courses, teacher feedback, private practice, technology-mediated feedback, self-regulation, and subsequent performance. Building on this research, the present study focuses on a specific issue concerning feedback use in process-based assessment in university piano courses: after teachers provide evaluative feedback in class, how do students understand this information, continue to address it during independent practice between lessons, and reassess changes in the problems previously identified through subsequent performance? Within the scope of the literature reviewed in this study, previous research has addressed several components of this process, while relatively limited attention has been given to the continuous learning process as a whole. Drawing on research on formative assessment, feedback literacy, feedback in music performance, and music practice, this study examines how teachers identify problems that require priority attention on the basis of students’ actual performance, how students understand feedback and continue to address these problems during independent practice, and how subsequent performance provides information for reassessing changes in previously identified problems. This study argues that process-based assessment in university piano courses should attend not only to whether teachers provide feedback, but also to whether students understand the assessment information they receive, continue to address the problems identified in class during independent practice, and reassess changes in those problems through subsequent performance. Focusing on feedback use can contribute to a more detailed understanding of the connections among classroom assessment, students’ independent practice, and subsequent performance.