摘要：Asse ssment is an important component of a ny tea ching-lea rning pr ocess. Du e to ec onomic a nd historical factors many higher edu cation institutions have been u sing large-scale su mmative assessment. However, ther e is move aw ay from summative a ssessment to forma tive and continuous asse ssment (CA) . Acade mics a re therefore r e-thinking a ssessment practices a nd considering using the latter approach. One of the cha llenges when using CA is developing the logistical procedures for large classes. This study is ba sed on the introduction of a CA appr oa ch for 1000 se cond-yea r macro-economics students in the Facu lty of Ma na gement Studies at the University of Kwa Zulu-N ata l. It was underpinned by an interpretive resea rch orienta tion and was explorative in tha t it aimed at achie ving a n in-depth under sta nding of these students' experienc es of CA. Qualitative data were gathe red. The article starts with a literature review of assessment a nd CA, followed by a description of the resea rch methodology and design of the CA stra te gy, and fina lly a discussion of the qua lita tive da ta and findings of the stu dy. T he qualitative data indicate that CA assisted students to ma nage their workloa d better a nd improved their understanding of the subje ct content. This a ppr oac h to assessment in higher education institutions requires additiona l resea rch, but the positive results demonstrate tha t CA could be considered as an a pproach to improve tea ching and lea rning in la rge-class conte xts.
关键词：Qu alita tive Researc h. Formative Assessment. A sse ssment for L earning. Self-regula ted Le arning. ; Large Class Context. Multiple Choice Q uestions
