Webster University in Toshkent Incorporating formative assessment in Iranian efl writing

A description of the case
This study found that incorporating formative assessment strategies into a writing course can help students develop different aspects of their writing. An eclectic approach to writing pedagogy, such as the process genre approach, can create an instructional context for teachers to better facilitate the incorporation of formative assessment into writing classes. Formative assessment is still a work-in-progress and its successful implementation is contingent upon a host of mediating factors, such as contextual affordances, student cohort, English proficiency level, and motivational profiles.
Theoretical framework
Formative assessment is a type of assessment that provides feedback, information, and subsequent actions to improve learning. (Black and William ) advocate five key strategies of formative assessment as the backbone of an assessment intervention: clarifying and sharing learning intentions and criteria for success, engineering effective classroom discussions and other learning tasks, providing feedback that moves learners forward, activating students as instructional resources for one another, and activating students as the owners of their own learning. This development-oriented type of assessment also draws on the notion of the zone of proximal development, with its emphasis on addressing learners' next level of performance or skill development through scaffolding activities situated in a stress-free and less authoritarian learning environment. Formative feedback is offered to engage students in more authentic and meaningful assessment activities which could foster their independent learning. Formative feedback strategies are key aspects of formative assessment in Iran, which is characterized by a product-based tradition.
Recent research has reported integrating or recommending some aspects of this type of assessment in writing classes, such as requiring students to exchange their essays for peer-review and revise them after receiving feedback. (Abdollah Zadeh p.1) recommended that teachers adopt reading--writing activities, journal or portfolio development, explicit instruction, and multi-draft writing to enhance students' writing ability and boost their learning autonomy.
This study explores the potential of incorporating formative assessment in an essay writing class. It is guided by three research questions: to what extent does formative assessment have the potential to improve undergraduate students' essay writing, to how it can affect undergraduate students' beliefs and attitudes toward writing and its assessment, and to what are the perceived rewards and challenges of incorporating it. Previous studies have found that self- and peer-assessment had a significant impact on essay writing performance and independent learning, but they advocated the conventional product-based instructional approach.( Rahimi p.32) trained a group of second-year undergraduate students to review their peers' writing, and they made significant progress in their paragraph writing.