Background: Sound learning design should be based on the constructive alignment of intended learning outcomes (LOs), teaching and learning activities and formative and summative assessment. Assessment validity strongly relies on its alignment with LOs. Valid and reliable formative assessment can be analysed as a predictor of students' academic…

Background: Teacher dashboards can help secondary school teachers manage online learning activities and inform instructional decisions by visualising information about class learning. However, when designing teacher dashboards, it is not trivial to choose which information to display, because not all of the vast amount of information retrieved…

Background: Artificial intelligence, particularly natural language processing (NLP), enables automating the formative assessment of written task solutions to provide adaptive feedback automatically. A laboratory study found that, compared with static feedback (an expert solution), adaptive feedback automated through artificial neural networks…

Background: Formative online multiple-choice tests are ubiquitous in higher education and potentially powerful learning tools. However, commonly used feedback approaches in online multiple-choice tests can discourage meaningful engagement and enable strategies, such as trial-and-error, that circumvent intended learning outcomes. These strategies…

Background: Research shows that how formative assessments are operationalized plays a crucial role in shaping their engagement with formative assessments, thereby impacting their effectiveness in predicting academic achievement. Mandatory assessments can ensure consistent student participation, leading to better tracking of learning progress.…

Background: Automated writing evaluation (AWE) systems, used as formative assessment tools in writing classrooms, are promising for enhancing instruction and improving student performance. Although meta-analytic evidence supports AWE's effectiveness in various contexts, research on its effectiveness in the U.S. K-12 setting has lagged behind its…

Background: Developments in educational technology and learning analytics make it possible to automatically formulate and deploy personalized formative feedback to learners at scale. However, to be effective, the motivational and emotional impacts of such automated and personalized feedback need to be considered. The literature on feedback…

Background: Traditionally, understanding students' learning dynamics, collaboration, emotions, and their impact on performance has posed challenges in formative assessment. The complexity of monitoring and assessing these factors have often limited the depth and breadth of insights. Objectives: This study aims to explore the potential of…

Background: Learners' writing skills are critical to their academic and professional development. Previous studies have shown that learners' self-assessment during writing is essential for assessing their writing products and monitoring their writing processes. However, conducting practical self-assessments of writing remains challenging for…