Many students struggle with making sense of feedback information and in applying and transferring it to new contexts. Research literature suggests that low-performing students are especially at risk because they often do not understand assessment criteria and cannot utilise information they receive. This paper addresses this problem through…

For feedback processes to be effective, they need to involve students actively in generating, processing and responding to feedback information. Teacher transmission approaches are unlikely to provide a good investment of time and resources because they fail to draw sufficiently on student agency. In this conceptual article, it is argued that…

Two-stage examinations consist of a first stage in which students work individually as they typically do in examinations (stage 1), followed by a second stage in which they work in groups to complete another examination (stage 2), which typically consists of a subset of the questions from the first examination. Data from two-stage midterm and…

Initiating effective feedback processes is a major goal in university teaching. However, systematic investigations of structural feedback elements making instructor feedback economic, concise, motivating and beneficial for learning are still scarce. In our study, we compare two feedback modes with respect to learning gains and changes in…

Short-term international study experiences, or study tours, aim to increase students' global awareness, educate and empower them to be productive global citizens, and contribute to their future employability. Learning outcomes from study tours often include intangible personal characteristics or soft skills, as opposed to specific disciplinary…

In this article, the impact of assessment tasks on examination result (measured by examination grades) is investigated. Although many describe the advantages of electronic assessment tasks, few studies have been undertaken which compare a traditional approach using a classical examination with a new approach using assessment tasks. The main…

This article presents the results of a preliminary survey of assessment tasks undertaken by students in higher education at a particular university. A key premise of the study was that the ability to handle assessment is central to the development of academic and professional literacy. Much of the current literature on assessment demonstrates a…

Since the 1980s an extensive research literature has investigated how to improve student success in higher education focusing on student outcomes such as retention, completion and employability. A parallel research programme has focused on how students engage with their studies and what they, institutions and educators can do to enhance their…

This article explores the relationship between the lack of visible attention to formative assessment in degree specifications and its marginalization in practice. Degree specification documents form part of the quality apparatus emphasizing the accountability and certification duties of assessment. Ironically, a framework designed to assure…

Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) are teaching strategies that provide formative assessments of student learning. It has been argued that the use of CATs enhances and improves student learning. Although the various types of CATs have been extensively documented and qualitatively studied, there appears to be little quantitative research…

This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of a same-year peer-assisted learning (PAL) scheme, introduced in the first year of an undergraduate degree. The students participated in voluntary timetabled PAL sessions which encouraged a cooperative approach through student-directed activities. An action research design was used, and evaluation…

Meta assessment goes beyond assessment in that it examines not only the elements of assessment but also the necessary and sufficient conditions as well as the needs of the assessment. Meta assessment in education tends to be the domain of course designers, planners and policy makers but rarely that of students. This article examines the role of…

Assessment is critically important to education both for accreditation and to support learning. Yet the literature dealing with formative and summative assessment definitions and terminology is not aligned. This article reports an empirical small-scale study of lecturers in Education at an English university. The research posits that these…

This study explored the impact of performance assessment versus traditional paper-and-pencil assessment on graduate students' achievement and motivation to learn while enrolled in a 16-lesson course on program evaluation methods. Students in two sections of the course were exposed to the same content and instructional methods, with one exception:…