Abstract
Digital assessment and feedback have been a growing area of research and practice in the past decade in higher education. Within this theme, research has been published highlighting the importance of learner agency in the assessment and feedback process as a way to develop assessment literacy in contrast with the existing lecturer-led approach. In this research, we aimed to find out whether lecturers are willing to let go of some of the power they currently have in the digital assessment and feedback process and how they see opportunities for agency being developed in the digital assessment and feedback systems. We collected data from 10 sandpits with 58 lecturers in which, using a storytelling technique and one mock-up of a digital assessment and feedback system, we discussed and critiqued an assessment scenario intending to collect perceptions about digital assessment and feedback and the constraints felt by lecturers in their assessment practice. Based on these perceptions, we identify recommendations that may improve digital assessment and feedback systems and practices. We discuss the data and the recommendations based on three clusters of themes: (i) preparation for the assessment, (ii) formative feedback and (iii) feedback post-submission.
Highlights
Digital assessment and feedback are areas of increasing interest in the higher education (HE) sector, at a time when there is increased demand for more blended and distance learning environments, motivated by Covid-19, the globalisation of HE and the massification of the HE market
This study aims at responding to the question: how can lecturers and universities improve digital assessment and feedback systems (DAFS) that lead to an increase in learner agency in assessment and feedback?
In this study, we aimed at providing an answer to the question: how can lecturers and universities improve digital assessment and feedback systems (DAFS) that lead to an increase in learner agency in assessment and feedback? We started by providing evidence that lecturers are open to giving away some of their existing powers in the assessment process
Summary
Digital assessment and feedback are areas of increasing interest in the higher education (HE) sector, at a time when there is increased demand for more blended and distance learning environments, motivated by Covid-19, the globalisation of HE and the massification of the HE market. Influenced by how DAFS are designed, many universities appear to favour a transmission model of assessment and feedback by positioning learners as passive receivers of information about their work and not as active agents of their assessments (Beaumont, O’Doherty, & Shannon, 2011; Boud & Falchikov, 2006; Nieminen & Tuohilampi, 2020). This is still rooted in a traditional model of assessment where feedback is used not to improve learning but to justify a grade (Bailey & Garner, 2010)
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