Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education       ISSN: 1759-667X 

Special Issue 22: Compendium of Innovative Practice                                 October 2021 

 

Editorial: Adapting assessment and feedback strategies 

 

Gita Sedghi 
University of Liverpool 
 

 

Assessment should be aligned with courses’ aims and module learning outcomes and 

used to improve student learning; therefore, constructive and timely feedback is essential 

for effective learning. During the pandemic, the transition to online learning and teaching 

called upon practitioners to investigate new ways to support and connect with their 

students. Since student engagement became a dilemma, assessment played an 

instrumental part in measuring student learning and participation to inform teachers and 

students of classroom learning. Consequently, feedback became even more crucial to 

mitigate learning gaps.  

 

This section highlights the challenges learning developers and educators encountered to 

facilitate a supportive online learning community to allow students to benefit from each 

other’s insights and create accessible and flexible assessments to help diverse cohorts. It 

showcases various assessment and feedback methods implemented to foster student 

engagement. However, the increased working demands of transitioning online meant that 

any measures taken did not add extra tasks on top of the already heavier workload for 

teaching staff. The authors explain the challenges of using eTools to find suitable 

platforms for their activities while demonstrating the need to be mindful that eTools dictate 

neither the pedagogy nor the development of assessment. Since the chosen pedagogical 

approach directly influences learning, the educators ensured that online and active 

assessment pedagogy was not compromised.  

 

The reflections in this section present a range of initiatives that authors applied in 

response to the challenges brought by Covid-19. They demonstrate how crucial it is to 

ensure that assessments are authentic, with student perceptions of authenticity being vital 

and contributing significantly to the completion of learning outcomes. Pre-recorded videos 

to prepare for exams, collaborative student support network, video feedback, evaluation 

skills developed through the group evaluation activity, Vlog, minimising academic 



Editorial 

Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Issue 22: Compendium              October 2021 

dishonesty issues and online peer-feedback are examples of activities to foster more 

meaningful assessment and feedback. The authors exhibit several ideas for the creation of 

authentic assessments to support online and active learning, increase student 

engagement and provide learners with a platform to demonstrate their skills.  

 

There are a number of recommendations for educators in this section, including providing 

opportunities for students to engage in assessment design and to test their own ability to 

reach module learning outcomes by replicating summative assessment; giving timely 

feedback to improve future performance and student learning to enable a supportive 

environment for students to engage with the course content. Using different feedback 

modalities is feasible across the higher education sector, but care must be taken to 

support educators in developing competencies, providing clear instructions for access, 

listening to recipients’ feedback and making adaptations so that feedback is meaningful 

and encouraging, motivating learners to improve their work. Educators must ensure that 

pedagogy takes priority; the tools should allow staff to support learning and develop 

resources that remain authentic to the agreed approach.