The Evidence Based Education Podcast

The Evidence Based Education Podcast


Assessment and feedback in an online context

February 24, 2020

Many schools in South East Asia have recently closed due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, forcing them to move entirely to an online and distance learning environment in a matter of weeks. Those schools are now looking for answers to questions like 'how do you deliver assessment and feedback in an online context?'

Not knowing how long this situation may last, schools and teachers have had to completely shift the way they're delivering an education to the students in their care. In recent weeks, we’ve heard several examples of how some have admirably adapted.

Nevertheless, moving from the classroom to online learning presents new challenges. To lend support to schools, we were asked by colleagues at Dulwich College International if we could offer some helpful advice on the kind of assessment and feedback practices you could put to use in an online context.

Here, Professor Stuart Kime, our Director of Education, and Jamie Scott, Director of Partnerships, discuss the challenges, as well as some strategies to help in this challenging predicament. Many of the effective principles of assessment and feedback can still apply to the online learning environment, it’s just that they’re re-framed and applied in this new context. In the podcast we explore how to apply strategies such as retrieval practice, self assessment and using hinge questions, as well as the key ingredients of effective feedback.

All of our podcasts can be found in our podcast archive, and you can listen to the first episode in this series there too. What's more, we have a host of free eBooks, videos and webinars in our Resource Library!