This document discusses sustainable assessment and feedback practices for online learning environments. It defines sustainable assessment as developing lifelong learning skills like self-assessment. Effective online assessment methods include tasks that revise Wikipedia pages, use digital simulations, and assessed blogs. Sustainable feedback focuses on developing learner self-regulation through dialogic processes. Online applications for feedback include audio or video peer feedback, collaborative writing, and eportfolios. The document recommends that pedagogy should drive technology use, with active student involvement and a focus on social presence, care, trust, and developing student feedback literacy.

1. Sustainable assessment &
online learning environments
Professor David Carless
@CarlessDavid
University of Hong Kong,
#VirtualCuppa
April 28, 2020
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2. Overview
Sustainable assessment
Sustainable feedback
Online applications
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3. The University of Hong Kong

4. Sustainable assessment in essence
Developing knowledge, skills & dispositions
for lifelong learning (Boud 2000)
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5. Sustainable assessment practices
Enhancing self-assessment strategies
Understanding, creating & applying criteria
Making judgments, giving & receiving feedback
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6. Online applications
Authentic Assessment tasks e.g.:
-revising Wikipedia pages (Johinke, 2020)
-digital simulations (Way et al. 2020)
-assessed blogs (Christie & Morris, 2019)
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7. Assessment does double duty
Assessment for certification
Assessment for learning
Assessment for lifelong learning
Assessment & accountability
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8. The University of Hong Kong

9. Sustainable feedback in essence
Dialogic processes focused on developing
learner capacities for self-regulation
(Carless et al., 2011, p. 397)
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10. Sustainable feedback practices
• Multi-stage assignments
• Student peer review
• Technology-enabled dialogues
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11. Online applications
Audio or video peer feedback (Filius et al.
2019; Mahoney et al. 2019)
Collaborative writing (e.g. Yuan & Kim,
2015)
Curated eportfolios (Clarke & Boud, 2018)
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12. Feedback does double duty
• Justifying the grade & covering your back
• Advice on current task
• Insights for future tasks
(Carless, 2015; Winstone & Carless, under
review)
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14. Key online feedback principles
• Pedagogy even more than technology;
• Active learner roles;
• Social and relational interaction;
• Opportunities for acting on feedback.
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15. The role of trust
Care, trust and social presence
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16. Deploy teacher workload wisely
Reduce teacher commentary at times when
it cannot be taken up (Boud & Molloy, 2013)
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17. Key recommendations
Pedagogy driving technology use
Active student involvement
Social presence, care & trust
Support & coaching for feedback literacy
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18. References (1)
Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2013). Decision-making for feedback. In D. Boud & E.
Molloy (Eds.), Feedback in Higher and Professional Education. London:
Routledge.
Carless, D. (2015). Excellence in University Assessment. London: Routledge.
Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy:
Enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education,
43(8), 1315-1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354.
Clarke, J., & D. Boud (2018). Refocusing Portfolio Assessment: Curating for
Feedback and Portrayal. Innovations in Education and Teaching
International, 55 (4): 479-486.
Christie, H. & Morris, N. (2019). Using assessed blogs to enhance student
engagement. Teaching in Higher Education.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2019.1662390
Filius, R., R. de Kleijn, S. Uijl, F. Prins, H. van Rijen & D. Grobbee (2019). Audio
peer feedback to promote deep learning in online education. Journal of
Computer Assisted Learning.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcal.12363
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19. References (2)
Johinke, R. (2020). Social production as authentic assessment: Wikipedia, digital
writing, and hope labour. Studies in Higher Education.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1750192
Mahoney, P., S. Macfarlane and R. Ajjawi. 2019. “A Qualitative Synthesis of Video
Feedback in Higher Education. Teaching in Higher Education, 24(2), 157-179.
Nicol, D., Thomson, A., & Breslin, C. (2014). Rethinking feedback practices in
higher education: A peer review perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher
Education, 39(1), 102-122.
Way, K. A., Burrell, L., D’Allura L., & Ashford-Rowe, K. (2020). Empirical
investigation of authentic assessment theory: An application in online courses
using mimetic simulation created in university learning management ecosystems.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.
Winstone, N., & D. Carless. (2019). Designing Effective Feedback Processes in
Higher Education: A Learning-Focused Approach. London: Routledge.
Yuan, J. & Kim, C. (2015). Effective feedback design using free technologies.
Journal of Educational Computing Research, 52(3), 408-434.
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20. The University of Hong Kong
Productive assessment
task design
Developing student self-
regulation
Developing student
feedback literacy
Learning-oriented assessment framework

21. Composing peer feedback
Providing feedback more cognitively engaging
than receiving feedback (e.g. Nicol et al. 2014)
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22. Potential workload savers
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Increase Decrease
Feedback on student requests Unsolicited comments
Within module guidance Terminal comments
Comments on first task Comments on final task
Feedback for first years Feedback for final year

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24. Student feedback literacy
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Making
Judgments
Appreciating
Feedback
Managing
Affect
Taking Action
(Carless & Boud, 2018)

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