Enhancing and enriching the Feedback Matrix through the embedding of a dedicated eAssessment system in module delivery

This paper argues that embedding a dedicated online assessment system at the centre of module delivery has the potential to enhance the student experience of learning, teaching and assessment. Focusing on the experience of embedding Assessment21’s Assess By Computer (ABC) eAssessment system in the delivery and assessment of a first year Sociology module, the paper considers the way in which the ABC system can be used to produce an enhanced and enriched feedback matrix that enables and empowers the student, promoting self-assessment, self-evaluation and self-regulation. The potential of ABC to enhance and enrich the feedback matrix is mapped against the seven principles of good feedback practice identified by Nicol and MacFarlane-Dick. It is argued that by embedding ABC at the centre of module delivery, the system can facilitate a greater student engagement with feedback and help close the gap that often exists between educators’ expectations of student engagement with assessment and feedback and students’ understanding of these expectations.