Assessment on Research

Synergizing teacher-directed and student-initiated assessments

The assessment research team 1) conducts cutting-edge research on a variety of topics related to assessment in diverse educational settings, advancing the understanding of assessment practices and processes, and of the connections between assessment, teaching and learning; and 2) contributes to knowledge transfer by generating and disseminating research-based knowledge about educational assessment at local, regional, and international levels.

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Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure posperity for all.

The research team contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Our Researcher(s)

Professor YAN, Zi

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

zyan@eduhk.hk

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Our research challenges traditional teacher-centric educational norms by synergizing teacher-directed and student-initiated assessments. We aim to advance the understanding of the assessment process and encourage effective assessment practices that balance accountability and support for learning, particularly in the context of evolving technologies like AI.

Even after years of promoting assessment reform, assessment practices in Hong Kong and beyond remain unsatisfactory. Our research addresses this by exploring local perspectives on assessment practices and emphasising the importance of student involvement in their own assessments. By informing teaching methods, professional growth, and policy decisions, we promote educational efficiency.

The research outcomes benefit a broad spectrum of beneficiaries, including students, educators, and policymakers. Synergizing teacher-directed and student-directed assessments and fostering personalized learning experiences, the research contributes to developing students into independent, self-directed learners fully equipped for their future academic and professional endeavours.

Externally Funded Research Projects

Project
RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme Bottom-up Assessment Reform: The Student-centred Assessment-driven Learning
General Research Fund Foster or hinder learning? The role of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the self-assessment process.
General Research Fund Assessing the relationships between Chinese students’ feedback orientation, feedback literacy and learning engagement: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
General Research Fund Developing students’ feedback literacy through online interactive peer assessment: Interaction modes, sequential behavioural patterns, and influential factors
General Research Fund Developing students' evaluative judgment and feedback literacy through self-assessment: An experimental study.
Early Career Scheme Dual Feedback Literacies of Pre-service Teachers: Temporal Change, Interplay, and Influential Factors.
Public Policy Research Funding Scheme Investigating Primary School Teachers’ E-assessment Practices, Intentions and Influencing Factors in the New Normal: Implications for Developing E-assessment Policy
General Research Fund Harnessing the power of teacher feedback to enhance learning outcomes: The roles of students' feedback orientations and learning engagement.
General Research Fund Unpacking student self-assessment processes: A longitudinal naturalistic experiment.
General Research Fund A structural understanding of formative assessment: Predictor, intention, and practice.
General Research Fund Self-assessment: Calibration, predictors and effects.

Selected Publications

Yang, M., Yan, Z., Yang, L., & Zhan, Y. (2024). Understanding and developing student assessment literacy. Routledge.
Yang, L., Chiu, M. M., & Yan, Z. (Eds.) (2024). Unlocking the power of teacher feedback: A student-centric perspective. Routledge.
Yan, Z. (2022). Student self-assessment as a process for learning. Routledge.
Yan, Z., & Yang, L. (Eds.) (2021 ). Assessment as learning: Maximising opportunities for student learning and achievement. Routledge.

Journal Article

Yang, L., Yan, Z., Zhang, D., Boud, D., & Datu, J. A. D. (2023). Exploring the roles of grit and academic self-concept from a perspective of educational psychology. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 1-26.
Zhan, Y., Yan, Z., Wan, Z. H., Wang, X. Zeng, Y., Yang, M., & Yang, L. (2023). Effects of online peer assessment on higher-order thinking: A meta-analysis. British Journal of Educational Technology. 1-42.
Lee, W. S. W., & Yang, M. (2023). Effective collaborative learning from Chinese students’ perspective: A qualitative study in a teacher-training course. Teaching in Higher Education, 28(2), 221-237.
Yan, Z., Lao, H., Panadero, E., Fernández-Castilla, B., Yang, L., & Yang, M. (2022). Effects of self-assessment and peer-assessment interventions on academic performance: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 37, 100484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100484
Yan, Z., & Carless, D. (2022). Self-assessment is about more than self: The enabling role of feedback literacy. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 47(7), 1116-1128.
Yan, Z., Chiu, M. M., & Cheng, E. C. K. (2022). Predicting teachers’ formative assessment practices: Teacher personal and contextual factors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 114, 103718.
Zhan, Y., Wan, Z. H. & Sun, D. (2022). Online formative peer feedback in Chinese contexts at the tertiary Level: A critical review on its design, impacts and influencing factors. Computers & Education, 104341
Yang, L., Hsu, C. L., Ye, T., & Sin, K. F. (2022). Assessing Emotions of Teaching Assistants in Inclusive Education. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 813726.
Yan, Z. (2020). Self-assessment in the process of self-regulated learning and its relationship with academic achievement. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(2), 224-238.
Cai, Y., Yang, M., & Yao, J. (2022). More is not always better: the nonlinear relationship between formative assessment strategies and reading achievement. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 29(6), 711-728. (Corresponding author)
Ma, N., Li, Y.-M., Guo, J.-H., Laurillard, D., & Yang, M. (2022). A learning model for improving in-service teachers’ course completion in MOOCs. Interactive Learning Environments, 1-16. (Corresponding author)
Zhan, Y. (2022). Developing and validating a student feedback literacy scale. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 47(7), 1087-1100.
Zhan, Y. (2023). What do college students think of feedback literacy? An ecological interpretation of Hong Kong students’ perspectives. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 48(5), 686-700.

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