High impact pedagogies and student engagement in learning

The aim of this paper is to identify high impact assessment feedback practices within higher education (HE). In this paper we will argue that assessment is the lynchpin in facilitating high impact pedagogies within higher education and that practices that emphasize meaningful assessment where assessment practice is aligned to capture and reward a shared understanding of what constitutes ‘deep’ within a discipline are fundamental (Evans, Muijs, & Tomlinson, 2015). At a time when considerable emphasis is being placed on notions of teaching effectiveness and learning gain within HE, this paper is timely in its emphasis on what constitutes meaningful assessment practice in 21st century learning environments. Using thematic analysis key characteristics of effective assessment practice derived from a systematic review of the literature (2005-2015) exploring high impact pedagogies across disciplines within HE are outlined along with a discussion of important considerations in moving assessment practice forward