Assessment Feedback and Student Learning in History Education: Reflections from a Teacher Educator and Academic Developer in South Africa

Background: Assessment feedback is commonly understood as a means of helping students recognise gaps in their knowledge and improve their learning. However, feedback can also provide evidence through which educators critically reflect on their teaching and assessment practices. Objective: This article explores assessment feedback as a reflective practice through the complementary perspectives of a History teacher educator and an Academic Developer. The inquiry emerged from an academic development engagement discourse on reflective practice that prompted these authors to critically analyse the notion and practice of assessment and feedback practices within undergraduate History Education. Methods: Using a self-study methodology supported by collaborative reflective inquiry, the article draws on reflective narratives of significant assessment-feedback experiences and collaborative dialogue between the authors. The narratives are structurally analysed using Labov’s narrative framework and interpreted through Schön’s concepts of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Results: The analysis highlights three interconnected shifts: recognising the gap between possessing and applying disciplinary knowledge; creating dialogue through assessment feedback; and turning evidence arising from students’ assessment experiences back onto teaching practice. Conclusion: The findings suggest feedback can operate reciprocally: students use feedback to make sense and improve their learning, while educators use students’ questions, difficulties and responses as evidence for critically reconsidering their pedagogical practices. The article argues that conceptualising assessment feedback as reciprocal reflective practice can strengthen student learning while creating opportunities for evidence-informed educator professional learning and Academic Development. Unique Contribution: This self-study fills a gap by providing insights into the essence of assessment feedback and how it impacts students’ learning outcomes, particularly in higher education settings.