This study investigates the relationship between take-home (open-book) examinations (THE) and in-class (closed-book) examinations (ICE) on academic performance and student wellbeing. Two social science courses (one bachelor and one master) were included in the study. In the first cohort (2019), students from both courses performed an ICE, whereas…

Due to the emerging demands on shifting focus towards the development of more student-centered and engaging learning experiences, this systematic review elucidates the effectiveness of PeerWise introduction into the blended learning model in Physiology education based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis…

Spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) is a form of virtual reality that employs 360-degree videos to immerse learners in virtual environments. As SVVR can simulate realistic experiences, the current trend of language education is towards more use of it. To examine its current status, this study systematically reviewed 31 articles on…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention of formative assessments with a clicker-based technology on anxiety and academic performance. We use a randomized experiment in physics education in one school in Dutch secondary education. For treated students, the formative assessments are operationalized through quizzing at the end of…

Despite the benefits swift academic progress holds for many stakeholders, there is scarce literature on how academic progress may be improved by changes to assessment policies. Therefore, we investigated academic progress of first-year students after an alteration of characteristics of the assessment policies in three large course programmes:…

Calls for increased monitoring and evaluation of education policies and practices have not, so far, included widespread and consistent assessments of the inclusiveness of education settings. Measuring inclusion in education has proven to be a challenging exercise, due not only to the complexity and different uses of the concept, but also to its…

The non-cognitive skills self-control and grit are often considered predictors of school performance, but whether this relationship is causal remains unclear. We investigated the causality of this association using a twin design. Specifically, we evaluated the direct impact of self-control and grit on school performance, while controlling for…

Meta-syntheses have reported positive impacts of feedback for student achievement at different stages of education and have been influential in establishing feedback as an effective strategy to support student learning. However, these syntheses combine studies of a variety of different feedback approaches, combine studies where feedback is one of…

This article discusses the teachers' role in self-directed learning (SDL) -- a central concept in adult education. We explore the use of Socratic questioning to develop critical thinking, which is the outcome of SDL in problem-based learning (PBL). In particular, we analyse 11 adult learners' reflective journals in relation to a Socratic seminar.…

Context-based science courses stimulate students to reconstruct the information presented by connecting to their prior knowledge and experiences. However, students need support. Formative assessments inform both teacher and students about students' knowledge deficiencies and misconceptions and how students can be supported. Research on formative…

Good doctor-patient communication may lead to better compliance, higher patient satisfaction, and finally, better health. Although the social variance in how physicians and patients communicate is clearly demonstrated, little is known about what patients with different educational attainments actually prefer in doctor-patient communication. In…

This paper investigates how legal cannabis access affects student performance. Identification comes from an exceptional policy introduced in the city of Maastricht which discriminated legal access based on individuals' nationality. We apply a difference-in-difference approach using administrative panel data on over 54,000 course grades of local…

School quality care has become important in many Western countries. A number of self-evaluation instruments have been developed in response. The goal of these instruments is improving the quality of education. One such system, ZEBO, was developed for performing quality assessment in Dutch primary schools. The use of this self-evaluation instrument…

At the end of secondary education in The Netherlands, students have to pass a final examination, consisting of an internal school-based assessment and an external national assessment. According to the Dutch inspectorate, to ensure the quality of final examinations, the discrepancy between both assessments must be less than 0.5 points (on a scale…

The effects of written feedback in a computer-based assessment for learning on students' learning outcomes were investigated in an experiment at a Higher Education institute in the Netherlands. Students were randomly assigned to three groups, and were subjected to an assessment for learning with different kinds of feedback. These are immediate…