Introduction

A great deal has changed in higher education (HE) since our last book on formative assessment and formative feedback in 2021 (Irons & Elkington, 2021). We have emerged from a global pandemic, expectations about modes of delivery in higher education have evolved, and the international geopolitical environment has been transformed, with the demand for different forms of higher education continuing to grow (although the growth might not be as stark in Western Europe). Propelled by this unprecedented sector disruption we have also seen such innovation in digital educational technology that our practice environments are now substantively different compared to where we were even in 2021. The creation of this book has been timed to provide support to practitioners in the increasingly necessary work of (re)considering what meaningful assessment and feedback ought to look like in a changing higher education environment to enhance the student learning experience. More specifically, our aim in developing this book and the collection of case studies it contains is to provide a resource which practitioners can utilise to design and create appropriately future facing assessments at a time when more nuanced, flexible, and responsive assessment approaches are being called for.