ABSTRACT
Teaching in the higher education sector has moved away from the information transfer mode of the past towards a student-centred learning focus. A key factor facilitating this move towards student-centred learning has been the development of electronic learning technologies that have increased the range of tools now available to academics in their teaching. There has also been a renewed interest in how to use assessment effectively to achieve desired learning objectives. Assessment is a powerful tool in determining the type of learning, skills and outcomes that we wish our graduates to achieve. Whether we like it or not our students are driven rather more by grades and assessment than an intrinsic love of learning. Indeed Boud (1990) finds that assessment more than any other factor determines whether students will take a deep or surface approach to their studies. It seems therefore that the harnessing of this powerful motivational tool to achieve learning outcomes that are important in high quality learning environments is a productive avenue to explore.
