**Preface to "Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education"**

This book compiles relevant research on students' learning processes in Higher Education. It presents different dimensions and forms of learning, crucial to understand and tackle diversity and integration regarding more sustainable and inclusive goals.

Major challenges have taken place recently considering assessment within higher education and its known impact on students' learning processes. The application of different assessment methods, considering a general public desire to focus on more skills development and assessment has brought higher education challenges regarding students learning processes and its assessment that are bringing severe changes towards academia. Higher education institutions should act as knowledge and research drivers, and the consideration about the learning processes and assessment methods are key.

Special attention is given to assessment methods and purposes, assessment rubrics and the assessment of learning outcomes (knowledge and skills). Research on the challenges, strengths, and opportunities of online and virtual assessment, as well as best practices and recommendations for assessment and evaluation in higher education, are also explored and discussed in this book. This book, which consists of 15 articles written by research experts in their topic of interest, reports the most recent research concerning assessment and evaluation in higher education. The book includes changes in education and higher education that can lead to a systematic modification of higher education.

Topic one—Pedagogical innovation

Jung Hee Park, Woo Sok Han, Jinkyung Kim and Hyunjung Lee—Strategies for Flipped Learning in the Health Professions Education in South Korea and Their Effects: A Systematic Review; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11010009.

William Swart and Ken MacLeod—Evaluating Learning Space Designs for Flipped and Collaborative Learning: A Transactional Distance Approach; https://doi.org/10.3390/ educsci11060292.

Jiří Bečica and Roman Vavrek—A Qualitative Assessment of the Pedagogical Process at Czech Public Universities; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080389.

Salleh Amat, Harizah Izyan Samsudin, Abu Yazid Abu Bakar, Mohd Izwan Mahmud and Mohd Hasrul Kamarulzaman—Needs Analysis of Psychosocial Module Development Based on Psychoeducation Approach for Public University Students in Malaysia; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11100604.

Humberto Arruda and Édison Renato Silva—Assessment and Evaluation in Active Learning Implementations: Introducing the Engineering Education Active Learning Maturity Model; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110690.

We begin the book by introducing the reader to a very interesting work in which Park et al. develops a student-centred approach considering the real advantages in developing students learning abilities. The effect and strategies of flipped learning in the health professions education were assessed through a Participant–intervention-comparator-outcome (PICO). Findings suggests that implementing flipped learning design based on class characteristics and appropriate post-class activities can enhance students' learning abilities.

The topic continues with the work from Swart et al. where they evaluate Learning Space Designs for Flipped and Collaborative Learning. A highly revealing study considering the relevance of the classroom´s design as a relevant mainframe for collaborative work. They developed a very interesting study where they present that from a student perspective the investment in high-tech classrooms is not necessarily directly associated with more student engagement.

Amat and colleagues presents a research which showed a highly positive response from the students toward the development of a psychosocial module in order to strengthen the assertiveness, social skills, and psychological well-being.

Assessment and Evaluation in Active Learning Implementations has been widely worked on engineering Education. Arruda and colleagues present a paper where they propose a framework that assesses the maturity of Active Learning implementation in a program or a course. A valuable tool to be implemented and replicated, on diagnosis and practical improvements in real settings.

Topic Two—Assessment

Fidel Salas Vicente, Ángel Vicente Escuder, Miguel Ángel Pérez Puig and Francisco Segovia López—Effect on Procrastination and Learning of Mistakes in the Design of the Formative and Summative Assessments: A Case Study; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080428.

Eddy Sutadji, Herawati Susilo, Aji Prasetya Wibawa, Nidal A.M. Jabari and Syaiful Nur Rohmad—Authentic Assessment Implementation in Natural and Social Science; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090534

Jurgita Lenkauskaitė, Remigijus Bubnys, Erika Masiliauskienė and Daiva Malinauskienė— Participation in the Assessment Processes in Problem-Based Learning: Experiences of the Students of Social Sciences in Lithuania; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110678.

Tatiana Baranova, Dmitriy Mokhorov, Aleksandra Kobicheva and Elena Tokareva— Assessment of the Application of Content and Language Integrated Learning in a Multilingual Classroom; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11120808.

Another interesting research is the one presented by Vicent et al. where we are guided through students' procrastination processes, the formative assessments and the summative evaluation. This case study presents the unexpected and undesirable effects of both on the behavior of students and on both grading and learning.

Authentic assessment is another pedagogical approach based on real world impact. Sutadji and colleagues presented a research paper where they debate epistemological and scientific constructions to social and natural sciences.

Lenkauskaitė and colleagues explored the idea of change in the higher educational process using a problem-based learning strategy. The need we have in education institutions to empower students is reflected in this study that shows empowerment and enhancement of critical thinking from students when they assess and are involved in the assessment strategy.

To end this topic Baranova and colleagues present a research based on the introduction of content and language into classes with a multilingual approach, which will allow students to use several foreign languages in the process of professional communication. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the efficiency of a newly introduced integrated learning model from the perspective of students and to understand its impact on students.

Topic three—Digitalization- and peer-support-technology-based

Rana Saeed Al-Maroof, Khadija Alhumaid and Said Salloum—The Continuous Intention to Use E-Learning, from Two Different Perspectives; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci 11010006.

Isabel López-Tocón—Moodle Quizzes as a Continuous Assessment in Higher Education: An Exploratory Approach in Physical Chemistry; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090500.

Mehdi Berriri, Sofiane Djema, Gaëtan Rey and Christel Dartigues-Pallez—Multi-Class Assessment Based on Random Forests.; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11030092.

In Topic 3, the book presents relevant pos pandemic strategies like e-learning methods. The paper by Al-Maroof et al. show that teachers' and students' perceived technology self-efficacy, ease of use and usefulness are the main factors directly affecting the continuous intention to use technology.

Their relevant findings also bring about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation associated and developed throughout the process of learning. Considered the key factors that support the use of technology continuously.

The chapter continues with López-Tocón and colleagues work on Moodle Quizzes as a Continuous Assessment. Moodle quizzes were explored in this study, and they acted as a reliable practice for teaching and learning.

This topic regards crucial aspects that intend to enhance the need for higher education institutions to support additional student-centred dynamics not based on the teacher and its role as the main actor in the classroom or even as main facilitator of knowledge. In this chapter it is explored by the work of Berriri, a novel study that tried to provide relevant information regarding counseling processes. Additionally, it is explored how teaching staff can propose training courses adapted to students by anticipating their possible difficulties using new technologies, a machine learning algorithm called Random Forest, allowing for the classification of the students depending on their results.

Topic four—Organizations and governance

Cristina Checa-Morales, Carmen De-Pablos-Heredero, Angela Lorena Carreño, Sajid Haider and Antón García—Organizational Differences among Universities in Three Socioeconomic Contexts: Finland, Spain and Ecuador. Relational Coordination Approach; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080445.

Hue Thi Truong, Hung Manh Le, Duc Anh Do, Duc Anh Le, Huyen Thi Nguyen and Thanh Kim Nguyen—Impact of Governance Factors over Lecturers' Scientific Research Output: An Empirical Evidence; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090553.

Cecília Guerra and Nilza Costa—Can Pedagogical Innovations Be Sustainable? One Evaluation Outlook for Research Developed in Portuguese Higher Education; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110725.

The book also presents institutional research, conducted in a macro level approach that can be very helpful to the reader that is interested in more information regarding the assessment of pedagogical innovation at an institutional level. Bečica and colleagues present a relevant qualitative Assessment of the Pedagogical Process at Czech Public Universities. This work increments the debate towards more quality-based measures considering that the monitoring and quantification of quality in education is a very demanding and controverse topic.

Checa-Morales and colleagues presented an institutional study that focus on organizational differences Universities in Three Socioeconomic Contexts: Finland, Spain and Ecuador. Results show that shared goals with among faculty members and problem-solving communication among students were key. Organizational practices show relevant differences among the three universities.

Truong and colleagues analysed governance factors that influence the scientific research output of lecturers. The results reveal that resources for scientific research have the most impact on lecturers' scientific research output, followed by policies for lecturers, support for scientific research activities, scientific research objectives of HEIs, and finally, leadership.

Pedagogical innovation is key in order to develop society. Guerra and colleagues introduce a very interesting and critical approach to the topic, conducting research that focused on the extent to which funded national research-based education projects, developed in public Portuguese higher education institutions (universities and polytechnic institutes), have considered the sustainability of research results (e.g., pedagogical innovations), after funding ends.

We believe there is a need for this book to provide clear and relevant scientific research which takes into consideration pedagogical innovation, assessment processes and institutional models. The aim of this book is to provide the reader with key and updated research on the information necessary to understand students learning and teaching, innovation at assessment, the need to assess involving the students and also to understand global macro level research, national level and institutional level. Therefore, we hope to reach policy makers, educators, researchers, teachers, students and a global community of people that are interested and concerned with the research agenda, acting in student's empowerment, knowledge and updated skills.
