Student teachers’ reflections on online assessment during teaching practice placements

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a vital pedagogical strategy in higher education for engaging student teachers to apply their knowledge and skills in authentic contexts. This paper provides an exploratory case study of an open distance and e-learning university (ODeL) in South Africa, to evaluate the effectiveness of online assessments for final-year student teachers. Through an interpretive-constructivist paradigm, a qualitative approach was adopted to interview six (n=6) participants on their experiences and perceptions of online assessment during placement. Findings demonstrate that online assessment facilitates reflective pedagogy and enables student teachers to receive constructive feedback. Mentoring emerged as a vital support strategy during teaching placements. However, several drawbacks - such as stress, anxiety, power outages, connectivity, dysfunctional computers, and incorrect lesson plan templates - affected the online assessment of teaching practice. This study highlights the benefits and challenges in online assessment in WIL, contributing to growing quality WIL practice and effective online assessment.