Using online assessments to stimulate learning strategies and achievement of learning goals

• Learning strategies can be stimulated by announcing appropriate online assessments.
• Improvements in achieving learning goals are influenced by learning strategies.
• Learning strategies influence perception of ability to achieve levels of knowledge.

The main goals of this research are: (i) to explore the influence that announcement of certain type of online assessment has on students' learning strategies and (ii) to explore the influence of stimulated learning strategies on achievement levels that students exhibit during assessments. Research has been conducted by testing and surveying 351 students from higher education institutions. Results indicate that students' learning strategies can be influenced in a relatively short period of time by announcing various types of online assessments and that steering to more desirable deep learning strategies has positive impact on both formal and perceived levels of success in achieving the desired learning goals. These findings can be used to create a novel adaptive online assessment system that incorporates the elements of adaptivity within a series of assessments and uses post-assessment feedback to steer students’ learning strategies.