posted on 2006-05-23, 16:43authored byDavid O'Hare
Over the past two years students taking two biology modules at the University of Derby
have been assessed using computer assessments with TRIADs (Tripartite Interactive
Assessment Delivery System) in both their formal end of module examinations and for
scored formative assessments. We were keen to establish the student views of the use
of computer assessment and thus over this period in addition to the overall evaluation
of the modules the students were also given the opportunity to evaluate these
assessments. In the first instance an open ended approach was taken, and students
were given the opportunity to anonymously write comments on the computer
examinations. The results of this were encouraging in that only a minority of students
(~5%) made non-positive comments on CAA with the majority of students being very
positive on their CAA experiences. In addition a range of useful comments in relation to
the application of CAA were provided by students, pertaining to comparability with
traditional examinations and student learning strategy these are also discussed.
However, the results of this initial evaluation though interesting were largely qualitative
and left us with a number of areas which we did not have any useful information. We
also wished to gain some information on the student perceptions on the validity of the
assessment in terms of its level of difficulty and its relation to the content of the course.
Thus a questionaire was constructed which measured student views of the structure,
clarity, difficulty of the assessment (as well as their overall opinion). This was then
delivered to students at the end of a scored formative assessment on Mendelian
genetics and their formal module examination both produced using TRIADs. Thus the
opinion of students on computer based formative exercises and computer based
terminal examinations could be compared. Statistical analysis of the data from the
questionnaires has revealed that students thought both types of assessments to be well
structured, fair, clear and well matched to the content of the course. However, the
examination although scoring at a similar level in other categories, was seen as more
difficult by students (which was evident from the grades).
In addition to these quantitative measures, students were also offered the opportunity to
make any additional comments regarding the assessment. This allowed specific
problem questions to be identified, which provided extra information for the post test
DIF analysis.
The author suggests that use of assessment questionnaires of this type can aid both
the tutor and the student in the evaluation of the learning process.
http://www.derby.ac.uk/ciad/
History
School
University Academic and Administrative Support
Department
Professional Development
Research Unit
CAA Conference
Pages
49623 bytes
Citation
O'Hare, D., 2001. Student Views of Formative and Summative CAA. IN: Proceedings of the 5th CAA Conference, Loughborough: Loughborough University