Computer Assisted Assessment: a case study with English

linguistics students

Dr Paola Trimarco

University Campus Suffolk

context

• 12-week Language Analysis module of an English (Hons) BA course.

• First year students

• 48 students, 29 = 18-25 years old

• Computers widely available at university, but not used specifically in the classrooms.

Role of computers in Language Analysis module

UCS version of Blackboard

Communications:Emails

AnnouncementsGradebook

Classroom activities:Presentations

On-line demonstrations

Outside class:Self-assessments

Group WikiDiscussion forum

Essays on-line

Formative assessment strategyGibbs and Simpson (2004-05):• Frequent assignments or tests (such as

computer-based assessment) can distribute student effort across the course… while infrequent assignments… may result in intensive studying for a week or two immediately prior to the assignment deadline, while topics not covered by the assignment can be largely ignored. (p. 14)

• Coursework : 4 graded, 2 ungraded and 2 self- assessments.

Formative assessment strategy

Self-assessment• General

– Makes learners aware of their needs in a less competitive environment than the classroom

– Builds self-confidence in working within the topic (easier than essay writing)

– Differentiation- optional quizzes & students work at their own pace

• Specific– Tests knowledge of terms and basic concepts that will

be used in other formative and summative assessments

Multiple choice/matching on-line

• Advantages:– ‘an objective format for assessment’ (Biggs

2003)– Unlike paper versions: multiple attempts are

possible & students do not become tempted by ‘answer sheets’

– Some students are motivated by VLEs (Snyder, 2002 and others)

Multiple choice/matching on-line

• Disadvantages:– Gives the answers that students might not

otherwise have known/remembered– Guessing and various game-playing strategies– Limited to ‘objective’ question types– Questions and answers set outside of real-life

contexts– Can take more time to create than paper

versions

Students’ participation

Multiple choice quiz

96% participation

Average score 85%

Students’ participation

Matching grammar quiz

72% participation

Average score 75% on first attempts,

90% on final attempts

Average number of attempts: 2.4

On-line submission of assignments

Advantages:• Students can submit assignments from home at

any hour• Teachers’ comments are readable• Corrected papers are stored for easy reference• Easier to detect plagiarism• Easier to send scripts to external markers• Grades are calculated within the system

On-line submission of assignments

Disadvantages:• Students/teachers who do not like working digitally

will resist• Health concerns for continued work at a computer• Some on-line systems can be more cumbersome

to use than others (from the teacher’s perspective)

Concluding comments

• For self-assessment CAA can prove useful and motivating for students.

• CAA quizzes, such as multiple-choice and matching, are limited in their suitability.

• On-line submissions of assignments have more advantages than disadvantages.

• ‘On-line marking has made me a better teacher,’ Dr. Cathryn Pearce, UCS.