Using computers to facilitate formative assessment of open-ended written assignments : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2005
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Massey University. Institute of Information Sciences and Technology
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Abstract
This thesis presents an e-learning solution to facilitate formative assessment of
electronically submitted open-ended written assignments.It is widely accepted that formative assessment is highly beneficial to student leaning.
A number of researchers are active in developing specialized approaches and software
systems for assisting formative assessment of student work. However, no
comprehensive e-learning solution exists for facilitating formative assessment of
students' open-ended written work. The project presented in this thesis has developed
a new approach for using computers to facilitate formative assessment of
electronically submitted open-ended written assignments.Based on the literature review of the education theories around formative assessment
and current computer software technologies, this project has developed three
principles for e-learning support for formative assessment of open-ended written
assignments:1. It needs to facilitate all the activities that are potentially required for formative
assessment of student assignments (for example, the creation of assessment
criteria, the submission of assignments, and the analysis of the assessment
results), not only the marking activity to create feedback on assignments.2. It needs to provide an onscreen marking tool which enables human markers to
mark open-ended written assignments in an intuitive and efficient way by
replicating their paper-based assessment approaches.3. It needs to provide a generic solution for facilitating formative assessment of
open-ended written assignments from all disciplines, not a limited solution
restricted to some specific domains (for example, computers science or
business courses).Based on these principles, a specification of an e-learning system for facilitating
formative assessment of open-ended written assignment was developed and a system
was implemented accordingly. This system, called the Written Assignment
Assessment (WAA) system, has been already used in the assignment marking of
several courses at Massey University.
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Keywords
Formative assessment, Written assignments, e-Learning