Discussions

COMPUTER AIDED ASSESSMENT IN INTEGRATED SCIENCE: ITS USE AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION

BY

OFFOR EVELYN NGOZI

ngozioffor86@yahoo.com

DEPARTMENT OF INTEGRATED SCIENCE

FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, EHA – AMUFU

ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

BEING A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 2016 GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION

Abstract

 Computer Aided Assessment (CAA) has considerable potentials both to ease assessment load and provide innovative and powerful modes of assessment. CAA has practical and economical advantages in that it allows testing of large students with the use of automated marking of responses. The design of the study was a descriptive survey research design. 200 students of NCE Integrated Science were used for the study. The instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. The data was analysed using mean. The result of data analysis showed that students of Integrated Science have positive attitude towards CAA and also that the students preferred the use of computers in their assessment to the traditional method. Conclusions and recommendations were drawn amongst which are that proper identification of the students should be done for authenticity of the results. 

Keywords: Assessment, Computer Based Assessment & Integrated Science.

Introduction

Assessment in education refers to the wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students. While assessments are often equated with traditional tests, especially the standardized tests developed by examination bodies and administered to large populations of students, educators use a different assessment tools and methods to measure educational outcomes from nursery to the university.

Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases, funding. Assessment helps us to ask and answer these hard questions: "Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?" "Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?" "Is there a way to teach the subject better, thereby promoting better learning?"

Just as academic lessons have different functions, assessments are typically designed to measure specific elements of learning, for example the level of knowledge a student already has about the concept or skill the teacher is planning to teach or the ability to comprehend and analyze different types of texts and readings. Assessments also are used to identify individual students’ weaknesses and strengths so that educators can provide specialized academic support, educational programming, or social services. In addition, assessments are developed by a wide groups and individuals, including teachers, district administrators, universities, examination bodies, state ministry of education, and groups that include a combination of these individuals and institutions.

Summative assessments are used to evaluate students’ learning at the conclusion of a specific instructional period typically at the end of a unit, course, semester, program, or school year. Summative assessments are typically scored and graded tests, assignments, or projects that are used to determine whether students have learned what they were expected to learn during the defined instructional period. Formative assessments are commonly said to be for learning because educators use the results to modify and improve teaching techniques during an instructional period, while summative assessments are said to be of learning because they evaluate academic achievement at the conclusion of an instructional period.

It is clear that the more traditional methods of assessment in higher institutions have their associated challenges and limitations especially with increase students’ population. As a result of these challenges and limitations and also the continued increase in the use of technology to deliver curriculum, the gap between assessment methods and learning is widening. Therefore, the need for the use of computers in assessment arose.

Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA), Computer Aided Assessment (CAA), Computer Based Test (CBT) refers to the use of computers in assessment. Bull and McKenna (2004) defined CAA as the use of computers for assessing student learning. Computer assisted assessment (CAA) has considerable potential both to ease assessment load and provide innovative and powerful modes of assessment (Bull & McKenna, 2004). Computers can be used to deliver, mark and analyse students’ assignments or examinations. Computer-based assessment can be subdivided into stand-alone applications that only require a single computer, applications that work on private networks and those that are designed to be delivered across public networks such as the web online assessment. CAA can be delivered using stand-alone computers or online, using an Intranet or Internet. Computer Aided Assessment (CAA) is being used increasingly to provide a quick method of marking summative assessments for large groups of students. Whilst this can be very effective in saving time for staff, it does mean that the feedback present in the more traditional coursework assignments is lost (Lowry, 2005).

The use of computer-based assessment (CBA) as a summative tool has both practical and economical benefits in that it allows testing of a large student cohort with the facility of automated marking of responses (Bull, 2001). In addition, pedagogical advantages have been suggested. These include: immediacy of feedback to students and staff; repeatability of tests consisting of randomly-generated test items; reliability and equity of computer-marked assessment; flexibility in terms of time and place of assessment; and, responsibility for own learning and test taking (Charman, 1999).

Students’ response to CBA, as a summative tool, has been mixed and clearly associates with individual differences associated with computer experience, computer anxiety and computer attitudes (McDonald, 2002). Many students have described CBA as less threatening than conventional examinations (Bocij & Greasley, 1999); others have reported enhanced levels of motivation and confidence (Thelwall, 1999). However, this same level of enthusiasm for CBA has not been shown by students who are computer anxious or less experienced with technology (Brosnan 1999).         

Pedagogical advantages of CAA includes: the assessment of a wide range of topics very quickly, with an associated reduction in the time that lecturers dedicate to marking. The need for double marking is totally eliminated. This time and resource saving allows more regular assessment than might otherwise have been possible, consequently enabling more detailed knowledge of students’ progress and quicker identification of problems. The saving of time in supervision, invigilation and marking, and a reduction in subjectivity and human error in the marking process itself. It offers consistency in marking. A range of methods are possible for scoring from simple allocation of a mark to the correct response through to varied, compound and negative scoring (Conole & Warburton, 2005). When dealing with large groups of students, the time and resource saving can be of a significant order.  Given the computer-based nature of the exercise, substantial reductions in printing costs should be achieved when assessments are updated or altered.  Statistical evaluations of the results can be generated automatically, with no additional keying in of marks, thus reducing evaluation time.  Successful integration into, and co-ordination with, student records and school information and management systems is enhanced.

Philosophy of NCE Integrated Science

            The philosophy of the Nigeria Certificate in Education Integrated Science is anchored on the following area; the fundamental unity of science, the use of scientific method as a common approach in solving problems, the role and function in everyday life and to prepare student for further studies in integrated. Integrated science is a science that has not been disintegrated. The course is taught in such a way that the students gain the concept of the fundamental unity of science. Gain the commonality of approach to problem of a scientific nature. Also they are helped to gain understanding of the role and function of science in everyday life and the world in which they live (NCCE, 2012)

Integrated Science according to National Minimum Standards for Sciences (2012) emphasizes those concepts which are common to all of sciences, the process of science and the skills associated with them. Integrated science also emphasizes inquiry into the nature of the environment. It a well known fact that scientific inquiry can be learned by everyone and a prime aim of the program is to provide students with an introduction to this method and allow them to follow their own inquiry.

The method of inquiry has cognitive and practical aspects. The cognitive aspect includes the ability to; formulate questions, identify variables, design experiments, interpret results, recognize patterns, formulate hypotheses and draw conclusions. The practical skills required include; general skills such as ability to observe and measure, and more especially skills in the handling of and use of laboratory apparatus, living materials and chemicals. More so, the objectives of the Integrated Science in the minimum standard include the following;

1. Instilling in students a commonality approach to problems of a scientific nature.
2. Enabling of students acquire and demonstrate the intellectual – competence and professional skills necessary for the teaching and learning of Integrated Science in primary and junior secondary schools, as an inquiry based subject in conformity with national curriculum.
3. Making students well informed and scientifically literate.
4. Enabling students carry out scientific investigations, emphasizing co – operation, development of appropriate scientific processes and skills and improving their written and oral communication skills.

      However, the curriculum recognizes the importance of practical activities and noted that the teaching of integrated science at NCE level should be activity be activity based.

Method

In 2015/16 academic session, the Computer Based Test (CBT) was introduced in my college for general and education courses. Some departments including the department of Integrated Science keyed into the innovation of using computer to assess students. The assessment was a summative assessment since the scores of the CBT formed part of the students’ final semester scores. In this study 200 students were used for the study. The students were final year Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) students who took part in the CBT of the course ISC 323. Students were given a brief training session on how to use the software before the CBT. Questionnaire was used to collect data on students’ perception of the CBT. The study adopted a survey research design. In the survey, students responded to a series of statements that required responses to the extent of their agreement with a response range that varied from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'. The data collected was analysed using mean.

 Results

To what extent do you agree with the following statements?

Table 1

Grand mean = 3.4

Findings

Computer developments have come to stay. Lecturers must understand this and also they must try to keep abreast with the current trends and innovations. Technology must be incorporated in the process of teaching and learning. Teaching and learning is incomplete without evaluating the extent to which the students have attained the stated learning objectives. This is done by the use of assessment. Before now assessment is done purely on pen and paper, but with the use of technology in learning it became imperative that technology will also be used in assessment. The use of Computer Aided Assessment is a welcomed development both for lecturers and for the students. With the increase in student numbers in schools, work commitments for lecturers are becoming more tedious. The use of technology is now being made use of to alleviate the problem. The study highlighted the advantages of CAA and students perceptions on the use of CAA. It was found out that the majority of the students have positive attitude towards CAA. The use of computer as an aid in assessment has its own associated problems and disadvantages as everything that have advantage have disadvantage. The disadvantages are insufficient number of computers and problem of students’ real identification amongst others. 

CONCLUSIONS

The research presented in this study investigated Computer Aided Assessment in Integrated Science courses: its use and students’ perceptions. The advantages of using CAA were highlighted. Data on students’ perception was collected and analysed. It was interesting to find that students were knowledgeable are confident of using CAA.  From the result it was clear that overall students had a positive attitude towards CAA. Due to the uncertain and unexpected failure of technology which may be encountered during the test and insufficient number of computers to go round the students for a particular course, students wait indefinitely for their turn to do the test. This gave rise to two major administrative reasons why students’ negative attitude towards CAA. Because of the above reasons, students may prefer to take pen and paper-based tests.  Another disturbing issue on the use of CAA is the issue of security. Tannenbaum (1999) in Sim, Holifield &Brown (2005) defines security in computer systems as consisting of procedures to ensure that individuals cannot access material for which they do not have authorisation. This is essential within a CAA environment as questions and student details are stored in a database and usually the test data is sent over a local network or the Internet. Proper identification of students should be done before the students are allowed to enter the CBT center to ensure that there are no impersonations.

References    

Bocij, P & Greasley, A 1999, 'Can computer-based testing achieve quality and efficiency in

        assessment?', International Journal of Educational Technology, .1, 1–16.

 Brosnan, M 1999, 'Computer anxiety in students: Should computer-based assessment be used at

          all?', in Computer-assisted assessment in higher education, eds S Brown, P Race & J Bull,   Kogan Page, Birmingham, 47–54.

 Bull, J. (2001) TLTP85 implementation and evaluation of computer-assisted assessment: final report. Available online at: www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/final_report.pdf (Retrieved10October, 2016).

 Bull, J. & McKenna, C. (2004) Blueprint for computer-assisted assessment. London, RoutledgeFalmer.

 Conole, G. & Warburton, B.  (2005) A review of computer-assisted assessment ALT-J, Research in Learning Technology. 13(1) 17–31

 Charman D. (1999) Issues and impacts of using computer-based assessments (CBAs) for formative assessment in Brown, S., Race, P. and Bull, J. (eds) Computer-assisted assessment in higher education London: Kogan Page.

 Lowry, R. (2005) Computer aided self assessment – an effective tool. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 2005, 6 (4), 198-203.

 Thellwall, M. (1999) Open access randomly generated tests: Assessment to drive learning, in Computer-assisted assessment in higher education, eds S Brown, P Race & J Bull, Kogan Page, Birmingham, 62–78.

 McDonald, A.  (2002) The impact of individual differences on the equivalence of computer-based    and paper-and-pencil educational assessments', Computers and Education, 39 (3), 299 –312.

 McKenna, C. (2001) Academic approaches and attitudes towards CAA: a qualitative study, in: M.Danson & C. Eaborg (Eds) 5th International CAA Conference, Loughborough University, 2–3

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