Envisioning the use of online tests in assessing twenty-first century learning: a literature review

Bopelo Boitshwarelo1, Alison Kay Reedy1, Trevor Billany1
1Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Australia

Tóm tắt

The digital world brings with it more and more opportunities to be innovative around assessment. With a variety of digital tools and the pervasive availability of information anywhere anytime, there is a tremendous capacity to creatively employ a diversity of assessment approaches to support and evaluate student learning in higher education. The challenge in a digital world is to harness the possibilities afforded by technology to drive and assess deep learning that prepares graduates for a changing and uncertain future. One widespread method of online assessment used in higher education is online tests. The increase in the use of online tests necessitates an investigation into their role in evaluating twenty-first century learning. This paper draws on the literature to explore the role of online tests in higher education, particularly their relationship to student learning in a digital and changing world, and the issues and challenges they present. We conclude that online tests, when used effectively, can be valuable in the assessment of twenty-first century learning and we synthesise the literature to extract principles for the optimisation of online tests in a digital age.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Anderson, T. (2016). Theories for learning with emerging technologies. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emergence and innovation in digital learning: Foundations and applications (pp. 35–50). Edmonton: AU. Angus, S. D., & Watson, J. (2009). Does regular online testing enhance student learning in the numerical sciences? Robust evidence from a large data set. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(2), 255–272. Arkoudis, S., & Baik, C. (2014). Crossing the interaction divide between international and domestic students in higher education. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 1, 47–62. Arnold, I. J. M. (2016). Cheating at online formative tests: does it pay off? The Internet and Higher Education, 29, 98–106. Baleni, Z. G. (2015). Online formative assessment in higher education: its pros and cons. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 13(4), 228–236. Bearman, M., Dawson, P., Boud, D., Hall, M., Bennett, S., Molloy, E., Joughin, G. (2014). Guide to the Assessment Design Decisions Framework. http://www.assessmentdecisions.org/guide. Bearman, M., Dawson, P., Boud, D., Bennett, S., Hall, M., & Molloy, E. (2016). Support for assessment practice: developing the Assessment Design Decisions Framework. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(5), 545–556. Bennett, S., Dawson, P., Bearman, M., Molloy, E., & Boud, D. (2017). How technology shapes assessment design: findings from a study of university teachers. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48, 672–682. Boyle, J., & Nicol, D. (2003). Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings. Association for Learning Technology Journal, 11(3), 43–57. Brady, A. M. (2005). Assessment of learning with multiple-choice questions. Nurse Education in Practice, 5(4), 238–242. Buckles, S., & Siegfried, J. J. (2006). Using multiple-choice questions to evaluate in-depth learning of economics. The Journal of Economic Education, 37(1), 48–57. Bull, J., & Danson, M. (2004). Computer-aided assessment (CAA). York: LTSN Generic Centre. Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Memory & Cognition, 36(3), 604–616. Davies, S (2010). Effective assessment in a digital age. Bristol: JISC Innovation Group. https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20140614115719/http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/elearning/digiassass_eada.pdf. Accessed 21 July 2017. Dawson, P. (2016). Five ways to hack and cheat with bring‐your‐own‐device electronic examinations. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(4), 592–600. Donnelly, C. (2014). The use of case based multiple choice questions for assessing large group teaching: Implications on student’s learning. Irish Journal of Academic Practice, 3(1), 12. Douglas, M., Wilson, J., & Ennis, S. (2012). Multiple-choice question tests: a convenient, flexible and effective learning tool? A case study. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 49(2), 111–121. Epstein, M. L., Lazarus, A. D., Calvano, T. B., & Matthews, K. A. (2002). Immediate feedback assessment technique promotes learning and corrects inaccurate first responses. The Psychological Record, 52(2), 187. Fazio, L. K., Agarwal, P. K., Marsh, E. J., & Roediger, H. L. (2010). Memorial consequences of multiple-choice testing on immediate and delayed tests. Memory & Cognition, 38(4), 407–418. Fontaine, J. (2012). Online classes see cheating go high-tech. Chronicle of Higher Education, 58(38),A1-2. Gardner-Medwin, A. (2006). Confidence-based marking. In C. Bryan & K. Clegg (Eds.), Innovative assessment in higher education. London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group Ltd. Gipps, C. V. (2005). What is the role for ICT‐based assessment in universities? Studies in Higher Education, 30(2), 171–180. Good, A (2010). 200 students admit cheating after professor's online rant. The telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/8140456/200-students-admit-cheating-after-professors-online-rant.html. Hampton, D. (1993). Textbook test file multiple-choice questions can measure (a) knowledge, (b) intellectual ability, (c) neither, (d) both. Journal of Management Education, 17(4),454-471. Harmon, O.R., Lambrinos, J., Buffolino, J. (2010). Assessment design and cheating risk in online instruction. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 13(3). http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/Fall133/harmon_lambrinos_buffolino133.htm. Accessed 21 July 2017. Hemming, A. (2010). Online tests and exams: lower standards or improved learning? The Law Teacher, 44(3), 283–308. Ibbett, N. L., & Wheldon, B. J. (2016). The incidence of clueing in multiple choice testbank questions in accounting: some evidence from Australia. The E-Journal of Business Education & Scholarship of Teaching, 10(1), 20. Karimshah, A., Wyder, M., Henman, P., Tay, D., Capelin, E., & Short, P. (2013). Overcoming adversity among low SES students: a study of strategies for retention. The Australian Universities' Review, 55(2), 5–14. Kereluik, K., Mishra, P., Fahnoe, C., & Terry, L. (2013). What knowledge is of most worth: teacher knowledge for 21st century learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 29(4), 127–140. Kibble, J. (2007). Use of unsupervised online quizzes as formative assessment in a medical physiology course: effects of incentives on student participation and performance. Advances in Physiology Education, 31(3), 253–260. Kinash, S., Crane, L., Judd, M. M., Mitchell, K., McLean, M., Knight, C., Dowling, D., & Schulz, M. (2015). Supporting graduate employability from generalist disciplines through employer and private institution collaboration. Sydney: Australian Government, Office for Learning and Teaching. Lowe, T. W. (2015). Online quizzes for distance learning of mathematics. Teaching Mathematics and Its Applications : An International Journal of the IMA, 34(3), 138–148. Masters, J., Hulsmeyer, B., Pike, M., Leichty, K., Miller, M., & Verst, A. (2001). Assessment of multiple-choice questions in selected test banks accompanying test books used in nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 40(1), 25–32. McAllister, D., & Guidice, R. M. (2012). This is only a test: a machine-graded improvement to the multiple-choice and true-false examination. Teaching in Higher Education, 17(2), 193–207. Nicol, D. (2007). E‐assessment by design: using multiple‐choice tests to good effect. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31(1), 53–64. Nicol, D., & Boyle, J. T. (2003). Peer instruction versus class-wide discussion in large classes: a comparison of two interaction methods in the wired classroom. Studies in Higher Education, 28(4), 457–473. Nicol, D., & Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199–218. Pifia, A.A. (2013). Learning management systems: A look at the big picture. In Y. Kats (Ed.), Learning management systems and instructional design: Best practices in online education (pp. 1-19). Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Roediger, H. L., & Marsh, E. J. (2005). The positive and negative consequences of multiple-choice testing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 31(5), 1155–1159. Scott, G (2016). FLIPCurric. http://flipcurric.edu.au/ Simkin, M. G., & Kuechler, W. L. (2005). Multiple‐choice tests and student understanding: what is the connection? Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 3(1), 73–98. Smith, G. (2007). How does student performance on formative assessments relate to learning assessed by exams? Journal of College Science Teaching, 36(7), 28. Stödberg, U. (2012). A research review of e-assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 37(5), 591–604. Stone, D. E., & Zheng, G. (2014). Learning management systems in a changing environment. In V. C. X. Wang (Ed.), Handbook of research on education and technology in a changing society (pp. 756–767). Hershey: IGI Global. Stupans, I. (2006). Multiple choice questions: can they examine application of knowledge? Pharmacy Education, 6(1), 59–63. Sweeney, T., West, D., Groessler, A., Haynie, A., Higgs, B. M., Macaulay, J., & Yeo, M. (2017). Where’s the Transformation? Unlocking the Potential of Technology-Enhanced Assessment. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 5(1), 1–13. Vista, A, & Care, E (2017). It’s time to mobilize around a new approach to educational assessment. Stanford social innovation review. Retrieved from https://ssir.org/articles/entry/its_time_to_mobilize_around_a_new_approach_to_educational_assessment1. Accessed 21 July 2017. Voelkel, S (2013). Combining the formative with the summative: the development of a two-stage online test to encourage engagement and provide personal feedback in large classes. Research in Learning Technology, 21(1). Wong, J.K.K. (2004). Are the Learning Styles of Asian International Students Culturally or Contextually Based? International Education Journal, 4(4), 154-166. Yonker, J. E. (2011). The relationship of deep and surface study approaches on factual and applied test‐bank multiple‐choice question performance. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(6), 673–686.