Applying latent semantic analysis to computer assisted assessment in the Computer Science domain: a framework, a tool, and an evaluation

This dissertation argues that automated assessment systems can be useful for both students and educators provided that the results correspond well with human markers. Thus, evaluating such a system is crucial. I present an evaluation framework and show how and why it can be useful for both producers and consumers of automated assessment systems. The framework is a refinement of a research taxonomy that came out of the effort to analyse the literature review of systems based on Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), a statistical natural language processing technique that has been used for automated assessment of essays. The evaluation framework can help developers publish their results in a format that is comprehensive, relatively compact, and useful to other researchers. The thesis claims that, in order to see a complete picture of an automated assessment system, certain pieces must be emphasised. It presents the framework as a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces join together to form the whole picture. The dissertation uses the framework to compare the accuracy of human markers and EMMA, the LSA-based assessment system I wrote as part of this dissertation. EMMA marks short, free text answers in the domain of computer science. I conducted a study of five human markers and then used the results as a benchmark against which to evaluate EMMA. An integral part of the evaluation was the success metric. The standard inter-rater reliability statistic was not useful; I located a new statistic and applied it to the domain of computer assisted assessment for the first time, as far as I know. Although EMMA exceeds human markers on a few questions, overall it does not achieve the same level of agreement with humans as humans do with each other. The last chapter maps out a plan for further research to improve EMMA

Distance instruction in medical terminology for occupational therapy students in Yokkaichi, Mie, Japan

This project is a plan for using a special web-based learning project to teach medical terminology through distance education between University of Loma Linda and Humanatec Rehabilitation College

Gender issues, core curriculum, and statewide content standards

This project is a discussion of the continuing need to address gender issues while teaching core curriculum in English classes at the secondary level

An analysis of students' experiences during their acquisition of academic literacy, based on their consultations with the UCT Writing Centre : looking towards improving the feasibility of academic mentorship within higher education

Bibliography: leaves 239-247.In this dissertation I investigate students' experiences during their acquisition of academic literacy skills, evident in their use of a support service at a higher educational institution. The focus of study is the University of Cape Town's (UCT's) Writing Centre, where students are able to discuss drafts of their written assignments with consultants. Through a detailed analysis of a large set of consultation records, I explore whether students' experiences and use of the Writing Centre vary according to language, gender and degree level. And based on this analysis, I discuss more generally the role that the UCT Writing Centre has played. Arguing that the type of relationships developed between students and consultants in the Writing Centre can be regarded as a form of mentorship, and taking into account such experiences from the Writing Centre, I look towards the feasibility of a model of academic mentorship forming part of a necessary wider institutional developmental endeavour aimed at catering adequately for a diverse student population, such as that of UCT's today

The Greenbook, Faculty Handbook, 1975-1976

This book has been published for the faculty of Marshall University for the specified period of time. This book was created by what is now known as Academic Affairs and is for the period of 1975-1976

Building school and community connections through leadership, technology, and professional learning community development: A case study of two elementary schools.

As in any other profession, schoolteachers, principals, and other administrators need a vision to help them toward their goals. The intent of this research was to examine schools that have connected their vision for technology and student learning with parents and the community.This multiple site case study shared through documents, a survey, and interviews how two elementary schools in the process of becoming professional learning communities facilitate connections with the community. Results indicate how schools facilitate technology, student achievement, leadership practices, parent involvement, and community groups in cultivating school and community connections. Conclusions, recommendations, and implications for leadership, technology, and professional learning community development are provided.This multiple site case study describes how two elementary schools in a south central state are building school and community connections through leadership, technology, and professional learning community development. The principals of both schools have completed a professional development program designed to assist administrators in developing professional learning communities at the schools they lead. Upon successful completion of the program principals and superintendents are provided opportunities for additional funding through a statewide technology trust. In August 2003 the two schools participating in this study were two of twenty-one schools receiving grants. The twenty-one schools would be responsible for implementing three of the ten practices of the IDEALS High Achieving School Model to become a professional learning community using their new technology as a tool. This research is based on Practice 8: School and Community Connections, one of the three practices chosen by schools participating in this research during the 2003--2004 school year. They must connect with families and communities in many ways. They must involve families and communities in the work of the school while simultaneously, involving their schools in the work of their families and communities

Validating aspects of a model of academic reading

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of BedfordshireIn the past, the focus in language testing, teaching and research has largely been on careful reading while expeditious (quick, efficient and selective) reading has been largely ignored. However, some research suggests that careful reading ability alone is inadequate for students to meet the demands of undergraduate academic reading. In the main English for Academic Purposes (EAP), test instruments have been previously based on careful reading models which assume reading to be unicomponential. If this is not the case, the issue for language testing is whether the construct of academic reading can be validly measured by a focus on careful reading alone. The aims of this study were to investigate the types of academic reading required of firstyear undergraduates based on Urquhart and Weir's (1998) four-cell matrix of reading types which also forms an important part of Khalifa and Weir's (2009) reading model. Based on this, a valid academic reading test battery for undergraduate students was developed and used to examine the divisibility of the academic reading construct. The literature review on reading models suggested that current models were nearly all premised on careful reading and expeditious reading had in the main been ignored. The findings of a pilot and main questionnaire survey with undergraduates suggested that both careful and expeditious reading were important in accomplishing academic reading tasks at the undergraduate level. Accordingly, the empirical data generated by these surveys validated Urquhart and Weir's (2009) reading matrix and aspects of the reading model by Khalifa and Weir (2009). Based on this matrix and aspects of the model, a valid reading test was developed and administered to first-year undergraduate students. The performance of undergraduates across the different parts of the reading test confirmed that academic reading was a divisible construct. The findings of this study add to the literature on EAL academic reading by lending empirical support to a componential approach to the teaching and testing of reading. The componential model and the test design methodology employed should help test designers develop valid academic reading tests embracing both careful and expeditious reading types. The results from such tests might usefully inform pedagogical practice leading to more efficient reading practice at undergraduate level