CHALLENGES OF EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF ONLINE LEARNERS

Educators at all levels are paying attention to ever challenging demands of teaching across distance. One of the most debatable issues in this respect remains assessment. This paper aims to address some challenges of effective assessment of online learners. Some valuable insights will be provided with reference to summative and formative assessment. The article also introduces some important skills to be possessed by learners of the twenty-first century, supported by examples of online assessment activities that support such skills and correspond to the realities of online learning. Continuous reference will be made to students’ feedback as a way of assessment in and for learning. Throughout the article assessment is considered as an essential element to support the continuous evolution of online learning

Cross-disciplinary Teaching of both Computer Forensics Students and Law Students Using Peer-Assessment in a Simulated Expert Witness Scenario

This paper describes a novel initiative of the Computing and Information Systems (CIS) Dept in conjunction with the Law Dept at the University of Greenwich. Postgraduate CIS computer forensics students, as part of their assessment, present their findings from a forensics investigation in front of a lecturer and up to five law students in a simulated expert witness testimony scenario. The law students are permitted to ask questions of the computer forensics students and eventually to give their assessment of the student’s witness evidence and presentation. This approach was devised to encompass several pertinent pedagogic issues. Firstly, it is cross-disciplinary, combining as it does, input from two very different departments – an initiative that brings together not only students but also staff who would not otherwise meet. Secondly, it involves the use of practical social/professional skills for both sets of students, as the computer forensics students must present their findings with the skills required of an expert witness in a court setting while the law students must act as cross-examining counsel. Thirdly, this exercise involves the law students assessing the performance of the computer forensics students – an application of peer-assessment that heightens the involvement of both sets of students. Lastly, both sets of students are themselves graded, the computer students by their own forensics lecturer and the law students by their law lecturer, according to their performance in this exercise. The findings from questionnaires sent out to both computer and law students were extremely positive. Both sets felt that they had benefited from the experience and that it would aid their further studies and professional development in their respective areas. It is the opinion of the C-SAFE forensics-law collaborative team that this approach represents an educational innovation in its use of cross-disciplinary problem-solving and peer-assessment in a growing and increasingly significant domain worldwide (cyber forensics)

PENGEMBANGAN SISTEM PENILAIAN FORMATIF DENGAN BANTUAN WEB (ELECTRONIC ASSESSMENT TOOL) UNTUK MENDUKUNG PEMBELAJARAN INSTALASI LISTRIK BANGUNAN SEDERHANA DI SMK NEGERI 3 BOYOLANGU

Abstrak Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui kelayakan sistem penilaian formatif berbantuan web dengan media Moodle 2.0 untuk mendukung pembelajaran instalasi listrik 1 fase dan menggambar rencana instalasi penerangan, untuk mengetahui respon siswa mengenai sistem penilaian formatif berbantuan web yang menggunakan media moodle 2.0, dan untuk mengetahui perbedaan rata-rata prestasi belajar siswa antara siswa yang menggunakan moodle 2.0 sebagai bantuan dalam pelaksanaan penilaian formatif dan siswa yang tidak menggunakan moodle 2.0 sebagai bantuan dalam pelaksanaan penilaian formatif. Penelitian ini menggunakan model penelitian dan pengembangan. Subjek  dalam penelitian ini adalah dua kelas siswa kelas X jurusan teknik instalasi tenaga listrik SMK Negeri 3 Boyolangu semester II. Kegiatan validasi dilaksanakan oleh validator yang berasal dari pihak  dosen dan guru. Validasi oleh ahli ditujukan untuk mengukur kelayakan isi. Data kualitatif diperoleh melalui pengisian kritik dan saran dari ahli. Data yang diperoleh dari penilaian oleh dosen dan guru instalasi listrik, dianalisis dengan teknik analisis rata-rata. Pengujian efektivitas sistem penilaian formatif berbantuan web dilakukan dengan uji t. Produk hasil pengembangan adalah sistem penilaian formatif berbantuan web sebagai alat untuk memberikan balikan. Hasil penelitian ini yaitu sistem penilaian formatif berbantuan web yang menggunakan media moodle 2.0 terbukti layak dengan hasil validasi isi rata-rata yaitu 3,59 dengan kategori layak, respon siswa mengenai sistem penilaian formatif berbantuan web dengan menggunakan media moodle 2 adalah baik yang ditunjukkan dengan hasil respon siswa yang menunjukkan lebih dari 80% siswa merespon dalam kategori baik untuk setiap aspek yang direspon, dan tidak terdapat perbedaan rata-rata prestasi belajar siswa antara siswa yang menggunakan dan tidak menggunakan moodle 2.0 sebagai bantuan dalam pelaksanaan penilaian formatif. Kata kunci: penilaian formatif, sitem penilaian formatif berbantuan web Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of web-assisted system of formative assessment with the media to support learning Moodle 2.0 one phase electrical installation and lighting installation plan drawing, to study the response of the students about the formative assessment system that uses a web-assisted media Moodle 2.0, and to determine the mean difference the average of student achievement between students who use Moodle 2.0 as an assisted in the implementation of formative assessment and students who are not using Moodle 2.0 as an assisted in the implementation of formative assessment. This study used a model of research and development. Subjects in this study were two classes of class X student engineering power installations SMK Negeri 3 Boyolangu second semester. Validation activities carried out by the validator that comes from the lecturers and teachers. Validation by experts aimed to measure the feasibility of the contents. The qualitative data obtained through filling criticism and advice from experts. Data are got from lecturer and teacher’s assessment, analyzed by mean analysis. Efectivity test for web formative assessment assissted system is used by t-test. The products are the result of the development of web-assisted system of formative assessment as a tool to provide feedback. Results of this research is formative assessment assisted system which uses media Moodle 2.0 proved worthy with the results of the validation that the average content of 3.59 with both criteria, student responses on the web- assisted system of formative assessments using Moodle 2 media is well demonstrated by the results student responses showed more than 80% of students responded in the category of good to every aspect of the response, and there are no differences in average student achievement between students who are using and not using Moodle 2.0 as an assisted in the implementation of formative assessment. Keywords: formative assessment, web formative assessment assisted syste

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION: MEASURING SUCCESS AND ACHIEVEMENT

This study used the quantitative approach in order to explore and focus on the preparation of appropriate and valid assessment tools relative to one’s teaching. The tri – dimensional work competence of man involves this particular competence in terms of the product or outcome of his effort. His action is ultimately directed to the learning of the students which need to be assessed as part of evaluation purposes and decision – making which requires immediate action in terms of instructional intervention and changes in order to cater to the needs of the students. A researcher – made questionnaire was formulated and distributed to the respondents to describe the general idea of what the teachers have done. The questionnaires consisted of ten statements were retrieved and the data were collated purposively. The data gathered were analyzed and subjected to statistical treatment such as average means and one – way ANOVA. Based on the results, the information reveals that preparation of appropriate and valid assessment tools matters in association with teacher performance

LECTURER’S WRITTEN CORRECTION IN WRITING CLASS A Case Study at Universitas Veteran Bangun Nusantara Sukoharjo in Academic Year 2013/2014

Written correction is the important part of FL writing instruction. The aims of this research are to find: (1) how the lecturer gives written correction to student’s writing; (2) how the students respond to the lecturer’s written correction (LWC); and (3) how far LWC affects the students’ improvement in writing accuracy. This study is a case study where the participants are one writing lecturer and eight students at a private University in Central Java. Interviews, direct observation and documentary analysis were used in this study. The findings show that the lecturer used direct/indirect correction; metalinguistics (error code); focused/unfocused; and reformulation by underlining, crossing, and striking through to the incorrect forms. The correction was provided after the students submitted their final draft to the lecturer. All students preferred direct correction to other types and they made use of the correction for their learning through revising it. Finally, LWC affected the students’ improvement on writing accuracy. Keyword: Written Correction, Types of Written Correction, The Students’ Responses, Case  Study

An Investigation into the Impact of Formative Feedback on the Student Learning Experience

In recent years there have been a number of indications that there are issues with the provision of feedback to students in Higher Education, for example the National Student Surveys, 2005 – 2008 QAA Institutional Audit Reports showed low levels of satisfaction with the feedback that students received. . The aim of the research undertaken in this thesis was to explore the issues with feedback from the point of view of students, academics and institutions and to determine whether the provision of feedback to students in an Institute of Higher Education enhances the learning experience of those students, addressing the research question - can formative feedback enhance student achievement ? The purpose in carrying out the research in this thesis is to use the results from the research to inform and improve teaching practice in order to enhance student learning opportunities. The work is important for students, staff, and institutions. The research evidence from the literature suggests that “assessment for learning” and the provision of formative feedback enhances the student learning experience. The “assessment for learning” (AfL) approach is currently widely advocated in Higher Education. However, the quantitative data gathered for this thesis suggests the impact of the AfL approach is not as positive as is suggested by the AfL advocates. The evidence in this thesis indicates that despite the provision of feedback to students there is little indication that the student learning experience improves as a result. The quantitative analysis in this thesis compared student groups, over a three year period, who had experience of formative feedback and student groups who had not. The results, based on the summative assessment performance of the student groups, suggest despite the development of formative interventions and detailed formative feedback being provided to students there was little or no correlation between the provision of feedback and the enhancement of student learning. The qualitative findings from this thesis, based on pilot studies on the types of feedback students want and a series of focus groups, suggest that students want and expect feedback. They want feedback that they can understand and that they can use in their learning. However there are issues in the type of feedback that is given to students. The qualitative data indicates that there is a difference in perception between students and academic staff on what constitutes effective feedback. The difference is mainly around the understanding of the language used in the feedback but also the expectations of what to do with the feedback. Academics expect students to use the feedback in feedforward for future learning, but students are unsure as to what they should be doing with the feedback. The data gathered in this thesis suggests that students want to use feedback to enhance their generic academic skills rather than to “close the gap” on their subject knowledge and understanding. This finding conflicts with current AfL literature; conjectures about the discrepancy are explored. If formative feedback is to “close the gap” on student understanding students need to be encouraged to engage with the feedback and guided in how use the feedback to enhance their learning. For feedback to be valued by students the feedback needs to be high quality and be understandable. The findings from the case studies are used to make recommendations for changes in academic practice in the provision of feedback

Developing Formative Evaluation Model to Improve Students' Learning Outcome at Vocational High Schools

Evaluation is divided into several kinds, one of which is formative evaluation. Formative evaluation is appropriately used because the process involves students directly in the learning process and is able to improve students' conceptual understanding. The qualitative data were taken from a field research consisting of: 1) observations, observing the students' activities during teaching-learning process and their learning activities while doing evaluation; 2) Interviews, the techniques used were open interview, the interview conducted with the informants using interview guides and documentation analysis. From the results of the case study, some problems were found. To overcome the problems, a model of formative evaluation needs to be developed in order to provide fast feedback for the students and the teachers. The purpose of this research is to make formative evaluation model for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) learning in Vocational High Schools. The design of the research was research and development of a formative evaluation model. The instruments used were questionnaires for product feasibility tests including book review validation, pre-learning quiz instruments, post-learning quiz instruments and product-segment models. Based on the results of qualitative data, interviews were conducted to both students and ICT teachers, and documentation recorded. It was found that 90% teachers had not done formative evaluation system well. On one hand, the results of quantitative data analysis show that the results of student learning, especially ICT subjects were still relatively low. From the above data, it can be concluded that it is necessary to do research on the development of formative evaluation model to improve student learning outcomes in Vocational High Schools

PENGARUH PENGGUNAAN IF-AT PADA MATERI REDOKS TERHADAP HASIL BELAJAR SISWA SMK SMTI PONTIANAK

Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan IF-AT pada materi redoks terhadap hasil belajar siswa SMK SMTI Pontianak. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksperimen semu dengan rancangan penelitian Nonequivalent Control Group Design. Sampel dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas XI F sebagai kelas eksperimen dan XI E sebagai kelas kontrol yang diperoleh dengan teknik sampling jenuh. Alat pengumpul data adalah tes hasil belajar. Berdasarkan hasil olahan data, rata-rata nilai skor posttest kelas kontrol yaitu 47,06 dan rata-rata nilai skor posttest kelas eksperimen yaitu 60,91. Dengan menggunakan Uji U-Mann Whitney, diperoleh Asymp.Sig(2-tailed) sebesar 0,000 < 0,05 (kurang dari 0,05) sehingga Ho ditolak, menunjukkan terdapat perbedaan hasil belajar siswa kelas eksperimen dan kelas kontrol pada materi redoks. Hasil dari perhitungan Effect Size (ES) diperoleh nilai sebesar 0,75 yang menunjukkan penggunaan IF-AT memberikan pengaruh sebesar 27,34% terhadap peningkatan hasil belajar siswa.   Kata Kunci: IF-AT, redoks, hasil belajar   Abstract: This research aimes to know the effect ofIF-AT on redox material of learing outcomes in SMK SMTI Pontianak students. This research method was quasi-experimental with nonequivalent control group design. The study sample were the students of  XI F as experimental class and XI E as control class that was determined by saturated sampling technique. Collecting data by using achievment test. Based on the results of data processing, the average score of posttest control class is 47.06, and the average score of posttest experimental classesis 60.91. By using the U-Mann Whitney test, obtained Asymp.Sig (2-tailed) of 0.000 <0.05 so Ho is rejected, which shows there is a differences in learning outcomes between the experimental class and the control class students onredox material.The results of the calculation of Effect Size (ES) obtained value of 0.75 that showed IF-AT provided the effect of 27.34% on improving student learning outcomes.   Keywords: IF-AT, redox, learning outcome