80 research outputs found
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Supporting open learners by computer based assessment with short free-text responses and tailored feedback
Screen-based assessment
Inexorably and across several fronts, screen-based assessment is becoming a major part of the experience of university students, particularly but not exclusively in the sciences. This movement reflects the emphasis the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is giving to the development of screen-based assessment at secondary level, where the universal availability of an -assessment option in high stakes exams is an adopted goal.The drivers for this change are economic, pedagogic and opportunistic. Rapid technological progress is facilitating the wider availability of computer based tasks that reflect authentically the learning outcomes of science courses. There is growing experience in the design of such tasks, with increasing commercial involvement, particularly in the USA. An examination of theories of assessment demonstrates that there are sound pedagogic reasons to pursue these developments.The main focus of this review will be assessment for which a computer acts as a means of delivery, grading and feedback. I will outline the capabilities of contemporary systems, illustrate some good practice, and identify areas where the use of the technology is moving forward rapidly. There are exciting developments in the grading of free format responses, in diagram or text form, which are now emerging on a pilot basis. Of particular interest is the assessment of higher order cognitive and subject skills. Alsoimportant is the potential for item banks that can allow the sharing of the costs of authorship. Several of these issues are reviewed more fully in Conole and Warbuton.Finally, I will comment briefly on assessment that is facilitated by computers without the computer acting as a grading tool. At a mundane level, this might involve the electronic submission of traditional assignments. Of more interest are electronically mediated peer assessment, the generation of e-portfolios, the grading of screen based experimentation and the evaluation of the student’s performance in contributing to computer based group activities, e.g. Wikis, electronic conferences, etc
Formative assessment in science teaching
The Formative Assessment in Science project was funded by HEFCE as part of the Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning Programme. Its work was completed in March 2006. The project was centred on a strong collaboration between the Open University and Sheffield Hallam University, but also involved ~20 other universities in action learning activities aimed at improving formative assessment. The project partners used a conceptually and empirically based framework of conditions which, if met, lead to assessment that drives learning. The projects were diverse and the many positive assessment changes achieved demonstrate that the approach of a framework based analysis and careful evaluation can be successful in improving the student experience. I will summarise some of the main conclusions of the project. One concerns the creation of written feedback that promotes learning rather than merely justifying marks. A second covers the effective use of peer assessment. Finally, I will outline the tools that the project has generated. These will remain available for others to undertake similar reform activities
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The Bayesian Power Imaging (BPI) method for magnetic source imaging
In the biomagnetic inverse problem the main interest is the activation of a region of interest, i.e. the power dissipated in that region. The Bayesian power imaging method (BPI) provides a quantified probability that the activation of a region of interest is above a given threshold. This paper introduces the method and derives the equations used. The method is illustrated in this paper using both experimental and simulated data
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The SusTEACH Methodology: Assessment of the environmental impacts of Higher Education Teaching Models and development of an Environmental Appraisal toolkit
Sustainable, low carbon Higher Education (HE) teaching systems are part of the carbon reduction strategies needed to meet the targets set for HE institutions. Significant changes in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have led to new methods in teaching and learning, blending conventional and ICT-based teaching models. Little is known about their environmental impacts. Few studies have considered the whole system carbon-based environmental impacts of different systems of delivering Higher Education. One notable exception was the Factor 10 Visions study ‘Towards Sustainable Higher Education’, which offered an exemplar methodology for conducting an environmental impact audit/assessment of HE courses/modules. Building on this, the SusTEACH project examined the transformative effect of ICTs on HE teaching models, and developed a methodology to assess the main carbon-based environmental impacts of HE courses/modules, and to provide estimations of the energy and carbon impacts associated with different HE teaching models. This methodology as outlined here has supported the SusTEACH project research analysis of over thirty HE courses and modules, and the SusTEACH toolkit available from OpenLearn Module: The environmental impact of teaching and learning
Volunteer studies replacing animal experiments in brain research - Report and recommendations of a Volunteers in Research and Testing workshop
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The Bayesian Power Imaging (BPI) test for task/control experiments
The Bayesian power imaging (BPI) method is a new
approach to the biomagnetic inverse problem that is
introduced in [1]. In this paper the method is extended
to analyze not one but two sets of experimental data
in order to highlight the differences between them
Design of higher education teaching models and carbon impacts
Purpose
This research examines the main findings of the SusTEACH study of the carbon-based environmental impacts of 30 higher education (HE) courses in 15 UK institutions, based on an analysis of the likely energy consumption and carbon emissions of a range of Face-to-face, Distance, Online and ICT-enhanced blended teaching models.
Design/methodology/approach
An environmental assessment of 19 campus-based and 11 distance-based HE courses was conducted using questionnaire surveys to gather data from students and lecturers on course-related travel; the purchase and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and paper materials; residential energy consumption, and campus site operations. Results were converted into average energy and CO2 emissions, normalised per student per 100 study hours, and then classified by the primary teaching model used by lecturers.
Findings
The main sources of HE course carbon emissions were travel; residential energy consumption; and campus site operations. Distance-based HE models (Distance, Online and ICT-enhanced teaching models) reduced energy consumption by 88% and achieved significant carbon reductions of 83% when compared with campus-based HE models (Face-to-face and ICT-enhanced teaching models). The Online teaching model achieved the lowest energy consumption and carbon emissions, although there were potential rebound effects associated with increased ICT-related energy consumption and paper used for printing.
Practical implications
New pedagogical designs using online and distance-based teaching methods can achieve carbon reductions by reducing student travel, residential and campus accommodation.
Originality/value
Few studies have examined the environmental performance of HE teaching models. A new classification of HE traditional, online and blended teaching models is used to examine the role of ICTs and the likely carbon impacts
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The Real Aims that Shape the Teaching of Practical Physics in Sub-Saharan Africa
Practical work is widely seen as an important element of the science curriculum. However, there is a long-standing debate about the educational aims of practical work and about why it is important. Aims suggested include the contributions that practical work can make to understanding, to the acquisition of professional and personal skills, and to motivation. However, several authors have argued that the actual contributions made are minimal and there is ongoing pressure to justify the continuing inclusion of practical work in a period when greater cost efficiency is required from all those involved in education. Such pressures are extreme in countries that face resource challenges. This study examines current views on the aims of practical physics teaching in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were gathered from staff and students in four countries across the region through surveys and interviews. A context was provided by observation of practice and inspection of background documents. The overt educational aims of the staff are consistent with previous analyses though there is a heightened priority given to the improvement of content knowledge and understanding. However, there are additional drivers of behaviour that, to a large extent, define the observed practice. These ‘pragmatic aims’ concern mainly the practicalities of running schools with limited material and staff resources but also arise from cultural expectations and societal needs. Although the formal data is derived from the secondary sector, it is of relevance to all educational levels
Combining temporal and spectral information with spatial mapping to identify differences between phonological and semantic networks: a Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) approach
Early, lesion-based models of language processing suggested that semantic and phonological processes are associated with distinct temporal and parietal regions respectively, with frontal areas more indirectly involved. Contemporary spatial brain mapping techniques have not supported such clear-cut segregation, with strong evidence of activation in left temporal areas by both processes and disputed evidence of involvement of frontal areas in both processes. We suggest that combining spatial information with temporal and spectral data may allow a closer scrutiny of the differential involvement of closely overlapping cortical areas in language processing. Using beamforming techniques to analyze magnetoencephalography data, we localized the neuronal substrates underlying primed responses to nouns requiring either phonological or semantic processing, and examined the associated measures of time and frequency in those areas where activation was common to both tasks. Power changes in the beta (14–30 Hz) and gamma (30–50 Hz) frequency bands were analyzed in pre-selected time windows of 350–550 and 500–700 ms In left temporal regions, both tasks elicited power changes in the same time window (350–550 ms), but with different spectral characteristics, low beta (14–20 Hz) for the phonological task and high beta (20–30 Hz) for the semantic task. In frontal areas (BA10), both tasks elicited power changes in the gamma band (30–50 Hz), but in different time windows, 500–700 ms for the phonological task and 350–550 ms for the semantic task. In the left inferior parietal area (BA40), both tasks elicited changes in the 20–30 Hz beta frequency band but in different time windows, 350–550 ms for the phonological task and 500–700 ms for the semantic task. Our findings suggest that, where spatial measures may indicate overlapping areas of involvement, additional beamforming techniques can demonstrate differential activation in time and frequency domains
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