Following-Up on Feedback through Repetition inAssessments (in the Science Disciplines)

In practice, the student learning cycle involves learning, assessment and feedback. The student learns about a particular topic through a combination of lectures, research and/or action. They are then assessed on what they have learned and are given formative feedback on their performance. Unfortunately, the cycle seems to end at this point. A new topic is presented and the learning cycle repeats. This is typical of a module in which several different topics are covered over the course of a semester. However, some obvious questions emerge. What do the students do with the feedback? Do they really learn from it? How do we know? This paper proposes to follow-up on feedback by simply ensuring that a proportion of the next assessment covers material that students had difficulty with on the previous one. Students are informed of this fact so as to encourage them to actively engage with the feedback. Test results show a marked improvement in the students’ performance, particularly in the case of the repeated material, while student feedback responds favourably to this method of ensuring that the student learning cycle is properly completed. Details of the assessments, test results and student feedback, as well as some personal observations and discussions, are presented within

On the Use of Multiple Class Test Assessments to Promote and Encourage Student Learning

Abstract included in text

On Using Fuzzy Logic for Grading Highly Subjective Assessment Material – a Case Study

It is difficult to remove subjectivity from assessment, especially when the assessed material is highly subjective by nature. While one assessor deems work to be of high quality, a second may view it as poor. Moreover, although two assessors may agree that the work is of satisfactory quality, they may nevertheless proceed to grade it significantly different, based on their interpretation of what is meant by satisfactory. While this is part of human nature, it is important that we strive for an assessment mechanism that is fair to all students, particularly when multiple personnel are involved in the grading process. This paper investigates the suitability of using fuzzy logic, and its ability to model linguistic terms, for the purposes of achieving fair assessment. A case study is carried out in which both the fuzzy logic and the standard numerical grading approaches are applied to a postgraduate poster competition. The results from this case study are presented and discussed within

Can fuzzy logic remove subjectivity from final year project assessment?

Subjectivity is an important issue in the assessment of final year projects. Naturally, students will want to be assessed by the more generous marker when given the choice between two assessors. Intuitively, if two assessors examine the same project and both feel that it is of the same standard then both should award it the same mark. However, this is generally not the case and often the marks awarded can be significantly different. This occurs because human beings naturally have different interpretations of the same thing. It is purported that fuzzy logic is adept at overcoming the issue of subjectivity. Thus, this paper explores the use of fuzzy logic in removing subjectivity from final year project assessment. A novel approach to the assessment procedure is outlined and some preliminary analysis is presented

‘Cheap & Cheerful’ – Demonstrating Control to 1st Year Engineering Students

• Illustrating the concept of system control to Electronic Engineering students is typically achieved through simulation and theory. However, we wanted a hardware demonstration ... • Existing commercial hardware products are simply too expensive and too bulky to adequately equip a typical undergraduate Engineering hardware-based laboratory … • So, we built our own !

A Suitable MAC Protocol for Transmit-Only Sensor Nodes in a Housing Community Wireless Network

This paper investigates the development of a suitable Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for a housing community wireless network that consists of both wireless infrastructural mesh nodes and wireless sensor nodes. In this network, transmit-only sensor nodes are employed in order to obtain a low cost, easy to deploy and low power solution. However, such sensor nodes have no way of verifying successful data transfer and it is, therefore, imperative that the associated MAC protocol provides a high level of confidence for transferring this data. In this paper, we examine methods of packaging and transmitting sensor node data in order to obtain such a MAC protocol for the aforementioned housing community wireless network. Microchipâs rfPIC is used as the platform for the sensor node. Some preliminary analysis and results are presented within

A Suitable MAC Protocol for Transmit-Only Sensor Nodes in a Housing Community Wireless Network

This paper investigates the development of a suitable Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for a housing community wireless network that consists of both wireless infrastructural mesh nodes and wireless sensor nodes. In this network, transmit-only sensor nodes are employed in order to obtain a low cost, easy to deploy and low power solution. However, such sensor nodes have no way of verifying successful data transfer and it is, therefore, imperative that the associated MAC protocol provides a high level of confidence for transferring this data. In this paper, we examine methods of packaging and transmitting sensor node data in order to obtain such a MAC protocol for the aforementioned housing community wireless network. Microchipâs rfPIC is used as the platform for the sensor node. Some preliminary analysis and results are presented within

Can fuzzy logic remove subjectivity from final year project assessment?

Subjectivity is an important issue in the assessment of final year projects. Naturally, students will want to be assessed by the more generous marker when given the choice between two assessors. Intuitively, if two assessors examine the same project and both feel that it is of the same standard then both should award it the same mark. However, this is generally not the case and often the marks awarded can be significantly different. This occurs because human beings naturally have different interpretations of the same thing. It is purported that fuzzy logic is adept at overcoming the issue of subjectivity. Thus, this paper explores the use of fuzzy logic in removing subjectivity from final year project assessment. A novel approach to the assessment procedure is outlined and some preliminary analysis is presented

The Design and Implementation of a Wireless Mesh Sensor Network for a Housing Community

Wireless mesh sensor networks typically consist of a cluster of intelligent radio nodes which transfer data between each other directly in a hop, or indirectly through two or more hops via adjacent nodes. These nodes contain one or more sensors. Wireless mesh sensor networks provide a solution in monitoring and controlling the physical world around us and offer far reaching potential applications. This paper presents a novel design, implementation and prototype realization of one such potential application, namely the use of a wireless mesh sensor network to monitor the events and activities in a housing community environment. In this network, transmit-only sensor nodes are employed in order to obtain a low cost, easy to deploy and low power solution. A small-scaled version of the proposed network is deployed in a controlled environment, allowing for practical testing and verification of the final design. The results obtained are presented and discussed within

A Novel Smart Device Student Response System For Supporting High Quality Active Learning In The Engineering And Science Disciplines

This paper proposes and presents a unique smart device student response system (SDSRS) that allows for a more flexible input than existing classroom response systems, such as clickers. This, in turn, allows students to respond to the lecturer with higher quality and more relevant information and, thus, improves their active learning. This is of particular relevance in the science and engineering disciplines where methodology is as important, if not more so, than the final answer. The SDSRS allows the lecturer to quickly obtain this pertinent information in real-time within the classroom environment. The proposed system consists of three main elements, namely a student sketch application, a lecturer view-and-edit application and a central cloud-based service to co-ordinate the exchange of information between the two applications. The system was evaluated within two different engineering classrooms, with very positive feedback obtained from both the lecturers and students involved. Details of the evaluation process, and the feedback obtained, are presented within