Increasing student assessment flexibility using WebCT and computer assisted assessment technologies

Physics 113/114/115 are first year units offered by the Department of Applied Physics to a wide range of students in various disciplines, such as Applied Chemistry, Applied Geology, Biological Science, Cartography, Engineering and Science Enabling Course, Food Science and Technology, Health and Safety, Health Science, Medical Imaging Science, Mine and Engineering Surveying, etc. A survey conducted in October 2000 and further feedback from students revealed many issues, which students believed were directly or indirectly affecting their academic performance. As a result of these concerns, the units have been substantially restructured into a modular format in order to increase students' choice of units, reduce student workload and change the lecture time from evening to morning and afternoon to suit students' needs. The survey also revealed that 58% of the full time students work either part time or full time and therefore are time disadvantaged as compared to their full time non-working colleagues. In response to these concerns the units have been redesigned to include flexible assessment by replacing two one-hour tests with (3 or 6) 45 minutes module tests. Each test is available to students in the Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) Lab from 8 am to 5 pm over a period of one week, following the completion of lectures in each module. The supervised environment of the CAA Lab provides a secure environment for testing while giving students greater time flexibility

Modular teaching and flexibile assessment

Physics 113/114/115 is an introductory physics unit offered to a wide range of first year science students in various disciplines across the university. The full unit is offered in 6 modules. Since the students come from a wide range of academic backgrounds, learning attitudes and work commitments, they can opt to take 3 modules per semester (slow track) or 6 modules per semester (fast track). The assessment is based on module tests, laboratory work and a final examination. The main feature of this unit is the flexible assessment in module tests using WebCT. Each module test is available to students in the Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) Laboratory on WebCT from 8 am to 5 pm over a period of one week, following the completion of lectures in each module. The supervised environment of the CAA Lab provides a secure environment for testing while giving students greater time flexibility. The unit has been running for the past two years. This paper will discuss various aspects of the unit in terms of implementation, outcomes, student feedback and demand on staff time

Students' feedback of teaching: Why the differences in responses?

It is well known that feedback plays an essential role in students' learning processes and assessment practises. Similarly feedback from students is important to instructors wanting to improve their teaching. Curtin's online survey instrument named "eVALUate", is designed to gather feedback from students about their perceptions of their learning experiences. It is assumed that after one semester students would have a very good idea about their learning experiences, unit learning outcomes and teaching quality. However, our data reveals that students show a wide range of responses to some of the survey items, although they were exposed to the same learning environment and instructor. It appears that students have differing interpretations of the meanings of items in the survey instrument. This presentation will discuss such variations in students' perception of items of the survey instrument, and possible reasons about why they occur

Investigation of imaging parameters and radiation dose in chest radiographic imaging: A comparison of computed radiography and direct radiography

The aim of the study was to investigate the optimal imaging parameters for chest radiographic imaging using computed radiography (CR) and direct radiography (DR) systems, with regards to the relationship between tube voltage, tube current and radiation dose

Characterisation of micro-sized and nano-sized tungsten oxide-epoxy composites for radiation shielding of diagnostic X-rays

Characteristics of X-ray transmissions were investigated for epoxy composites filled with 2–10 vol% WO3 loadings using synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at 10–40 keV. The results obtained were used to determine the equivalent X-ray energies for the operating X-ray tube voltages of mammography and radiology machines. The results confirmed the superior attenuation ability of nano-sized WO3-epoxy composites in the energy range of 10–25 keV when compared to their micro-sized counterparts. However, at higher synchrotron radiation energies (i.e., 30–40 keV), the X-ray transmission characteristics were similar with no apparent size effect for both nano-sized and micro-sized WO3-epoxy composites. The equivalent X-ray energies for the operating X-ray tube voltages of the mammography unit (25–49 kV) were in the range of 15–25 keV. Similarly, for a radiology unit operating at 40–60 kV, the equivalent energy range was 25–40 keV, and for operating voltages greater than 60 kV (i.e., 70–100 kV), the equivalent energy was in excess of 40 keV. The mechanical properties of epoxy composites increased initially with an increase in the filler loading but a further increase in the WO3 loading resulted in deterioration of flexural strength, modulus and hardness

Transversus abdominis plane block as a sole anesthetic technique for open appendectomy in patient with treacher collins syndrome: A case report

Patients with Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) present serious challenges to anesthetist in securing of airway; upper airway obstruction and difficult tracheal intubation are considered complex entity in these patients. This case report describes the significance of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block as a sole anesthetic choice in appendectomy where airway management can be avoided. A 17-year-old boy, known case of TCS, presented with acute appendicitis underwent emergency laparotomy. Surgery was successfully performed by TAP block with dexmedetomidine infusion. Open appendectomy can be performed successfully in certain circumstances under TAP block with adjunctive use of dexmedetomidine infusion where airway handling is avoided. Further studies are warranted to distinct its use as sole anesthetic choice in lower abdominal surgeries

A comparative study of x-ray shielding capability in ion-implanted acrylic and glass

Samples of acrylic and glass were implanted with tungsten (W) and lead (Pb) to investigate their X-ray attenuation characteristics. The near-surface composition depth profiles of ion-implanted acrylic and glass samples were studied using ion-beam analysis (Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy—RBS). The effect of implanted ions on the X-ray attenuation ability was studied using a conventional laboratory X-ray machine with X-ray tube voltages ranging from 40 to 100 kV at constant exposure 10 mAs. The results were compared with previous work on ion-implanted epoxy. As predicted, the RBS results and X-ray attenuation for both ion-implanted acrylic and glass increase with the type of implanted ions when compared to the controls. However, since the glass is denser than epoxy or acrylic, it has provided the higher X-ray attenuation property and higher RBS ion concentration implanted with a shorter range of the ion depth profile when compared to epoxy and acrylic. A prolonged time is necessary for implanting acrylic with a very high nominal dose to minimize a high possibility of acrylic to melt during the process

Designing a comprehensive rubric for laboratory report assessment

Assessment moderation processes play a vital role in maintaining quality assurance for university courses. These processes ensure that the assessment is consistent, reproducible and transparent. They also assure students that their work is assessed with fairness and addresses the stated learning outcomes. In line with Curtin's Assessment & Moderation Policy, we applied a moderation process to first-year science enabling units. One of the major assessment components of these units is the laboratory work, which involves taking a wide range of measurements of physical quantities with due regard to measurement uncertainties, analysing the data, calculating the results and interpreting the results. The students then present their work in a formal scientifically written report to their laboratory demonstrator for assessment. The students' reports are assessed using a specific rubric which is available to students and the demonstrators through Blackboard at the beginning of the semester. To gauge any variations in marking, eight demonstrators and two staff members were provided with a set of six de-identified laboratory reports for marking using the current rubric. The results obtained showed that the percentage standard deviation of all the demonstrators varied from 18% to 42% from the mean value. We believe this may be due to a wide range of demonstrators' experience and background knowledge and also whether they have completed the annually run Curtin's Laboratory Demonstrators' Workshop. In consultation with the Office of the Dean of Teaching and Learning, the current rubric was re-designed to show a further breakdown of marks for future use.Following discussion with demonstrators and staff the re-designed rubric was accepted with some modifications. To check the validity and reliability of the new rubric, another set of six reports were marked by the same assessors. In this presentation we will discuss the results of the current and the modified rubric

First year Physics labs in a 'suitcase'

Over the past two decades university student demographics have considerably changed. A larger percentage of the population that now attend university come from a variety of teaching and learning cultures and a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Under these challenging circumstances, most of the students seem to juggle their time between work, study and family commitments to complete their degree. A survey conducted by Curtin Applied Physics in October 2000 revealed that 58% of the full time students studying physics for their first time work either part time or full time and therefore are time disadvantaged as compared to their full time non-working colleagues. In order to address these issues Physics113/114/115 units were restructured into modular format providing flexible assessment using WebCT. These units have been running for the past three years. Over these years we have found that the flexible module assessment is working well to the satisfaction of the students, but some of the students are still finding it difficult to budget their time to attend laboratories to complete the unit. The laboratory program is an essential part of these units and is thus heavily weighted and requires a considerable time input by the students. At the time when these units were modularised, flexible laboratory program could not be provided due to lack of equipment, funding and staff time constraints

FMEA of MR-Only Treatment Planning in the Pelvis

Purpose: To evaluate the implementation of a magnetic resonance (MR)-only workflow (ie, implementing MR simulation as the primary planning modality) using failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) in comparison with a conventional multimodality (MR simulation in conjunction with computed tomography simulation) workflow for pelvis external beam planning. Methods and Materials: To perform the FMEA, a multidisciplinary 9-member team was assembled and developed process maps, identified potential failure modes (FMs), and assigned numerical values to the severity (S), frequency of occurrence (O), and detectability (D) of those FMs. Risk priority numbers (RPNs) were calculated via the product of S, O, and D as a metric for evaluating relative patient risk. An alternative 3-digit composite number (SOD) was computed to emphasize high-severity FMs. Fault tree analysis identified the causality chain leading to the highest-severity FM. Results: Seven processes were identified, 3 of which were shared between workflows. Image fusion and target delineation subprocesses using the conventional workflow added 9 and 10 FMs, respectively, with 6 RPNs \u3e100. By contrast, synthetic computed tomography generation introduced 3 major subprocesses and propagated 46 unique FMs, 15 with RPNs \u3e100. For the conventional workflow, the largest RPN scores were introduced by image fusion (RPN range, 120-192). For the MR-only workflow, the highest RPN scores were from inaccuracies in target delineation resulting from misinterpretation of MR images (RPN = 240) and insufficient management of patient- and system-level distortions (RPN = 210 and 168, respectively). Underestimation (RPN = 140) or overestimation (RPN = 192) of bone volume produced higher RPN scores. The highest SODs for both workflows were related to changes in target location because of internal anatomy changes (conventional = 961, MR-only = 822). Conclusions: FMEA identified areas for mitigating risk in MR-only pelvis RTP, and SODs identified high-severity process modes. Efforts to develop a quality management program to mitigate high FMs are underway