Personalized Examinations In Large On-Campus Classes

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• Personalized Examinations In Large On-Campus
  Classes
• Guy Albertelli, Gerd Kortemeyer, Alexander
  Sakharuk, Edwin Kashy
• Michigan State University

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Background

• Courses with large number of students (PHY183
  physics with calculus, required for most
  engineering majors)
• Course Goals
• Greater time on task
• Increase success rate while setting higher
  standards

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Motivation

• Why computer generated and graded homework,
  quizzes, and examinations?
• Frequent tasks can be given with available
  instructor resources.
• Why personalized?
• Minimal additional effort.
• For assignments, to promote collaboration between
  students and reduce mindless copying
• Greatly facilitates proctoring of exams
• Speeds identification of students via printed
  picture on exams.

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Quizzes

• Unannounced
• Average - 1 to 2 per lecture
• Duration 5 to 12 minutes
• Distribution time 2 to 3 minutes
• Subject often same topic as covered in lecture
• Impact
• Objective high attendance level maintained
  throughout the semester
• Subjective students more attentive in lecture

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Mid-Term Exams

• Feedback to students and instructor on progress
  and performance
• Exams are also a take-home assignment
• Since randomized, students get a different
  version
• Students are given partial credit towards the
  exam
• Increases time on task for all students
• Since they redo all of the problems, they will
  also rework problems that they might have only
  guessed right on the exam

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Final Exam

• Summative assessment
• Subset of exam could be standardized
• Allows comparison
• year to year
• Across institutions

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Mechanics

• Students pickup their paper and scanning form
• Paper might be with or without photo of student
• History
• Initially, hand comaprison of student answers
  with the computer generated list of correct
  answers
• Then, table-top scanner, operated by the
  instructor, computer grades exam, using custom
  generated form
• Later, standard bubble forms scanned by
  University facility
• Sheets might have multiple bubbles filled in on
  one line
• University generated computer file that was sent
  to instructor to upload to system for grading

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Mechanics cont.

• Current status
• Use standard Scantron forms
• Central office scans forms into a computer file
• All questions have a single bubble filled in per
  line
• Homework questions are automatically convertible
  into bubble format for use on exams
• Instructor corrects the few student bubbling
  errors, and grades data (5-20 minutes)
• Results posted on system to students when
  instructor allows it (students can see which
  individual questions they got right and wrong)

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Examples

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Online Exam

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Offline Exam

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Examples

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Offline Exam

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Offline Exam

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Online

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Online

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Offline Exam

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Offline Exam

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Observations

• Benefits
• Complaints by students about other students
  cheating is gone
• Corrections Assignment for exams are highly
  appreciated by students
• Few complaints about exam dificulty
• It wasnt that hard. I should have gotten it.
• No need to go over exam in class
• Drawbacks
• Printing is time consuming (automated, reliable
  as the printer)

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Future Directions

• Fully on-line exams
• Several have been done for non-critical exams
• More resources are needed to do real high stakes
  exams
• Computer lab space
• Handheld devices
• But
• Current scheme is reliable, has a complete paper
  record
• If a technology glitch occurs, rescheduling an
  exam for 500-2000 students would be a nightmare

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More Information

• www.lon-capa.org
• Next user conference
• George Washingtion University
• Washington, D.C.
• January 23-24 2004
• We welcome new collaborators. Wed be happy to
  talk to you about joining our consortium.