Our data collection is coming to an end. We are finishing up our last few interviews with phenomenological analysis soon to follow. All members of the team have conducted interviews with students, finding quite fascinating “verbal portraits” related to their in-class and Blackboard testing experiences. We are looking forward to analysis.
The EP 401 courses have completed their final exams with data analysis in-progress. Interviews will be occurring throughout the next two weeks.
The final EP 401 exam is in-progress. Hence, we are soon to begin data analysis. In the coming two weeks, interviews will be conducted with 28 students, while the remaining students will submit email responses related to their experience with both the in-class and Blackboard exams. A great deal of student feedback has been acquired through reflective writing at the end of most class sessions. These will be considered in data analysis.
Exam 2 is being administered in-class this week, with Blackboard exams in progress. We will be giving Exam 3 in-class prior to spring break, with the comprehensive final scheduled one week later. Thus, we are moving closer to compiling our data.
Interviews with one of the EP 401 sections will be scheduled in the coming days. In addition, we determined to have all sections (except the interview group) send in email feedback about their experiences with both the in-class and Blackboard exams during the EP 401 course. We are awaiting Form D approval for these additions.
The first exam has been administered. The traditional, paper/pencil exams were scored and the grades overall were good. The blackboard exams revealed that many students are taking advantage of the opportunity to take the exam multiple times and we are able to keep track of the number of times they are taking them. Overall, the grades there are better. Initial comments by students reveal that those taking the traditional, paper/pencil exams demonstrated higher levels of stress and anxiety about the exam. It will be interesting to see how the second exam progresses.
We are in the process of developing a Form D in order to access other forms of data. We are considering having other sections provide qualitative data about their experiences about the testing process at the end of the semester. Although we are undecided at this point, we are working through some logistical aspects of building on the present data gathering processes.
All the Educational Psychology 401 students (6 sections) were presented the opportunity to participate in this project. Their initial response was positive. They appeared interested in the results not only as students but also as future teachers. Interestingly, the students who will participate in the first in-class exam have anecdotally indicated on their “tickets out the door” and in face-to-face conversations with instructors that they are anxious about the exam. Students participating in sections giving Blackboard exams have expressed minimal concerns.
We are filing a Form D in order to access their reflective thoughts (i.e., tickets out the door).
Within the paradigm of traditional assessments, learners are often restricted by time, place, and resources. Such limitations may be addressed through carefully designed implementation of online assessments (Buchanan, 1998). It is important to recognize that the means by which online assessments are delivered often varies. For some college level instructors, online assessments create an avenue by which reflective learning (Taylor and Maor, 2000) is fostered through the elimination of time constraints, student access to course materials, multiple opportunities to submit answers, and immediate feedback. Related to such, online assessments may also be recognized as a means by which to transform a performance-based activity into a learner-focused task as traditional components of testing (i.e., proctored, closed book, timed) are minimized or eliminated. A great deal of literature exists discussing the benefits of utilizing online formats of instruction. However, additional understanding is needed related to guidelines impacting the design and application of online assessments. Understandings of this nature will serve to astutely inform the learning and teaching modules developed by college level instructors. Additionally, knowledge of the experiences of students engaged in taking traditional and online assessments may also aid in guiding assessment design. The purpose of this proposed study is twofold. First, we aim to determine the extent to which learner-focused online assessments and traditional assessments affect undergraduate students’ performance on traditionally administered comprehensive examinations. Second, we will investigate the experiences of undergraduate students as related to traditional and learner-based online assessments. Results will specifically assist University of Tennessee faculty involved in designing assessments that evaluate student learner outcomes.