Online quizzes in a virtual learning environment as a tool for formative assessment

Assessment in education via web tools, also known as e-assessment, deals with the effective use of technology to support a successful pedagogy. The aim of this study was to investigate learning outcomes and students' attitudes to online Moodle quizzes in order to improve instructional design. The research population included 204 college students enrolled in life sciences who participated in an introductory physics course. A blended learning model was used based on large, traditional face-to-face lectures, practice sessions held with smaller groups of about 25 students and a rich Moodle learning environment. Students' knowledge and understanding were assessed weekly, throughout the semester, using different methods: three ordinary, short, written tests and online quizzes in the Moodle environment. Students' attitudes to the online quizzes compared to the written tests were investigated by a questionnaire. Results indicate a generally positive attitude towards online quizzes with no differences with respect to gender. A positive significant relationship was found between attitudes and scores in online quizzes. Comparing between the first attempt and the last attempt at the last online quiz revealed significant improvements in the time spent solving the online quiz and in the grade. Three variables were found to be significant predictors of the grade in the final exam: science department, average grade in written tests and average grade in online quizzes. Learning outcomes and students' attitudes to online Moodle quizzes were used to improve instructional design demonstrating formative assessment in higher education.

[1]  Martin Trow.  Lifelong learning through the new information technologies , 1999 .

[2]  R. Siegler.  Children's Thinking : What Develops? , 1978 .

[3]  J. W. Gikandi,et al.  Online formative assessment in higher education: A review of the literature , 2011, Comput. Educ..

[4]  Allan Collins,et al.  Toward a Design Science of Education , 1992 .

[5]  Norbert Pachler,et al.  Exploring formative e‐assessment: using case stories and design patterns , 2010 .

[6]  Yehudit Judy Dori,et al.  How Does Technology-Enabled Active Learning Affect Undergraduate Students' Understanding of Electromagnetism Concepts? , 2005 .

[7]  Fernando Alonso,et al.  An instructional model for web-based e-learning education with a blended learning process approach , 2005, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[8]  Dorothea P. Simon,et al.  Individual Differences in Solving Physics Problems (1978) , 1978 .

[9]  Symeon Retalis,et al.  Designing a Moodle course with the CADMOS learning design tool , 2012 .

[10]  Yael Kali,et al.  Collaborative knowledge building using the Design Principles Database , 2006, Int. J. Comput. Support. Collab. Learn..

[11]  George Siemens,et al.  Penetrating the fog: analytics in learning and education , 2014 .

[12]  N. Nirmalakhandan.  Computerized adaptive tutorials to improve and assess problem-solving skills , 2007, Comput. Educ..

[13]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance. , 1990 .

[14]  Shandy Hauk,et al.  Student perceptions of the web-based homework program WeBWorK in moderate enrollment college algebra classes , 2005 .

[15]  Gerd Kortemeyer,et al.  Gender differences in the use of an online homework system in an introductory physics course , 2009 .

[16]  Norbert Pachler,et al.  Formative e-assessment: Practitioner cases , 2010, Comput. Educ..

[17]  Teresa Martín-Blas,et al.  The role of new technologies in the learning process: Moodle as a teaching tool in Physics , 2009, Comput. Educ..

[18]  Lesley McGuire.  Assessment using new technology , 2005 .

[19]  Rosemary M. Lehman.  Learning Object Repositories , 2007 .

[20]  Diana Williams Sanders,et al.  Student Attitudes toward Web-Enhanced Instruction in an Introductory Biology Course , 2001 .

[21]  Andrew Gavrin,et al.  Just-In-Time Teaching: Blending Active Learning with Web Technology , 1999 .

[22]  D. Nicol.  Assessment for learner self‐regulation: enhancing achievement in the first year using learning technologies , 2009 .

[23]  Robert J. Dufresne,et al.  The Effect of Web-Based Homework on Test Performance in Large Enrollment Introductory Physics Courses , 2002 .

[24]  Shih-Hsiung Liu,et al.  Factors related to pedagogical beliefs of teachers and technology integration , 2011, Comput. Educ..

[25]  J. Bransford.  How people learn , 2000 .

[26]  Feng Wang,et al.  Design-based research and technology-enhanced learning environments , 2005 .

[27]  J. Sweller,et al.  Putting Students on the Path to Learning: The Case for Fully Guided Instruction. , 2012 .

[28]  Phil Race,et al.  500 Tips on Assessment , 1996 .

[29]  Niall Winters,et al.  Design approaches in technology-enhanced learning , 2007, Interact. Learn. Environ..

[30]  David Wiley,et al.  Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy , 2000 .

[31]  Carl Angell,et al.  Physics: Frightful, but fun. Pupils' and teachers' views of physics and physics teaching , 2004 .

[32]  Chun-Yi Lee,et al.  Exploring problem solving patterns and their impact on learning achievement in a blended learning environment , 2011, Comput. Educ..

[33]  G. Kortemeyer,et al.  Experiences using the open-source learning content management and assessment system LON-CAPA in introductory physics courses , 2008 .

[34]  M. Kalogiannakis,et al.  Moodle as a Learning Environment in Promoting Conceptual Understanding for Secondary School Students , 2013 .

[35]  James C. Lester,et al.  Animated Pedagogical Agents: Face-to-Face Interaction in Interactive Learning Environments , 2000 .

[36]  Arie Maharshak,et al.  Successful Pedagogy with Web Assignments Checker , 2004 .

[37]  Ulf Stödberg.  A research review of e-assessment , 2012 .

[38]  David Pundak,et al.  Empowering Engineering College Staff to Adopt Active Learning Methods , 2008 .

[39]  Sebastián Ventura,et al.  Data mining in course management systems: Moodle case study and tutorial , 2008, Comput. Educ..

[40]  Renee Cole,et al.  Effects of Web-Based Multimedia Homework with Immediate Rich Feedback on Student Learning in General Chemistry , 2003 .

[41]  Vinesh Chandra,et al.  Re-thinking physics teaching with web-based learning , 2012, Comput. Educ..

[42]  Matthew W. Liberatore,et al.  Improved Student Achievement Using Personalized Online Homework for a Course in Material and Energy Balances , 2011 .

[43]  William J. Gerace,et al.  Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment: A Research-Based Pedagogy for Teaching Science with Classroom Response Technology , 2009 .

[44]  David Pundak,et al.  Instructors' Attitudes toward Active Learning , 2009 .

[45]  David F. Treagust,et al.  Using assessment as a guide in teaching for understanding: A case study of a middle school science class learning about sound , 2001 .

[46]  D. Garrison,et al.  Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education , 2004, Internet High. Educ..

[47]  Robert J. Beichner,et al.  Comparison of Student Performance Using Web and Paper-Based Homework in College-Level Physics , 2003 .

[48]  J. Brown.  New Learning Environments for the 21st Century: Exploring the Edge , 2006 .