Kenneth Tait

Computer or Paper? That Is the Question: Does the Medium in Which Assessment Questions Are Presented Affect Children's Performance in Mathematics?.

This paper reports on the results of a study of English children’s performance on a computer mathematics assessment compared with a pencil-and-paper assessment. Two matched samples of children were each assessed on one of two mathematics pencil-and-paper tests and assessed a month later on a cloned computer test. The performance scores were better on the computer tests than on the pencil-and-paper tests, although this was not statistically significant in every case. The paper goes on to discuss some of the differences between performance and approach to the question between the two media, and explores possible reasons for these differences. In conclusion, the computer tests were found to have an overall positive effect on children’s performance, although not for every child and, in some instances, the computer assessment limited the way in which a question could be answered.

Replacing Lectures with Multimedia CBL: Student Attitudes and Reactions

The lectures for two modules which together comprise an introductory course on textiles and textile manufacturing comprising some 70 hours of lectures were replaced by computer-based multimedia learning material requiring a similar amount of study time. In a student project the reactions and attitudes of students to taking the computer-based course were elicited through two questionnaires. The results of the student project indicated that the data was worthy of further study, in particular, the responses to the second questionnaire. In this paper these data are analysed in detail. The attitudes and reactions of the students are linked to features of the material and its use, and to possible more general attitudes of the students. Consideration is given to the study behaviour of the students and ways in which the courseware might be improved are proposed.

Beyond the media: knowledge level interaction and guided integration for CBL systems

Abstract A pragmatic approach to designing computer based learning (CBL) environments that properly integrate with curricula, evolve as both the system requirements and curricula change and, perhaps more significantly, support additional and enhanced learning activities has been developed. The General-Purpose Integrated Learning Support (G-PILS) system is a tool-kit and “shell” that creates course/module specific learning support systems to manage the integration of courseware in a range of knowledge media (e.g. games, tutorial packages, simulations, electronic documents, interactive presentations) within tailored environments. The findings from a 2-year integrative evaluation of three such systems in pharmacology produced some intriguing results. One surprising and significant finding was that students valued on-line lecture notes delivered as word processor documents more than sophisticated tutorial courseware, because their contents could be modified and they could be used in multiple ways. The interpretation argued for here is that knowledge media should allow students to properly interact with the knowledge in the media (knowledge level interaction), thus enabling them to tailor knowledge representations to fit into their individual study habits. Further, as more knowledge media are used in curricula, it is argued that learners need instructional guidance about integrating them within their wider learning activities (guided integration).

DISCOURSE: The Design and Production of Simulation-based Learning Environments

A component of the Discourse project addresses the tools required for the design and production of multimedia simulation environments for learning. The educational and training use of simulations has two drawbacks: most simulations are designed and produced as single applications; and learners have difficulty in exploiting the learning opportunities presented by simulations. The work addresses these two aspects by developing a systematic methodology for the design and production of a simulation based on an abstract representation of the model which drives the simulation, and by embedding the resulting simulation in an environment which supports pedagogically beneficial learning activities and gives support to the learner by proposing useful tasks, encouraging prediction, and providing explanations which elaborate the simulated events These aims are ambitious, but progress to date is encouraging. Equations for a model can be derived directly from a bond graph representation, and this can be developed into a simulation by the systematic addition of an animated diagram and display mechanisms for graphs and values using generic tools. An entity-relation graph (such as a bond graph) suitably annotated by an author and combined with a graph interpreter and a task space can provide the knowledge-base for explanation and question answering using techniques already developed.

The building of a computer-based teaching system

Abstract This paper argues that: (1) conventional all-purpose author languages inhibit, rather than promote, the active involvement of expert teachers in computer-based learning; and (2) a computer-based teaching system cannot be totally pre-specified, but must be conceived as a growing collection of software tools which enable the author or teacher to construct integrated courseware using only those facilities within the system which correspond directly to the task in hand. Instead of recommending author languages, such as PILOT, which tempt the teacher to write programs that respond to students in the manner of a classroom dialogue, it is suggested that the production of interactive teaching material should be based on frameworks which enable the author to separate out differing teaching functions and tasks: these include the detail of the subject matter (content); the layout on the screen (presentation); the style of the exchange between student and machine (interaction); and the interlinking of student activities (structure). A teaching system is considered as a set of authoring tools providing such frameworks. By using these individually, or in combination, the author can produce small units or modules of teaching material. The teacher may integrate such modules, which have been developed by a number of authors employing different methods, into a coherent purpose-built computer-based course suited to his students (curriculum). A teaching system so constructed, however small it is initially, can be built up to incorporate more software tools satisfying newly identified needs without having to abandon the fruits of earlier work, and consequently a wealth of teaching material in a variety of styles may be accumulated from which numerous courses can be created. In justifying these views, detailed reference is made to the system, GALTS, which is used by teaching staff at Leeds University.

Some experiences in using a computer-based learning system as an aid to self-teaching and self-assessment

Abstract The computer has significantly influenced the practice of educational testing, by permitting more thorough evaluation of test results and by facilitating the compilation of large banks of validated test items. However, the computer is often passive, rarely taking part in the testing, merely processing results to provide information for diagnosis, assessment and decision-making. While objective test items are finding an increasing use in the assessment of factual knowledge, it is less widely appreciated that they can be used in a teaching-learning context. The computer-controlled presentation of such items with associated correct answer(s) and an explanation can pin-point inadequacies and inaccuracies in the factual knowledge of each student and provide immediate correction on an individual basis, allowing the student to eliminate errors and manage his learning more appropriately. A system is described which presents objective test items to students, checks their answers and gives explanations. Mention is also made of GALTS, of which it forms part, and the technique of selecting and sequencing computer-based modules by means of an independent control program. Details of the use of the system by first year pharmacology students and an analysis of the results of an examination at the end of the year are presented.