Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning

Learning and instruction can be enhanced with the information provided from assessment. Computerized adaptive testing is an effective mode of e-testing as it can be operated in a continual and dynamic mode. It can also cater for individual needs by providing tailor-made tests. In this paper, we will examine a new item selection approach which would allow more flexibility in balancing the two competitive goals of accuracy and item pool utilization in computerized adaptive testing. Moreover, a new index for comparing a weighted balance of these two goals is proposed.

Previous research on adaptive educational systems has shown that allowing the student to view their student model is useful in the learning process. Open student models help support meta-cognitive processes, such as self-assessment and reflection, and at the same time increase the student's trust in the system. Negotiable student models take this a step further, and allow students to negotiate and potentially modify their model. Very few negotiable student models have been implemented, and only in relatively simple systems, not integrated into a complex Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). Therefore, it is not clearly known whether negotiable student models pose a significant advantage over simpler open student models. This research implements a basic negotiable student model into a version of a complex and internationally deployed ITS. Subjective evaluation is performed, and shows promising results. Participants felt the negotiable student model was both useful for learning, and enjoyable to use. With a few improvements, this negotiable student model implementation could be used in a wide-scale objective analysis to help determine the usefulness of negotiable student models.

This study uses quantitative method to examine whether or not a social constructivist theory-driven pedagogical model integrated with weblogs is associated with improved critical thinking skills. Forty secondary two students at the age of 13 completed a series of extra-curricular activities designed according to a proposed model within ten months. Half of these students came from high ability class while the other from general ability one. The learning tasks of a topic included practice on thinking skills, written essay on a social issue, and visit to an expert or fieldtrip relevant to the learning topic as well as reflection on the learning experiences. One group of these students submitted their writing tasks in paper form (Paper Group) while the other in weblog entries. (Weblog Group). They also completed a pre-test and a post-test of the Critical Thinking Test — Level 1 (CTT-1) prior to and upon completion of all learning activities, respectively. The analysis revealed that both groups demonstrated gains in Critical Thinking scores in the post-test. Moreover, a significant gain was observed in the Weblog group as well as in the class of general ability. No significant gender difference was detected. This study was also supplemented with qualitative data to solicit opinions from teachers who assisted in the implementation of the project. Suggestions for improvement were also made at the end.