Two teachers from INTO University of Exeter joined an eminent group of expert presenters at the tenth InForm Conference at the University of Reading this summer.
During the event, entitled Evolution of International Foundation Programmes - Recognising a New Environment and Adapting to Change, Emdad Aziz and Alison Buckman, both business teachers at INTO Exeter, presented their research to representatives from 12 UK and one Russian university.
For their Investigation on the Importance of Online Assessment in the E-Learning Process, Emdad and Alison performed a feasibility study on the formative assessment of both the Foundation Business (Accounting & Finance) and International Year 1 Business (Management) programmes.
“Despite the fact that information and communication technologies are very widely used in other aspects of the learning process, many teachers are still carrying out formative assessments on paper. Our project aimed to show the benefits of using technology to both teacher and student,” said Emdad.
For the study, 28 students on INTO Exeter’s Foundation Business (Accounting & Finance) module and 56 students on its International Year 1 Business (Management) module students uploaded an essay on Turnitin software. Their five teachers then provided marks and feedback using the Rubric Mark Sheet (with direct link to the Learning Outcomes) and comments in Turnitin. At the end of the process, all participants were asked to comment on their experiences.
“We found that both students and teachers significantly favoured online- over paper-based assessment,” said Alison.
“The fact that the software enables students to refer back to both the initial question and guidance, and teachers to relate their assessments more directly to the desired learning outcomes, appears to have added up to a far better experience for both. And having the chance to present our research project to our colleagues at the conference was a challenge, but very rewarding,” she added.