Computer-Based Assessment Strategies in the Teaching of Databases at Honours Degree Level 1

摘要

The first-year database module for degree students at Leeds Metropolitan University provides a useful case study in the introduction of "blended" learning, particularly with respect to the module's assessment. A computer-based test, delivered using WebCT, now accounts for a substantial proportion of this. In the 2003 delivery to a cohort of 200 students, a sample test was used formatively, to provide detailed feedback to the students, and then a summative version was used. Logistical and technical problems in the staging of the test for the first time were encountered and overcome. Evaluation of the results has enabled such issues as question design and marking strategy to be analysed. The problems encountered and issues considered, including the security and practicality of testing large groups and the use of automated question analysis, will be of interest to those seeking to incorporate elements of computer-based assessment in their teaching of databases, and others.