Inside the “Sandbox”

The Effects of Unlimited Practice for Summative Online-Tests

Authors

  • Miriam Clincy Hochschule Esslingen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4847-5035
  • Karin Melzer Hochschule Esslingen
  • Gunther Schaaf Hochschule Esslingen
  • Achim Eichhorn Hochschule Esslingen
  • Nathalie Verné Hochschule Esslingen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v17i23.35939

Keywords:

STACK, online tests, mathematics, assessment

Abstract


Online tests with automated response systems are often used as pre-assessments or to give students formative feedback on their progress during a course. As an incentive, bonus points are commonly awarded. The pass threshold plays a crucial role: A low pass threshold encourages participation whereas a high pass threshold signals clear expectations for the course, yet is sometimes mitigated by allowing for repeated tries. In two first-year maths courses in different degree programs online tests with STACK questions were introduced. These tests are offered independent from the course format. They have a high pass threshold, allow only a limited number of trials and count towards the final mark, i. e. are considered a summative assessment for the course. However, to allow for practice and formative assessment, "sandbox" environments were implemented allowing for unlimited practice. This article will give an overview over the choice of parameters for different implementations and discuss the findings on the use of the "sandbox". 

Author Biographies

Miriam Clincy, Hochschule Esslingen

Prof. Dr. Miriam Clincy, Professor for STEM Teaching in Secondary Education and Mathematics at Hochschule Esslingen, Germany, is currently Representative for Didactics in Higher Education at her institution. She has implemented online tests in mathematics and physics and is interested in e-learning and blended teaching formats in secondary and higher education.

Karin Melzer, Hochschule Esslingen

Prof. Dr. Karin Melzer, Professor for Mathematics at Hochschule Esslingen, has implemented and used online-tests with automatic assessment at the department Computer Science and Engineering.

Gunther Schaaf, Hochschule Esslingen

Prof. Dr. Gunther Schaaf, Professor for Mathematics at Hochschule Esslingen has been responsible for the design of e-learning tests for mathematics courses at various faculties at his institution.

Achim Eichhorn, Hochschule Esslingen

Achim Eichhorn is employed as a graduate computer scientist at the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Germany. He is a very experienced software developer, specialized in web technologies and interactive, multi-media e-learning content.

Nathalie Verné, Hochschule Esslingen

Nathalie Verné is a research assistant at the Department of Teaching and Further Education, Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Her tasks include working as an instructional designer and developing e-learning modules according to subject-specific requirements and media-didactic guidelines.

Cover iJET Vol. 17 No. 23 (2022)

Downloads

Published

2022-12-08

How to Cite

Clincy, M., Melzer, K., Schaaf, G., Eichhorn, A., & Verné, N. (2022). Inside the “Sandbox”: The Effects of Unlimited Practice for Summative Online-Tests. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 17(23), pp. 115–127. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v17i23.35939

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 23 (2022)

Section

Special Focus Papers

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Miriam Clincy, Karin Melzer, Gunther Schaaf, Achim Eichhorn, Nathalie Verné

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The submitting author warrants that the submission is original and that she/he is the author of the submission together with the named co-authors; to the extend the submission incorporates text passages, figures, data or other material from the work of others, the submitting author has obtained any necessary permission.
Articles in this journal are published under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY What does this mean?). This is to get more legal certainty about what readers can do with published articles, and thus a wider dissemination and archiving, which in turn makes publishing with this journal more valuable for you, the authors.
By submitting an article the author grants to this journal the non-exclusive right to publish it. The author retains the copyright and the publishing rights for his article without any restrictions.