On-line peer assessment and the role of the peer feedback: A study of high school computer course

The purposes of this study were to explore the effects and the validity of on-line peer assessment in high schools and to analyze effects of various types of peer feedback on students. The participating students, a total of 184 10th graders, developed their individual course projects by involving the on-line peer assessment learning activities in a computer course. The peer assessment activities consisted of three rounds, and each of the students acted as an author and a reviewer. Research data as evaluated from peers and experts indicated that students significantly improved their projects as involving the peer assessment activities. The scores determined by the learning peers were highly correlated with those marked by the experts, indicating that peer assessment in high school could be perceived as a valid assessment method. Moreover, this study also examined the relationships between the types of peer feedbacks in which students obtained from peer assessment and the subsequent performance of their projects. We categorized peer feedbacks into four types: Reinforcing, Didactic, Corrective and Suggestive. It was found that Reinforcing peer feedback was useful in helping students’ development of better projects; however, Didactic feedback and perhaps Corrective feedback provided by peers might play an unfavorable role for subsequent improvement of students’ projects. The Suggestive feedback may be helpful in the beginning of peer assessment activities; however, in the later parts of peer assessment, the effect of this type of feedback on learning might not be significant.     

Reliability and validity of Web-based portfolio peer assessment: A case study for a senior high school’s students taking computer course

This study examined the reliability and validity of Web-based portfolio peer assessment. Participants were 72 second-grade students from a senior high school taking a computer course. The results indicated that: 1) there was a lack of consistency across various student raters on a portfolio, or inter-rater reliability; 2) two-thirds of the raters demonstrated inconsistency assessing different portfolios, i.e. inner-rater reliability; 3) peer-assessment scores were not consistent with teacher-assessment scores (criterion-related validity); 4) significant differences were found between peer-assessment scores and end-of-course examination scores, implying that Web-based portfolio peer assessment failed to reflect learning achievements (criterion-related validity). In short, Web-based portfolio peer assessment was not a reliable and valid method.     

Reflective behaviors under a web-based portfolio assessment environment for high school students in a computer course

This research attempted to categorize reflection in a Web-based portfolio assessment using the Chinese Word Segmenting System (CWSS). Another aim of this research was to explore reflective performance in which individual differences were further examined. Participants were 45 eight-grade students from a junior high school taking a computer course. The study results indicated that the words used most often in reflective journals fell into cognition and evaluation categories in comparison to emotion and memory. Based on lexical attributes, reflection was thus classified into cognition, evaluation and mix. Cognition was the most common type, and evaluation, the least; emotion and memory types failed to emerge. Although reflective journals tended to be short, the average scores on reflection were acceptably high, which implied it was the quality rather than the length of a reflective journal that students were primarily concerned about. In addition, significant group differences were detected in terms of word counts and reflection scores. The reviews of peer reflections were seldom fulfilled, and covered merely one-third of the peer work; there were significant group differences related to the number of reviews. The duration of peer reflection reviews was usually short, and again, significant differences were found across various duration groups.     

Structuring peer assessment: Comparing the impact of the degree of structure on peer feedback content

The present study examines the added value of structuring the peer assessment process, by providing students with a peer feedback template with a varying structuring degree, for the peer feedback content quality in a wiki environment in higher education. The present study took place in the 1st year of a university course in Instructional Sciences (N = 176) and more specifically compared three conditions: no structure peer feedback (control), basic structure peer feedback, and elaborate structure peer feedback condition. Quantitative content analysis of students’ (n = 41) peer feedback messages was performed, and an analysis of (co)variance revealed some discrepancies between the conditions regarding the proportion of peer feedback content categories: (1) peer feedback style, (2) verification type, (3) verification focus, (4) elaboration type, and (5) elaboration focus. This study demonstrated that a higher structuring degree in a peer feedback template during the peer assessment process might have an impact on peer feedback content with respect to the above-mentioned categories; the peer feedback content. Results revealed significant differences between the three conditions regarding the peer feedback content categories. This study illustrated how a practical instructional intervention in the feedback process can increase the potential impact of peer assessment and boost students’ learning in higher education.     

A high school program in computer science

A team of researchers and educators has introduced a computer science curriculum into Israeli high schools. This curriculum combines conceptual and practical issues in a zipper-like fashion. Its emphasis is on the basics of algorithmics, and it teaches programming as a way to get a computer to execute an algorithm. It has been proposed by a committee formed in 1990 by the Israel Ministry of Education     

Web-based peer assessment: feedback for students with various thinking-styles

Abstract This study used aptitude treatment interaction design to examine how feedback formats (specific vs. holistic) and executive thinking styles (high vs. low) affect web-based peer assessment. An Internet-based (anonymous) peer-assessment system was developed and used by 58 computer science students who submitted assignments for peer review. The results indicated that while students with high executive thinking styles significantly improved over two rounds of peer assessment, low executive students did not improve through the cycles. In addition, high executive students contributed substantially better feedback than their low executive counterparts. In the second round of peer assessment, thinking style and feedback format interactively affected student learning. Low executive students receiving specific feedback significantly outperformed those receiving holistic feedback. In receiving holistic feedback, high executive thinkers outperformed their low executive counterparts. This study suggests that future web-based peer assessment adopts a specific feedback format for all students.     

Structuring the peer assessment process: a multilevel approach for the impact on product improvement and peer feedback quality

In order to optimize students' peer feedback processes, this study investigates how an instructional intervention in the peer assessment process can have a beneficial effect on students' performance in a wiki environment in first‐year higher education. The main aim was to study the effect of integrating a peer feedback template with a varying structuring degree. The present study involved three conditions: a no structure, a basic structure and an elaborate structure condition. Due to a clear hierarchical structure, in which over time (level 1), 168 students (level 2) are nested within 37 groups (level 3), multilevel analysis was performed to examine the effect of time, student and group level influences on students' peer feedback quality and product scores. The results revealed that both peer feedback quality and product scores increase significantly for all conditions over time, after multiple practice occasions. In addition, after several practice occasions, significant differences were found between the conditions in both peer feedback (elaborate higher than no structure) and product scores (elaborate and basic higher than no structure). Building on this, limitations, directions for future research and practical implications are presented.     

The role of the microcomputer in a computer science course

A sample set of microcomputer experiments demonstrating the use of an interface adapter is described. These experiments are designed and built by experienced students to give confidence to first time undergraduates in laboratory conditions.     

Teaching computer security: A course outline

A University course in computer security is described, but it is also applicable for training in industry. The course provides balanced coverage of all major relevant issues rather than specialized coverage of a few. Included are the syllabus, reading list, research topic assignments, and a set of examinations, complete with answers.     

Antecedents of computer self-efficacy: A study of the role of personality traits and gender

Empirical evidence suggests that computer self-efficacy plays an important role in one’s acceptance and use of new information technology. Little is however known about the antecedents of computer self-efficacy. This paper reports on a study of 143 non-users of a self-checkout library system available at a large Canadian university which was conducted to investigate the relationships between stable personality traits and gender with computer self-efficacy. Results indicate that four of the five stable personality traits, as measured by the Big-5 factors of personality, contribute to explain computer self-efficacy. Taking gender into account, results show that the traits of neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness are significantly related to computer self-efficacy for women but not for men. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

How to improve the peer review method: Free-selection vs assigned-pair protocol evaluated in a computer networking course

This study provides field research evidence on the efficiency of a “free-selection” peer review assignment protocol as compared to the typically implemented “assigned-pair” protocol. The study employed 54 sophomore students who were randomly assigned into three groups: Assigned-Pair (AP) (the teacher assigns student works for review to student pairs), Free-Selection (FS) (students are allowed to freely explore and select peer work for review), and No Review (NR) (control group). AP and FS student groups studied and reviewed peer work in the domain of Computer Networking, supported by a web-based environment designed to facilitate the two peer review protocols. Our results indicate that students following the Free Selection protocol demonstrate (a) better domain learning outcomes, and (b) better reviewer skills, compared to the AP condition. Overall, the study analyzes the benefits and shortcomings of the FS vs AP review assignment protocol, providing evidence that the FS condition can be multiply beneficial to students who engage in peer review activities.     

Perceived school climate and adolescent Internet addiction: The mediating role of deviant peer affiliation and the moderating role of effortful control

Although recent studies have documented that perceived negative school climate is associated with adolescent Internet addiction, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation. The present study examined whether deviant peer affiliation mediated the relationship between perceived school climate and adolescent Internet addiction, and whether this mediating process was moderated by adolescent effortful control. Our theoretical model was tested using data collected from 2758 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.53 years, SD = 1.06). After controlling for demographic variables, perceived school climate was positively associated with adolescent Internet addiction. Mediation analyses revealed that deviant peer affiliation partially mediated the association between perceived school climate and adolescent Internet addiction. Tests of moderated mediation further indicated that the mediated path was weaker for adolescents with higher effortful control. Results highlight the significance of identifying the mechanisms that moderate the mediated paths between perceived school climate and adolescent Internet addiction.     

A team-teaching model for practicing project-based learning in high school: Collaboration between computer and subject teachers

Project-based learning (PBL) is a highly effective means of motivating students to learn independently. However, training or encouraging teachers to practice PBL in their classrooms is challenging, especially if the educational system does not accommodate creative teaching practices. In particular, in a test-driven educational system, time constraints and an excess of teaching content makes it difficult to practice PBL at the high school level. This work presents a novel team-teaching model that is based on collaboration between subject teachers and the computer teacher to facilitate PBL in the classroom. A two-year experiment was conducted to study the feasibility of the proposed model, in which the school computer teacher conducts PBL with the 10th grade students in the first year, and subject teachers conduct PBL with the 11th grade students in the second year. Experimental results indicate that the proposed model is feasible in the given educational setting. No class time was lost, and the subject teacher successfully conducted PBL activities. Furthermore, a follow-up survey indicated that the students enjoyed the PBL activities in both classes.     

On-line identification of a heat exchanger with a process computer—A case study

For on-line identification and parameter estimation of industrial processes with process computers an identification program package was developed. Three appropriate identification methods can be selected: recursive least squares, recursive instrumental variables and recursive correlation analysis with least squares. The program package also includes: signal generation, determination of model order and time delay, data filtering for the elimination of low frequent disturbances, model verification and plotting of intermediate and final results. Practical results and comparisons with the identification package are shown for an industrial size steam-heated heat exchanger.     

Suggestions for content selection and presentation in high school computer textbooks

Based on the findings from reviewing 32 textbooks in the past four years for Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, we have identified common problems in the reviewed textbooks and analyzed their inadequacies. Typical problems include the Wintel bias, too much coverage of software application tools and too little of computer science concepts, too many technical terms, meaningless analogies and examples, lack of supplementary materials, and inadequate treatment of programming-related content. The discussion about each problem is substantiated with examples, and suggestions are made on possible improvement. This analysis should help textbook writers avoid undesirable elements in their books and help high school computer teachers select higher quality books for their students.     

MMORPGS and cognitive performance: A study with 1280 Brazilian high school students

The present paper attempts to empirically study the cognitive impacts of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) in uncontrolled contexts in light of the Cognitive Mediation Networks Theory, a new model of human intelligence that aims to explain cognition as the result of brain activity combined with the information-processing done by external structures such as tools, social groups and culture. A sample of 1280 students Brazilian high school students answered a form inquiring about socio-demographic information plus the use of computer games, and also was submitted to a short knowledge exam and a mini psychometric test. The findings indicated that, due to their underlying structure and sociocultural nature, MMORPGs are associated to a greater level of insertion into the Digital Age, higher levels of logical-numerical performance, and better scholastic ability. Finally, suggestions are made for future studies on the subject.     

Implementing an automated feedback program for a foreign language writing course: A learner-centric study

Considering the prominence attached to written corrective feedback (WCF) within the domain of second/foreign language (L2) acquisition, automated writing evaluation (AWE) tools have steadily gained ground over the last two decades. The current study was an attempt to investigate the extent incorporating an AWE program, known as Criterion®, within a process writing framework would affect learners' writing quality in an English as a foreign language context. Moreover, we drew a comparison between the overall effects of computer- versus teacher-generated WCF. Participants consisted of 53 tertiary level students from two intact essay-writing classes. The within-group findings revealed that the experimental group's writing scores rose significantly from the pretest to posttest after receiving automated WCF over several weeks. Significant progress was also noticed on all rounds of scores obtained from five essays assigned to this group except between the first and the second. As for the comparison between computer- and teacher-administered WCF, the former condition was found to be more efficient. Overall, the findings provide a deeper insight into the workings of an automated evaluation tool and how it was employed in the L2 classroom to impart consistency to the assessment procedure and ease the burden traditionally placed upon teachers.     

A computer graphics course for the two cultures

The subject of computer graphics offers a special educational opportunity for bringing together students from the two cultures of the arts/humanities and of the sciences/technologies. The author describes a computer graphics course with this approach. Several important problems arise because of students' varying backgrounds in programming and their expectations, the lack of suitable texts, and the lack of suitably-oriented computer graphics centers. The course schedule is composed of lectures, discussions of readings, and workshops in a computer graphics facility. The hardware and software basis of the course is flexible. Students complete an assigned initial project, a final project of their choice, and are responsible for documenting their project visually and verbally before the close of the semester. Student performance and evaluation of the course suggest this cross-cultural approach is a valid, worthwhile experiment to introduce the structure and significance of computer graphics imagery and computer graphics display systems.     

计算机在高中数学教学中的实践运用分析

随着社会科技的不断进步,计算机应用范围越来越广泛,在教学中能够与学科之间有机结合,一方面促进教学方式的改革,一方面提高教学效率,最终能够促进学校自身长期发展。本文的切入点是高中数学教学与计算机辅助教学的相互结合,从而分析出计算机在数学教学中的重要作用以及应用在教学中的注意项。     

刍议初中数学中利用计算机辅助教学的优越性

初中教学有效性成为目前教育学研究领域的一项重点内容,原因之一在于初中教学会影响到学生的多方面发展,尤其是数学、物理等理科教学,对学生思维能力的发展和成熟作用巨大。本文目的在于探讨初中数学课堂改善的可能性,以初中数学教学概述开篇,提出＂计算机辅助教学帮助解决初中数学课堂问题是可行的＂这一观点,并对计算机辅助教学的优越性进行探讨,希望能够为学校教育的改革提供建议和帮助。