Questionnaire

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This questionnaire is based on the results of interviews with UK higher education mathematics lecturers. The terms 'e-assessment' (meaning assessment using computers) and 'traditional assessment' (meaning assessment through non-computer methods) are used. Please interpret these widely, so: e-assessment could include everything from a full e-assessment system with automated marking and feedback through to a test where the students work out their answers using a package like Matlab; traditional assessment could include anything from pen and paper exams through to typeset reports based on manually worked mathematics.

About you:

Please indicate which of the following applies to you. If multiple entries apply, choose the entry nearest to the top of the list.

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Do you consider yourself to be a user of e-assessment in your teaching?

Suitability

1. Please indicate how suitable you feel traditional and e-assessment are for the following four areas:

  Traditional assessment is very suitable Traditional assessment is more suitable Both are equally suitable e-assessment is more suitable e-assessment is very suitable
open-ended and project work
routine work
to test recall
proof and mathematical arguments
Advantages and limitations of e-assessment

2. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following five statements on advantages and limitations of e-assessment:

  Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree
"speed of marking and return of feedback to the student are reasons to consider using e-assessment."
"in general, mathematics lecturers have sufficient knowledge and skills to use e-assessment."
"when using e-assessment, I have to adjust my assessment to match the technology."
"I can assess everything I need to through e-assessment."
"setting an assessment to test deeper knowledge with e-assessment requires a greater level of creativity."
Producing mathematics

3. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following three statements on students producing mathematics:

  Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree
"difficulty inputting mathematical notation is a problem when using e-assessment."
"assessing by computer input is equivalent to assessing via hand written mathematics."
"it is important for students to hand write mathematics."
Marking

4. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following four statements on marking:

  Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree
"hand marking is always preferable to computer marking if you have the resources."
"human markers provide a greater level of feedback than an e-assessment system."
"writing a mark scheme for e-assessment requires more thought because it is not marked by a person who can be adaptable."
"human markers can be unreliable and inconsistent."
Your use of computers

5. Please answer Yes or No on the following four statements on whether your method of setting and marking work includes use of computers:

"I use computers to check my answers when setting work.":

"I use computers to check students' answers when marking work.":

"I use computers to input and track marks when marking work.":

"I use computers to generate examples when setting work.":

Other comments

Please use this area to give any other comments.

Thank you very much for your time!

Peter Rowlett