Author Archives: Sally Jordan

Plagiarism proof blog?

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Sally Jordan

I just had reason to check the spam filter for this blog and found a comment with a link to a site which would produce a ‘plagiarism proof’ version of my postings. Given that the blog is about assessment, that’s funny. But … Continue reading →

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Getting feedback right

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Sally Jordan

This is not new, but it is something we  seem slow to understand, so I’m going to say it again. Just giving feedback is not the same as students acting on or learning from that feedback. And perhaps the point that … Continue reading →

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Distractors for multiple-choice questions

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Sally Jordan

I’ve just been asked a question (well, actually three questions) about the summative use of multiple-choice questions. I don’t know the answer. Can anyone help? If we want 3 correct answers, what’s the recommended number of distractors? If we want 4 … Continue reading →

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Assessing investigative science

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Sally Jordan

In my last post, just over a month ago (sorry folks, I’ve been a bit busy) I was ambivalent about the news that GCSEs in England are to be replaced by an ‘English Baccalaureate’ and the more general trend towards … Continue reading →

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The GCSE debacle

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Sally Jordan

I can’t quite decide what I think of today’s news that, in England at least, GCSEs are to be replaced by an English Baccalaureate. I can see some good points in what is proposed, but I do wish that the … Continue reading →

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Using games and simulations in e-assessment

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Sally Jordan

At CAA 2012 there were several very welcome papers that addressed ways in which technology (e.g. forums, wikis, blogs) can be used to make assessment more authentic. At first sight (to me, an oldy who has never really ‘understood’ computer … Continue reading →

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Science started here

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Sally Jordan

Sadly, the final presentation of S154 Science starts here has now ended. It was a 10-credit module so didn’t fit well with the 30-credit study intensity that is necessary for English students to get funding. But it was a lovely little … Continue reading →

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Multiple choice questions in Peerwise

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Sally Jordan

Yesterday morning I particated in a wonderful webinar on Peerwise (http://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz/), led by Paul Denny from the University of Auckland. The more I see of it, the more I am impressed by Peerwise – yesterday I attempted to write questions … Continue reading →

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Using pattern matching software

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Sally Jordan

PMatch is a new Moodle question type (based on OpenMark’s pattern matching question type that is currently in use at the Open University for the short-answer free text questions that I have written). There is more information here. Follow the … Continue reading →

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Why don’t more people use short-answer free-text questions?

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Sally Jordan

At CAA 2012 I gave a paper with the title ‘Short-answer e-assessment questions : five years on’  in which I discussed OU work in this area. There was a  lot of interest in what I said, especially concerning evaluation findings. However I wanted to … Continue reading →

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