The marking of mathematical questions is time consuming and prone to inconsistency, particularly when assessing problem-solving skills. At the University of Portsmouth Maple T.A., a web-based system developed by Maplesoft for creating tests and assignments and automatically assessing student performance, has not only enabled the efficient and accurate marking of examinations papers, but has also allowed their peer moderation by students. Peer moderation, the preliminary delivery of questions to students for checking and approval, has been successfully achieved by innovative use of ‘reusable assessment objects’. Students get feedback on their learning from reusable assessment objects, while lecturers get feedback on the quality of their questions directly from students.

 

Maple T.A. allows the creation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) questions, with automatic marking of responses, feedback, hints and solutions. In the Department of Mathematics at the University of Portsmouth, Dr Michael McCabe has been using Maple T.A. for the past three years to improve the quality of learning resources and provide more consistent marking. “We’ve been using computer assisted assessment for 17 years, but Maple T.A. has given our e-assessment a new dimension. With our student numbers rising from 25 in 2001 to over 140 in 2008, the use of Maple T.A. is really beginning to pay off”, comments Michael.

 

The ability of Maple T.A. to reconfigure tests, through reusable assessment objects, has been a major benefit to the University of Portsmouth. Students can practice and receive feedback on ’real’ tests and can take summative tests at different times without worries about plagiarism and security. 

 

“The randomisation of everything from numbers, expressions and equations to graphs and diagrams means that every question is unique. This gives us the flexibility and control we need to handle the increasing numbers whilst maintaining our assessment standards. We are even able to teach students to use Maple to solve harder mathematical problems and then assess their response using the same underlying software in Maple T.A.,” continues Michael.

 

Maple T.A. is ideal for any STEM subject involving mathematics because of its ability to deliver reliable mathematics assessment. Michael’s first pilot use was in 2005 for an astrobiology course! “Using Maple T.A. in new areas is very satisfying because the questions are not ‘hard-wired'. Intelligent questions can be programmed with algorithms which include Maple commands to automatically perform mathematical tasks, such as differentiation,” he said.