...Journal of Information Technology Education Volume 2, 2003 An Overview of Current Research on Automated Essay Grading Salvatore Valenti, Francesca Neri and Alessandro Cucchiarelli DIIGA - Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy valenti@inform.unian.it neri@inform.unian.it alex@inform.unian.it Executive Summary Essays are considered by many researchers as the most useful tool to assess learning outcomes, implying the ability to recall, organize and integrate ideas, the ability to express oneself in writing and the ability to supply merely than identify interpretation and application of data. It is in the measurement of such outcomes, corresponding to the evaluation and synthesis levels of the Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy that the essay questions serve their most useful purpose. One of the difficulties of grading essays is represented by the perceived subjectivity of the grading process. Many researchers claim that the subjective nature of essay assessment leads to variation in grades awarded by different human assessors, which is perceived by students as a great source of unfairness. This issue may be faced through the adoption of automated assessment tools for essays. A system for automated assessment would at least be consistent in the way it scores essays, and enormous cost and time savings could be achieved if the system can be shown to grade essays within the range of those awarded by human assessors. This paper presents an overview of current approaches to...
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...Essay Guide for A2 Psychology What types of questions will there be? In AS Psychology you learned how to write short 8/10/12 mark answers, in which the AO1 and AO2 marks were divided equally. In A2, the essays are 24 marks each and you get 8 marks for AO1 and 16 marks for AO2/3/Issues, Debates and Approaches (IDA). So, you need to make a lot more evaluative points in A2! Here are some 24 mark questions from past papers: Topic: Relationships Discuss the influence of childhood experiences on adult relationships. (8 marks + 16 marks) Topic: Eating Behaviour Discuss explanations of one eating disorder. (8 marks + 16 marks) The questions can also be ‘parted’ like these: Topic: Eating Behaviour Discuss the role of one or more factors that influence attitudes to food. (4 marks + 8 marks) Outline and evaluate the role of neural mechanisms in controlling eating. (4 marks + 8 marks) Topic: Aggression Outline the role of genetic factors in aggressive behaviour. (4 marks) Outline and evaluate one social psychological theory of aggression. (4 marks + 16 marks) So it’s important to know when and how much AO1 and AO2/3/IDA to write. Also, don’t skip revising any parts of topics as they might come up in the parted questions. Different types of evaluation. AO2: This is where you provide evidence to support an AO1 idea e.g. about a theory, model or study. AO3: In AS you did this as part of AO2. AO3 is where you comment on the strengths...
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...Criterion SM Online Essay Evaluation: An Application for Automated Evaluation of Student Essays Jill Burstein Educational Testing Service Rosedale Road, 18E Princeton, NJ 08541 jburstein@ets.org Martin Chodorow Department of Psychology Hunter College 695 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021 martin.chodorow@hunter.cuny.edu Claudia Leacock Educational Testing Service Rosedale Road, 18E Princeton, NJ 08541 cleacock@ets.org Abstract This paper describes a deployed educational technology application: the CriterionSM Online Essay Evaluation Service, a web-based system that provides automated scoring and evaluation of student essays. Criterion has two complementary applications: E-rater®, an automated essay scoring system and Critique Writing Analysis Tools, a suite of programs that detect errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, that identify discourse elements in the essay, and that recognize elements of undesirable style. These evaluation capabilities provide students with feedback that is specific to their writing in order to help them improve their writing skills. Both applications employ natural language processing and machine learning techniques. All of these capabilities outperform baseline algorithms, and some of the tools agree with human judges as often as two judges agree with each other. 2. Application Description Criterion contains two complementary applications that are based on natural language processing (NLP) methods. The scoring application, e-rater®, extracts...
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...TCHE2079 – Tertiary Teaching and Learning This model is from a different subject, but the process of evaluation is the same. Evaluating a Source 1. Refer to the most important source (book/article/webpage) you used in your Synthesis Essay. Respond to the topics and questions below and evaluate the source. Source: Davies M 2009, „Computer assisted argument mapping: a rationale approach‟, Higher Education, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 799-820. Full citation of the source, according to RMIT referencing guide for “Reference Lists” Topic Evaluation Authority (50 words) Is that author an expert? What evidence is there to support this? Martin Davies is an expert in this field. I Googled his name and found that he has 2 doctorates and is presently a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education in the Teaching and Learning Unit and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Economics at Melbourne University. His page on the Melb. Uni. website lists all his publications (about 70), many of which are concerned with critical thinking in tertiary learning. Validity & Accuracy (50 words) How do you know the information is accurate? Is it from a valid source, e.g. an educational institution? Find out if it is peer reviewed or been passed by an editorial panel, eg is it in a refereed journal? His article includes an appendix in which he has placed all the data from the quantitative study he conducted. Though I can‟t be sure that this data were analysed correctly...
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... Name | ID | Word Count | Signature | 1. | | | | | Learning Outcomes Assessed: | LO1 LO2 LO3 | By the end of the course, students will be able to: Understand the factors used to identify customers. Use syndicated market research studies and targeting research to analyse the different theoretical frameworks that underpin research and inform alternative research methodologiesUnderstand and implement consumer and buyer behavior theories, models and frameworks | Penalty for late submission: | Coursework submitted up to one (1) week after the published deadline will receive a maximum numeric grade of 40%. Work submitted later than one (1) week after the deadline will be awarded a fail grade (0%). Lecturer has and may exercise the right NOT TO MARK this assignment if the above declaration has NOT BEEN SIGNED and if the above declaration is FOUND TO BE FALSE, ZERO marks will be awarded for this assignment. | Detailed Brief for Individual Assessment | The title of the assignment: Essay on Contemporary Issues in Marketing...
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...Date of submission Evaluation of the ideas The report analyzes the degree of innovativeness of the ideas proposed in the group presentation. It uses the NAF [Novelty, Attractiveness & Feasibility study] approach to assess the ideas presented in the presentation. I chose the approach because it is simple to use and strategic in the idea selection process. Each idea presented in the essay should be scored 1-10 for the following three aspects: 1. Novelty – it concerns how novel the idea is and the degree of novelty determines its creativity 2. Attractiveness – it ascertains the attractiveness of the idea. For instance, does it absolutely solve the existing problem? Or is it just a fractional solution. 3. Feasibility/Practicability – how feasible is the idea in being put into practice? Is it really feasible? (Bradac & Rebernik, n.d., p 44) Part One Part one of the essay presents the idea social programs and diverse activities. In this part, I will evaluate two concepts, first the social program and the CATWOE analysis approach using the model. Social Programs According to Laughlin (2011, p 22), the return of corporate benefits to the community is one of the most important policies of Samsung. For purposes of sustaining these social welfare programs, the company normally requires its employees to voluntarily participate in these programs. I will carry out an analysis of the social welfare as presented in the essay as one of the critical ideas...
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...I. INTRODUCTION The role of curriculum in educating the students is a dynamic process that seeks to cope with the changes in our society. Understanding the traditional and emerging concepts of curriculum as well as the factors that affect its development will guide the educators to respond to the needs of the learners. In planning, constructing and evaluating a curriculum, educators and curriculum practitioners may use one or more approaches. The contrasting approaches that are generally used in curriculum development are Technical/Scientific Approach and Non-technical/Non-scientific Approach. In scrutinizing these approaches, the advantages and disadvantages are revealed and the differences they generate in creating a curriculum. According to Bago (2008), information about personal and collective commitments to a particular viewpoint and the values considered important by individuals, school, and society are exposed when examining an approach. Curriculum can also be designed based on a particular context. It solely depends upon the elements namely: contemplation of aims, projected learning outcomes, syllabus, learning and teaching methods, and assessment. There are three common patterns to design a curriculum: through subject – centered, experience – centered, and problem – centered. These are incorporated into the curriculum by looking into its possible effects to the certain elements mentioned above. A design that addresses to the conceptual framework of science education...
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...Historical Perspective Essay NUR/518 August 11, 2012 Historical Perspective Essay “Research is systematic inquiry that uses disciplined methods to answer questions or solve problems. The ultimate goal of research is to develop, refine, and expand knowledge (Burns & Grove, 2011) .” “Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about issues of importance to the nursing profession, including nursing practice, education, administration, and informatics (Polit & Tatano, 2012) .” Stetler’s Model of Research Utilization to Facilitate Evidence-Based Practice is a primary example of this. This model was developed by Stetler and Marram in 1976. Stetler then expanded the model in both 1994 and 2001 to promote evidence based practice in nursing. (Polit & Tatano, 2012) The model enhances the use of research evidence by nurses to promote evidence based practice. On a basic level this model can use the knowledge from the research to enhance or influence a nurse’s decisions or have an impact on educational programs and many other uses. Stetler’s 2001 model contains five phases. They are: preparation, validation, comparative evaluation/decision making, translation/application and evaluation. Stetler’s intention with the 2001 model was “to make using research evidence in practice a conscious, critical thinking process that is initiated by the user. (Polit & Tatano, 2012) ” Preparation determines the purpose of potential outcomes that can make...
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...Privacy Protections a. What are some of the Constitutional protections of privacy? The Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution provides the “rights of people to be secure in their persons, their houses, families, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the federal government.” Courts have used this to imply a right to privacy. However, this privacy provision applies to government searches and is not applicable to private sector employees. According to Jacobsen, J.D, there are no explicit federal "privacy rights" beyond "reproduction, contraception, abortion, marriage and childrearing", and so the notion of a constitutional right to privacy has little bearing on employment law. b. What privacy rights are afforded to public and private sector employees? The restrictions on employer inquiries of applicants at hiring are based mainly on prohibitions against discrimination, rather than on privacy rights. Pre-employment privacy rights for both public and private sector employees are very limited beyond this. Post-employment privacy rights are also often the ancillary effect of discrimination laws. For example, the Americans with the Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) specifically prohibits the disclosure of medical information relating to disabled. In the public sector, two factors govern the permissible extent of intrusion into an individual's affairs, that is, the relation of the subject's job to the line of inquiry, and secondly, the subject's...
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...Formal / Summative Assessment One 1750 word essay applying the principles and theory of supervision to the students' own experiences. Title –‘The importance of supervision within the counselling profession.’ This will include references to personal experiences of supervision. 1750 words Please note: Students who have not yet experienced any supervision will need to make sure they have had the minimum of one session before they write the assignment (see assignment criteria two). The programme has a list of recommended supervisors students can refer to in order to arrange a one to one session with an appropriate supervisor. Assignment Criteria 1. Analysis of basic concepts and principles of good quality supervision. 2. Evaluation of students own use of supervision. 3. Application of the notion of the internal supervisor to student’s evaluation of their own use of supervision. 4. Clarity of expression and relevant literacy references. Title –‘The importance of supervision within the counselling profession.’ This will include references to personal experiences of supervision. 1750 words INTRODUCTION Bayner & Jinks maintain that supervision both safeguards the client and facilitates the effectiveness of the counsellor 1. Analysis (break into elements or component parts/describe the main ideas in depth, showing why they are important and how they are connected) of basic concepts (theory, model hypothesis and principles (values, ideology)...
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...Strategic Leadership In An Organizational Change Process Management Essay 10/12/15 13:51 Strategic Leadership In An Organizational Change Process Management Essay The following essay will critically discuss the role of strategic leadership in an organizational change process using relevant theories and example. The objective of this paper is to come up with a solution of the many challenges that occur in the process of organizational change through implementing proper leadership. Organizational change refers to a situation whereby an organization adopts a new strategy in the way it carries out its activities and management for better or removes a major section or an operational department (McNamara, 2011). Strategic leadership on the other hand refers to the implementation of strategies in the management of workers in any organization. Organizations always go through change, at times gradual and other times drastic throughout their normal life cycle whereby organizational leaders may create change driving forces within the organization. For example, radical changes may take place in an organization leading to structural transformation through which organizations attempt to revitalize business orientations through changing the reporting structure. Other changes, for instance, merger and acquisition, transforming the top management of an organization, reorganization and restructuring of the company may affect the organization culture and processes. Most of these...
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...The Intelligent Essay Assessor: Applications to Educational Technology Peter W. Foltz, New Mexico State University Darrell Laham, Knowledge Analysis Technologies Thomas K. Landauer, University of Colorado Abstract The Intelligent Essay Assessor (IEA) is a set of software tools for scoring the quality of essay content. The IEA uses Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), which is both a computational model of human knowledge representation and a method for extracting semantic similarity of words and passages from text. Simulations of psycholinguistic phenomena show that LSA reflects similarities of human meaning effectively. To assess essay quality, LSA is first trained on domain-representative text. Then student essays are characterized by LSA representations of the meaning of the words used, and they are compared with essays of known quality in regard to their degree of conceptual relevance and the amount of relevant content. Over many diverse topics, the IEA scores agreed with human experts as accurately as expert scores agreed with each other. Implications are discussed for incorporating automatic essay scoring in more general forms of educational technology. 1. Introduction While writing is an essential part of the educational process, many instructors find it difficult to incorporate large numbers of writing assignments in their courses due to the effort required to evaluate them. However, the ability to convey information verbally is an important educational achievement...
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...This essay will discuss a clinical skill in which I have become competent in practicing. I will use a reflective model to discuss how I have achieved the necessary level of competence in my nurse training programme. The reflective model I have chosen to use is Gibbs model (Gibbs 1988). Gibbs model of reflection incorporates the following: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and an action plan (Gibbs 1988). The model will be applied to the essay to facilitate critical thought, relating theory to practice where the model allows. Discussion will include the knowledge underpinning practice and the evidence base for the clinical skill. A conclusion to the essay will then be given which will discuss my reflection skills, acknowledge my competence and show my personal and professional development. The clinical skill I have chosen to reflect on within this essay is the administration of Intramuscular (IM) injections. I have chosen this as within my first clinical placement this was a widely used method of drug administration and I became involved in the process of IM injections. I therefore researched the topic of IM injections and my knowledge within this area developed. The first stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection requires a description of events. I was asked to administer a drug to a patient via IM injection. I had observed this clinical skill on a variety of occasions and had previously administered an IM injection under supervision. On this occasion I...
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...SAMPLE ESSAY Essential Academic Skills Second Edition Edited by Kathy Turner, Brenda Krenus, Lynette Ireland and Leigh Pointon Oxford University Press 2011 COPYRIGHT NOTICE © THIS SAMPLE ESSAY IS COPYRIGHT OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2011. DISTRIBUTION AND COPYING IS PROHIBITED. Sample essay Topic: Test anxiety causes university students to underperform in their examinations. Discuss. Note: The essay is in the left column. In the right-hand column are short notes indicating which academic writing skills are being used in the essay, and page references for the textbook. Essay Comment This essay examines the relationship between test anxiety in university students INTRODUCTION General statement and their performance in examinations. Typically, universities use examinations of the essay topic (p. to test part or even all the knowledge of students, particularly in first-year 151) courses. As Burns (2004, p. 120) noted, examination results can determine if a Background from student passes a course or can progress onto further study, and may even the literature (p. 151) influence employment opportunities. Understandably, educators are concerned Sentence(s) to link that examinations are a fair indication of a student’s knowledge. One area of the background into the essay special interest is the role anxiety plays in relation to examination performance. ARGUMENT This essay argues that in general, test anxiety lowers performance slightly, STATEMENT Comprehensive although this...
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...SAMPLE ESSAY Essential Academic Skills Second Edition Edited by Kathy Turner, Brenda Krenus, Lynette Ireland and Leigh Pointon Oxford University Press 2011 COPYRIGHT NOTICE © THIS SAMPLE ESSAY IS COPYRIGHT OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2011. DISTRIBUTION AND COPYING IS PROHIBITED. Sample essay Topic: Test anxiety causes university students to underperform in their examinations. Discuss. Note: The essay is in the left column. In the right-hand column are short notes indicating which academic writing skills are being used in the essay, and page references for the textbook. Essay Comment This essay examines the relationship between test anxiety in university students INTRODUCTION General statement and their performance in examinations. Typically, universities use examinations of the essay topic (p. to test part or even all the knowledge of students, particularly in first-year 151) courses. As Burns (2004, p. 120) noted, examination results can determine if a Background from student passes a course or can progress onto further study, and may even the literature (p. 151) influence employment opportunities. Understandably, educators are concerned Sentence(s) to link that examinations are a fair indication of a student’s knowledge. One area of the background into the essay special interest is the role anxiety plays in relation to examination performance. ARGUMENT This essay argues that in general, test anxiety lowers performance slightly...
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