Scalable authentic assessment of collaborative work assignments in wikis

• Published in: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 1 - 21
• Main Authors: Balderas, Antonio, Palomo-Duarte, Manuel, Dodero, Juan Manuel, Ibarra-Sáiz, María Soledad, Rodríguez-Gómez, Gregorio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 30.09.2018; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Assessment; Authentic Learning; Blended learning; Cognitive Processes; Collaborative work; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Cooperative Learning; Educational Technology; Evidence; Group Dynamics; Higher Education; Humanities; Information management; Information resources; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Internet; Knowledge Management; Law; Learner Engagement; Learning Analytics; Learning Experience; Learning Processes; Literature Reviews; Performance Based Assessment; Research Article; Scalability; Skills; Software development tools; Statistics for Social Sciences; Student Evaluation; Student Participation; Teaching Methods; Wiki; New York; United States > US; Wiki; Learning analytics; Authentic learning; Scalability; Assessment
• ISSN: 2365-9440; 2365-9440
• DOI: 10.1186/s41239-018-0122-1

Wikis are appropriate tools for deploying authentic assessment experiences for learning and work scenarios in which a group of users are asked to develop a shared task. However, when the number of wiki users increases, the number of contributions can grow at a pace whereby accurately assessing them becomes a complex and non-scalable task. While different quantitative approaches have been shown to be scalable, they are usually coarse-grained and provide limited feedback about the assessment. This work proposes a scalable assessment methodology for wiki-based tasks, based on qualitative self- and peer assessment of wiki contributions. The methodology is implemented using a software tool and is applied as part of an undergraduate course, complementing a quantitative assessment approach. Positive evidence on the scalability of the method and how it implements a more fine-grained qualitative assessment than the regular quantitative approach is found, providing indicators for assessing both individual and group generic skills.