The importance of introducing module testing online as a pedagogical means of increasing the quality of assessment of students’ competencies in higher education establishments

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The importance of introducing module testing online as a pedagogical means of increasing the quality of assessment of students' competencies in higher education establishments

Natalia Ponomarenko

Vitaliy Ponomarenko

Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport, Kharkov, Ukraine

Gelena Neustroieva

Galina Timchenko

National Technical University “KhPI”, Kharkov, Ukraine

Abstract

The article deals with the multifaceted nature of the problem of testing, theoretical and methodological issues of control of students' educational activities in higher education as a place and essence of testing in the general monitoring system, as well as the definition of different kinds of testing in foreign language teaching process, and basic requirements for testing.

This article considers a test system for assessing students' knowledge of the credit module system as well as the study of necessity of module online testing as a type of controlling educational and cognitive activities of students in foreign language teaching. The process of research testing from the standpoint of optimizing the quality control of the educational process in the university determines the importance of solving such issues as establishing the place and importance of testing in the general control system, determining the types of testing in foreign language teaching, disclosing basic testing requirements.

The general provisions on test control are given, as well as the types and methods of constructing tasks and the ability to assess the level of knowledge, skills and abilities, the level of social and personal value of the acquired knowledge. The methodical approaches and experience of designing standardized tests for computer testing of professional competence of future specialists are covered. The classification of types of tests which provides their testing, selective use or active use according to a profile, possibilities and the purposes of training of a foreign language in each separately taken non-language higher education establishments is considered. The problematic issues related to the assessment of students' knowledge in learning a foreign language are considered. The expediency of using a test form to control of students' current performance is analyzed. The method of module control, which is based on the application of test technology, is presented.

The article analyzes scientists' views on the use of a rating system for assessing the students' academic progress. The expediency of using testing (during the current control of knowledge) and module tests with tasks of different levels of complexity (during the periodic control of knowledge) as effective methods of assessing students' achievements; it is provided practical recommendations for their preparation and application.

There have been developed tools for quality control of education that requires a further study of the theory and methodology of module tests.

Keywords: rating system, quality control,online testing, module tests, efficiency of methods

Пономаренко Н., Пономаренко В.

Український державний університет залізничного транспорту, Харків, Україна

Неустроєва Г., Тимченко Г.

Національний технічний університет «ХПІ», Харків, Україна

Важливість впровадження модульного тестування онлайн як педагогічного засобу підвищення якості оцінювання компетенцій студентів у вищих навчальних закладах

Анотація

testing educational teaching

У статті досліджено багатоплановість проблеми тестування, теоретичні та методичні питання контролю учбової діяльності студентів в вузі як місце та суть тестування в загальній системі контролю, визначення видів тестування в практиці викладання іноземної мови, основні вимоги до тестування.

Розглядається тестова система оцінювання знань студентів за кредитно модульною системою. а також дослідження необхідності модульного тестування як виду контролю учбово-пізнавальної діяльності студентів на заняттях з іноземної мови. Процес дослідження тестування з позицій оптимізації контролю якості учбового процесу в вузі зумовлює важливість рішення таких питань, як встановлення місця та суті тестування у загальній системі контролю, визначення видів тестування в практиці викладання іноземної мови, розкриття основних вимог до тестування.

Наводяться загальні положення про тестовий контроль, а також типи та методи конструювання завдань і можливість оцінювання рівня знань, умінь і навичок, рівня соціально особистісної цінності отриманих знань. Висвітлено методичні підходи та досвід конструювання стандартизованих тестів для комп'ютерного тестування професійної компетентності майбутніх фахівців. Розглянута класифікація типів тестів яка передбачає їх випробування, вибіркове використання або активне використання згідно профілю, можливостям та цілям навчання іноземній мові в кожному окремо взятому немовному вузі. Розглянуто проблемні питання, пов'язані з оцінюванням знань студентів при вивченні іноземної мови. Проаналізовано доцільність використання тестової форми контролю поточної успішності студентів. Представлено методику модульного контролю, яка базується на застосуванні тестової технології.

У статті проаналізовані погляди вчених з проблеми використання рейтингової системи оцінювання навчальних досягнень майбутніх фахівців; Обґрунтована доцільність використання тестування (під час поточного контролю знань) і модульних контрольних робіт із завданнями різного рівня складності (під час періодичного контролю знань) як ефективних методів оцінювання навчальних досягнень студентів; надані практичні рекомендації з їх складання та застосування.

У статті розроблено інструментарій для контролю якості навчання який потребує подальшого вивчення питань теорії та методики створення модульних тестів.

Ключові слова: рейтингова система оцінювання, майбутні фахівці, тестування, модульні контрольні роботи, ефективність методів

Problem statement

Online testing system as one of the forms of independent work contributes to the formation of sustainable and conscious knowledge, enables each student to work in at the pace available to him, promotes full, a high- quality controllevel of knowledge. Using tests in English teaching process allows tutors to individualize and differentiate training, carry out timely correctional work in the teaching process, reliably evaluate and manage learning qualities. The subject of research in this work is testing as a means of monitoring the students' educational and cognitive activities in foreign language teaching. This article considers such theoretical and methodological issues of controlling students'educational activities in the university as the place and essence of testing in the general control system, definition of types of testing in the practice of teaching a foreign language, as well as the basic requirements for testing.

Ukraine's accession to the Bologna Process requires from domestic higher education a comprehensive solution to the problems of improving the quality of education, updating pedagogical methods and technologies as well as means of monitoring the effectiveness of training. According to the Bologna Process, one of the most recognized means of monitoring learning outcomes in the world practice is module testing.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis

The use of testing materials to diagnose the quality of students'training at different stages of learning is the subject of numerous discussions (Syveruk, 2015, p. 165). Over the last few decades, various types of control have been studied (Zaytsev, 2012, p. 90); more than ten types of options, their components have been identified (Nochrina, 2002, p. 110); and mathematical methods for assessing knowledgeand various methods of controlhave been developed (Denisenko, 2010, p. 87). Today, there are a number of interesting developments that are devoted to various aspects of knowledge control and based on the modern advances in science and computer technology.

Analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature (N. Nokhrina, A. Siveruk, S. Denisenko etc.) allows to identify a number of significant shortcomings of the tests. For example, the very limited time allotted for the tests excludes the possibility of determining the structure and level of knowledge of those students who, according to their psycho-physiological characteristics, think and do everything very slowly, but at the same time qualitatively. Thus, the analysis of the means of solving problems and operations of thinking used by the student in most cases is not possible. In addition, the passivity of the language apparatus during written testing destroys the control of pronunciation skills, as well as the logical course of the student's thinking. Another disadvantage that indicates the limited possibilities of testing are the situations of random selection of the answer by the method of exclusion. But this does not deny the usefulness of using tests to objectively verify the quality of training during diagnostic and general testing. A significant condition is the use of a large number of questions that have been very carefully selected and such a set of options which would cause difficulties for students who are going to guess the answer.

Research objective

The purpose of the article is to study the necessity of module testing online as a type of controlling he students' educational and cognitive activities in foreign language teaching. The process of research testing from the standpoint of optimizing the quality control of the educational process in the university determines the importance of solving such issues as establishing the place and essence of testing in the general control system, determining the types of testing in foreign language teaching, disclosing basic testing requirements.

Presentation of the material

The informatization of education has had a significant impact on control, as a result of which tests with the use of a computer have become its most effective means. The potential of test technology and test development can be enhanced by the use of information and communication technologies. This is facilitated by the implementation of such fundamental principles as the unity of the teacher's requirements for the trainees and objectivity, the individual character and consistency of checking and assessing knowledge, and differentiation of the assessment of learning Jn control theory, control is seen as a very important, relatively independent element in the control cycle. Its main purpose is to provide feedback that indicates the coincidence of the actual results of the system with its ultimate goals. The feedback function is very important because it allows you to manage the learning process. Based on the information obtained during the control, it is possible to prevent the formation of erroneous skills, draw conclusions as to teaching methods, determine the level of preparation of students, evaluate their work, change the means and trajectory of learning.

The types and forms of control that exist in the practice of teaching a foreign language in higher education are very diverse. Recently, there has been a tendency to update the position of written control in the verification system, which dominates. This is due to a number of factors, which include: the possibility of almost complete coverage of all students in the testing process and the availability of its results for processing, the highest accuracy of qualification of errors in writing, the impact of this type of assessment on logical thinking and students' focus on the most accurate answer. At the same time, a rating system for evaluating test results is very important, and it allows to make control objective, technological and effective.

All the factors mentioned above indicate that testing should not be considered as the only method of objective control of knowledge and skills. This primarily applies to the use of tests to assess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with a student's productive activities, as such testing can only assess at the level of recognition or prior learning. The effectiveness of training can only be ensured by a mandatory combination of various forms and methods of control.

On the other hand, testing has a number of advantages that ensure its popularity. Comparing the forms of examination control in its traditional form with the non-traditional form in the form of tests leads to the conclusion of a much smaller mental impact during the test control. Within the existing limitation, determining the level of knowledge of students by testing is the most reliable and objective.

In the system of test control, which is an ordered set of related elements based on the stage of the process of learning a foreign language, it is possible to identify such forms of module control as propaedeutic, current thematic, summary and residual test control.

Propaedeutic control makes it possible to organize a preliminary determination of the educational level and the volume of students' initial knowledge in quantitative and qualitative terms in the discipline of "foreign language" and is provided by specially designed tests. Such tests should include tasks that allow to identify the orientation of students in the lexical and grammatical minimum of the language being studied, to divide students according to the level of foreign language proficiency into study groups and subgroups.

In thematic control, tests can be used both during the control of mastering the training module and during training. In this case, testing allows you to implement the following functions: the use of feedback, monitoring the didactic process, determining the student's rating, measuring the results of the educational process. The use of thematic test control acts as an incentive for regular student learning throughout the period of study, not just at the final stage.

A summary control is a final test control, which acts as an element of the general qualification system of the level of assimilation of knowledge and skills of students, which allows to systematize and generalize the educational material. This type of control provides freedom of choice in determining the degree of complexity of tests, because it was organized as a person-centered process based on diagnosing and predicting student activities.

Residual control is a test of students' final knowledge. It allows tutors to identify the level of knowledge of students in the field of foreign languages, which is fixed in long-term memory and can be activated under the influence of certain stimuli at the end of a certain period after completing the study of the discipline.

Individual summary tests can be combined into test blocks that allow to obtain profiles of learning performance indicators for various aspects of the discipline. As usual, test blocks are provided for different educational and age levels and in most cases they give sufficiently reliable results that can be correlated with each other to obtain a holistic picture of learning success from level to level.

According to the number of test subjects, tests can be individual or group ones. The first type of tests is conducted with one student, and the presence of several students makes the testing as a group form. Each type of test has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of group tests is the ability to cover large groups of students at the same time, simplify the functions of the experimenter - reading instructions, accurate adherence to time, the ability to computer processing of results etc.

The main disadvantage of group tests is the reduced ability of the experimenter to achieve close contact with the student and to encourage him. In addition, during a group testing, it is impossible to control the psychological and emotional state of students. Sometimes an additional one-on-one interview is needed to understand the reasons for some low test scores. Individual tests do not have these shortcomings.

Also of interest is to study the test results to determine the quality of a particular practical task or an entire training module. For example, the results of testing in several groups can determine the effectiveness of learning the material, taking into account the inequality of the level of students' preparation.

The use of Internet resources in a foreign language teaching is simply irreplaceable: the virtual environment of the Internet allows tutors to go beyond time and space, providing its users with the opportunity to use authentic online resources in order to test and evaluate their knowledge. The reality of the modern world allows the teacher to use Internet resources to test students' knowledge using Web2.0. A modern teacher has the ability to independently create online tests, with the help of which one can assess the quality of knowledge.

Conclusions

The considered classification of types of tests provides their testing, selective use or active use according to the profile, opportunities and purposes of teaching a foreign language in each individual non-language university. The development of tools for quality control of education requires further study of the theory and methodology of module tests. Online testing significantly increases the motivation to learn a foreign language. Students work more actively, and even weak students try to get a higher grade, sometimes repeating the testing procedure more than once. Thus, online testing is a significant step towards the development of a methodology for monitoring the assimilation of educational material by students. The introduction of online testing in English lessons allows to have a smooth transition from subjective and largely intuitive assessments to objective, substantiated methods of assessing learning outcomes. However, like any other innovation, this step must be carried out on a strictly scientific basis, relying on the results of pedagogical experiments and scientific research. Testing should not replace traditional control methods, only supplement them to some extent. It is necessary to have a reasonable, dosed inclusion of online testing in the work of foreign language teachers.

References

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