Computer Based Testing to Enhance Effective Teaching of International M.S. Students in Teaching-oriented Schools

Several teaching-oriented universities in the U.S.A. cater to a large number of engineering M.S. degree seeking international students.In their home countries, many of these students undergo an examination-oriented education system where studying intensely just before the examination is as rewarding as studying throughout the year.As a result, these students are conditioned for studying for examinations and are unfamiliar with the culture of studying continuously.They are thus unable to adapt to the culture of homework based education system that is so vital for the success of graduate studies.One possible way to change these students' behavior is to conduct Quizzes regularlypreferably in every class.If the percentage of Quiz grades in the final score is high enough, then it is conjectured that students will take these quizzes seriously and study regularly.However, the practical problem of such an approach is that the grading load is greatly increased for the instructor.Computer based testing (CBT), where the students take the test on a computer and the test is graded immediately, provides a solution to this dilemma.CBT quizzes can be administered in every class without increasing the grading load.Clearly, a CBT is effective only for objective-style questions and they therefore cannot replace homeworks.However regular testing would condition the students to continuous studying and quizzes designed around homework questions are likely to make students take homeworks more seriously.Several popular online course management software such as BlackBoard and Moodle have the option of conducting CBT.In this paper, we discuss the pros and cons of using CBT in graduate courses, as well as analyze the various options provided by BlackBoard in designing CBT and provide suggestions in how to effectively use them.