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Role of Learning Management Systems for Formative Assessment in Higher Education

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Role of Learning Management Systems for Formative Assessment in Higher Education Role of Learning Management Systems for Formative Assessment in Higher Education Shehzad K. Ghani Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education Faculty of Education University of Ottawa © Shehzad K. Ghani, Ottawa, Canada, 2019 ii Dedication I dedicate this success to my two loving parents, Amna and Khalid Usman Ghani who supported my learning journey since childhood and taught me that persistence, dedication, and hard work are fundamental ingredients for success. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor and mentor, Dr. David Trumpower, for taking me on after my first supervisor left, for his guidance and direction throughout this doctoral degree and the writing of this dissertation, and instilling a belief in me that I can do it. His cues and questions led me to discover deeper meaning in my work and instilled better analytical skills both for my work and studies. Thank you for your unwavering support and infinite patience through this process. My family needs to be recognized for helping me through this effort by giving the emotional support I needed. I would like to thank my children, Ibrahim, Nawaal and Haifa, and my wife, Mariam. While I’ve experienced a lot of personal growth throughout this process, I would never have completed this degree without the help and guidance of another mentor who I have spent years working with in the faculty, Dr. Maurice Taylor. Time spent with him on research and publication has been invaluable in terms of being able to understand and author qualitative research better. Thank you for encouraging me to push my thinking, focusing on my writing and learning from your expertise and knowledge. I would also like to especially thank the committee members who have been part of this journey with me: Dr. Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, Dr. Douglas Archibald, Dr. Dr. Colla MacDonald and Dr. Giuliano Reis. iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. viii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Definition of Terms ..................................................................................................................... 4 Organization of the Thesis .......................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 10 Assessment ................................................................................................................................ 10 Formative Assessment............................................................................................................... 17 Studies from 2000-2005 ........................................................................................................ 20 Studies from 2006 onwards ................................................................................................... 23 Technology in Education .......................................................................................................... 26 Technology and Formative Assessment .................................................................................... 37 Learning Management Systems ................................................................................................ 42 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .......................................................................................................... 43 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................. 44 Technology Acceptance Model ................................................................................................. 44 The Conceptual Framework for this Study ............................................................................... 44 Needs of the instructors in formative assessment ..................................................................... 46 Role of LMS in assisting instructors ......................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION ................................................ 56 Phase I - Quantitative ................................................................................................................ 58 Participants ............................................................................................................................ 58 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 60 Survey Instrument and Variables in Phase I .......................................................................... 61 Phase II - Qualitative ................................................................................................................. 63 Participants ............................................................................................................................ 63 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ................................................................... 65 Phase I - Quantitative ................................................................................................................ 65 Demographics ........................................................................................................................ 66 Research Question 1: Which LMS assessment features are currently being used by professors and what are the factors which determine the features that they use? ................. 67 Research Question 2: In professors’ perspectives, how effective are the LMS assessment tools for formative purposes and what are the factors that determine their effectiveness? ... 75 v Research Question 3: What could be done to improve the effectiveness of LMS assessment tools for formative purposes or introduce new ones? ............................................................ 79 Research Question 4: What can be done at the manufacturer, institution, instructor, and student levels to encourage and enhance the use of LMS assessment tools? ........................ 80 Phase II - Qualitative ................................................................................................................. 89 Research Question 1: Which LMS assessment features are currently being used by professors and what are the factors which determine the features that they use? ................. 90 Research Question 2: In professors’ perspectives, how effective are the LMS assessment tools for formative purposes and what are the factors that determine their effectiveness? ... 93 Research Question 3: What could be done to improve the effectiveness of LMS assessment tools for formative purposes or introduce new ones? ............................................................ 94 Research Question 4: What can be done at the manufacturer, institution, instructor, and student levels to encourage and enhance the use of LMS assessment tools? ........................ 96 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................... 99 Research Question 1: Which LMS features are currently being used by professors and what are the factors which determine the features that they use? .................................................. 99 Research Question 2: In professors’ perspectives, how effective are the LMS assessment tools for formative purposes and what are the factors that determine their effectiveness? . 103 Research Question 3: What could be done to improve the effectiveness of LMS assessment tools for formative purposes or introduce new ones? .......................................................... 105 Research Question 4: What can be done at the manufacturer, institution, instructor, and student levels to encourage and enhance the use of LMS assessment tools? ...................... 107 CHAPTER 4: LIMITATIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................ 115 Implications for theory and practice........................................................................................ 116 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 120 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................ 143 Appendix A – Data collection instruments ............................................................................. 143 Table 1: Means and standard deviations for the complete set of questions ........................ 147 Table 2: University affiliation ............................................................................................. 150 Table 3: Professors’ discipline ............................................................................................ 150 Table 4: Professors’ position/rank ....................................................................................... 151 Table 5: Level at which professors teach ............................................................................ 151 Table
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