Evolution of the Concept Map Based Adaptive Knowledge Assessment System: Implementation and Evaluation Results

Abstract

Evolution of the Concept Map Based Adaptive Knowledge Assessment System: Implementation and Evaluation ResultsThe paper represents the concept map based adaptive knowledge assessment system. Advantages of concept maps are analyzed emphasizing that the approach offers a reasonable balance between requirements to assess higher levels of knowledge according to Bloom's taxonomy and complexity of a system. Concept maps allow revealing of student's knowledge structure, promote system thinking and support process oriented learning where a study course is divided into stages in each of which knowledge assessment is carried out. The developed knowledge assessment system consists from a teacher's, learner's and administrator's modules and is implemented as a multiagent system. Four prototypes of the system developed within four projects are described. The first prototype supports only fill-in-the-map tasks where a learner must put given concepts in correct places. The second prototype provides changing the degree of task difficulty, thus, performing adaptation to a learner's knowledge level. The set of tasks are also extended by construct-the-map tasks. Improvements implemented in the third prototype allow using of directed arcs and standard relationships in concept maps. The three-tier architecture used in the fourth prototype is chosen to rise the security level of the system. Besides that learner's support is considerably expanded giving help and tutoring to a learner. Results of evaluation of the developed system's prototypes in different study courses are presented. The paper concludes with the comparison of all four prototypes using all main characteristics of the developed knowledge assessment system.

Correctness- and Confidence-Based Adaptive Feedback of Kit-Build Concept Map with Confidence Tagging

“…The correctness information of the concept map is primarily used as feedback. Several concept mapping tools provide the correctness for each component to learners based on the criteria map, such as COMPASS [17][18][19], ICMLS [20], KAS [21,22], and CMfl [23]. Some special assessment methodologies were used for scoring the map, such as the weight of the important components of ICMLS and KAS, and the modified pathfinder of CMfl.…”

Usage of Graph Patterns for Knowledge Assessment Based on Concept Maps

“…CMs are a viable, computable, and theoretically sound solution to the problem of assessing students learning [1]. The use of CM based tasks as test items for assessment allows seeing students' cognitive structure, i.e., their knowledge structure, promotes system thinking, and supports process oriented learning in which a teacher divides a study course into stages [21]. The latter is a prerequisite of regular and systematic knowledge assessment.…”

“…Besides, CMs are easy to create and use. Concept mapping approach offers a reasonable balance between requirements to assess higher levels of knowledge and complexity of knowledge assessment system [21]. Moreover, CMs can be used as alternative to usual essays, decreasing the amount of work demanding from teachers during assessment [1].…”

Incremental Improvement of the Evaluation Algorithm in the Concept Map Based Knowledge Assessment System

“…The goals are reached by the use of concept maps as an assessment tool. Three prototypes of the system have been already implemented and the fourth one is under development at the moment [3]. The paper is a logical continuation of the description of the system's working principles presented in [4] by focusing on a different aspect of its functionality, namely, on the algorithm for the comparison of learner's and teacher's concept maps and its incremental improvement through system's prototypes.…”