CUHK Expo 2019/20

The implementation of online assessment was commenced during the COVID-19 pandemics. The current paper will share our findings related to the online assessment at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In this survey, we adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches to evaluate (1) the perceived effectiveness of using ZOOM in online assessment; (2) barriers and problems of using online assessment; and (3) suggestions for improvement. The online survey was conducted from May to June 2020, 728 full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students have completed the questionnaires. Forty-three undergraduate students attended an individual interview. For the perceived effectiveness of online assessment, 33.8% of students were neutral on whether online assessment could add value to their learning and strengthen their knowledge and 32.4% of the students were neutral on whether online assessment could evaluate how well the content they were taught. Problems faced by the students included technical problems (49.39%) such as unstable IT connection, followed by self-related issues (9.46%), such as lack of motivation; environmental problems (9.28 %) such as noisy surroundings; online assessment design issues (7.01%); inadequate support from teachers (5.6%); lack of presentation support and feedback from classmates (5.25 %). Suggestions for improvement such as increasing the proportion of formative assessments; providing quiet study zones; giving more online mock exams; designing the exam questions in a user-friendly way that can prevent cheating; providing financial support to upgrade students’ equipment and internet connection were proposed. Implications for future curriculum and assessment design will be drawn at the end of this project.

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Traditionally, tests/exams are key components to assess and monitor students’ learning and academic progress. The standard pen-and-paper format is usually adopted to test students’ understanding on the subject matter in proctored tests/exams. To ensure academic integrity and fairness, students are arranged in classrooms to complete the tests/exams in proctored environments to prevent cheating.

In view of the outbreak of COVID-19, the University recommended teachers to conduct online assessments. Based on these criteria, we revised our assessment schemes for our course, SBMS1432 Human Anatomy and Physiology II. It was a big challenge as changing the assessment format into an online mode involved a tremendous amount of effort to ensure the success of systemic computer technology approach when compared with traditional written assessment.

In our presentation, we will discuss and share our experiences about our assessment strategies, and how we managed to maintain academic integrity for the online assessments. There was a total of three multiple-choice question online tests/exams. We designed and conduced them in various formats, a) display all questions at a time, b) display questions one at a time, and c) randomize the order of questions/answers. Furthermore, we adopted three different combinations of invigilation methods, i) Blackboard with Zoom monitoring, ii) Lockdown Browser with Response Monitor plus Zoom monitoring, and iii) Lockdown Browser with Zoom monitoring.

To conclude, it is important to ensure a stable internet connection, provide clear and detailed instructions and guidelines to both students and invigilators with test trials in advance, and a smooth systemic invigilation process.

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Outcome-based Education (OBE) is an integrated educational approach, which has emerged from primary and secondary education in the US. OBE suggests that teachers should organize curricular activities around learning outcomes to achieve improved student learning. OBE places emphasis on teaching skills that students can perform long after the formal learning process is over. Because of its pedagogical appeal, regulators around the world are moving towards adopting OBE for the regulation of law schools according to a set of prescribed outcomes.
This paper is part of the thesis, ‘Outcome-based Education for Legal Education in Hong Kong: A Mixed-Method Study’. The thesis comprises an original empirical research, which aims to study the status of OBE implementation in legal education in Hong Kong. Of particular interest is awareness of OBE among law teachers in Hong Kong. The finding of the empirical research shows that law teachers have little or no awareness of OBE.
This paper begins with a terminological framework of OBE and underlying concepts. Then, it explains the design of the empirical research for the thesis focusing on law teachers’ awareness of OBE. The findings of the research show that law teachers in Hong Kong may not have sufficient OBE awareness. Finally, this paper examines the possible effects COVID 19 may have on law teachers’ awareness of OBE and makes recommendations for future research.

We report on conducting online exams for Year Two medical students. These are closed-book exams of three major courses scheduled on different dates. Each exam comprised 2-3 papers [MCQ, SAQ and practical (mostly with images requiring short answers)] and each paper lasted 60-90 min. Students took the exam under Blackboard (CUHK/China) using LockDown Browser/Respondus Monitor together with “Zoom” live invigilation/video recording. Students were well informed of the exam arrangement, provided with troubleshooting guides, required to attend two mock exams and given unlimited access to practice test site. Fourteen students opted to take online exams back on campus due to poor internet connectivity or unfavourable environment at home. 234 students (four in Mainland) were divided into ten “Zoom” groups to facilitate invigilation and to stagger their time of activating the LockDown Browser and starting the exam under Blackboard. Students were pre-assigned to join four separate but identical online exams to avoid overloading a single test site. For MCQ, we adopted a single randomization of options and allowed backtracking. In the first and a half day of exams, 15 and 28 students experienced difficulties with LockDown Browser or early exit from exams. For the remaining exams, we switched to release MCQ and practical exam questions all at once instead of one by one, and students encountering difficulties dropped to 2-3. In conclusion, we could work on the exam setting and avoid concurrent exams with other major programmes, while random errors with servers and devices used for taking online exams are beyond control.