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Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Space

Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Space. By: Sabrina McDow. PROBLEM. Sweetwater Middle School in Gwinnett County School District, Georgia USA has failed to meet Annual Yearly Progress ( AYP ) mainly because of the math Criterion Referenced Competency Test.

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Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Space

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  1. Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Space By: Sabrina McDow

  2. PROBLEM Sweetwater Middle School in Gwinnett County School District, Georgia USA has failed to meet Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) mainly because of the math Criterion Referenced Competency Test. The next slide shows the scores for 2010, 2009, and 2008 in math. Pay special attention to 6th and 8th grade scores. They are below the district and state averages.

  3. PROBLEM cont.

  4. Research ALEKS is an online software programdeveloped from research at New York University and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) by software engineers, mathemeticians, and scientists with the support of a multi-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation. It is based upon original theoretical work in “Knowledge Space Theory”. This work began in the 1980’s by Jean-Claude Falmagne. He is the founder and Chairman of ALEKS Corporation (Introduction to ALEKS).

  5. RESEARCH There were several people and organizations that researched the affect of the ALEKS system on improving math test scores. Researchers include the following: Vincent LaVergne from Shawnee Mission South School District Holly Stillson and Parthasarathi Nag from Black Hills State University

  6. Development

  7. COMMERCIALIZATION • The ALEKS software has been granted by UCI to ALEKS Corporation under an exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license (UC Regents and ALEKS Corporation, 2011) • Information about ALEKS is provided in several educational and business journals • ALEKS representatives visit many education professional organization’s conferences

  8. Knowledge Knowledge Space Theory is what the ALEKS system is based. The theory is based on the “knowledge state” of the student. What the student is ready to learn? What the student can do?

  9. persuasion Relative Advantage – “In contrast to standardized tests, which typically result in numerical measures of achievement or “aptitude”, the outcome of an ALEKS assessment consists in • (i) the precise and comprehensive delineation of an individual’s competence in a subject in the form of his or her knowledge statedescribing all the types of problems mastered by that individual, and • (ii) a comprehensive list of the topics the individual is ready to learn (referred to in Knowledge Space Theory as the outer fringe of that individual’s knowledge state)” (ALEKS, (2011).

  10. Decision/implementation/confirmation ALEKS is currently being used by hundreds of thousands of students each year in over 50 courses (ALEKS, 2011). Thousands of k-12 schools and higher education institutions around the world are currently using this software (ALEKS, 2011).

  11. The S-Curve (Estimation)

  12. Innovators and Early Adopters The innovators and early adopters for this program would be the 8th grade math teachers and the special education math teachers. These teachers could use the ALEKS program with the current students to test its benefits and ease of use.

  13. Laggards The sixth grade math teachers would be the next group of teachers to utilize the system for effectiveness. The laggards would be the seventh grade math teachers because they currently have the highest math scores and will not see the need in trying a new innovation to raise math test scores.

  14. Laggards cont. The best strategy to move the seventh grade teachers towards adopting ALEKS, would be to prove its effectiveness with sixth and eighth grade math.

  15. Meeting critical mass • Triability - Introduce ALEKS to the eighth grade math teachers. They need the most assistance with raising the CRCT scores. Triability - Allow the eighth grade math teachers at least a semester of using the system to rate its effectiveness with our students. Observability - ALEKS to the sixth and seventh grade math teachers, sharing the results from the eighth grade students’ progress. Triability - Allow the sixth grade math teachers to utilize the system the second semester. Observability - Based on CRCT results, decide if the system should continue and be used county wide.

  16. Decentralized Diffusion System The ALEKS system should be piloted at Sweetwater Middle School to determine its effectiveness before expanding to the other “Needs Improvement” schools in the district.

  17. Change Agent The Change Agent will be the eighth grade math department chair and an effective eighth grade math teacher. The two agents can work as a team to help the other teachers with the use of ALEKS and conduct an in-service to explain how to use the system and provide the necessary resources to ensure its continued use throughout the life of the program licenses.

  18. Critical Mass Critical mass has not been met for ALEKS. Diffusion networks would be the best way to meet critical mass. Improved test scores will be shared with the public and blamed on the use of the ALEKS program. Other schools and school systems will want to use the system to improve their scores too.

  19. Sweetwater Middle School has not met AYP because of the math CRCT scores. As a school, it is our duty to provide the best possible education for our students. ALEKS is the solution. ALEKS is a technological innovation that offers an opportunity for Sweetwater Middle School to assess the needs of the students’ math skills, individually. CONCLUSION ALEKS builds on “what the students already knows”. It will produce the results we are looking for in our scores.

  20. References • ALEKS Corporation. (2011). Research behind aleks. ALEKS. Retrieved from http://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/research_behind • Education.com. (2011). Sweetwater Middle School. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/georgia/lawrenceville/sweetwater-middle-school/. • Falmagne, J., Doignon, J., Cosyn, E., Thiery, N. (2011). The assessment of knowledge, in theory and in practice. Retrieved from http://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/Science_Behind_ALEKS.pdf • Introduction to ALEKS: A beginner’s guide. Retrieved from http://people.msoe.edu/~jorgensen/ALEKS_Intro.pdf • LaVergne, V. (2007, April 9). The effect of the ALEKS web-based learning system on standardized math scores. Shawnee Mission Board of Education. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/4813630/ALEKS-Action-Research-Results-April-2007. • Stillson, H., Nag, P. (2009). Aleks and mathxl: using online interactive systems to enhance a remedial algebra course. Mathematics and Computer Education: 43(3); Docstoc pg. 239. Retrieved from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/44985516/ALEKS-AND-MATHXL-USING-ONLINE-INTERACTIVE-SYSTEMS-TO-ENHANCE-A-REMEDIAL-ALGEBRA-COURSE

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