Integrating outcome-based assessment in learning management systems

Abstract

The use of online examination in place of paper-based assessment has gained the attention of educators and researchers alike. This is due to the advantages of online examinations, such as effectiveness, objectiveness, and flexibility. However, creating valid and reliable examinations is still a challenge. Bloom’s taxonomy, which is often used as a framework for assessment in education, has a great influence on how to formulate the course outcomes, and consequently the examination questions. An ideal examination should have a set of questions that are well aligned and hence meet all the course outcomes and correspond to the different levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Moodle is a popular open source Learning Management System (LMS) that can be used to create examination questions. However, it lacks reporting mechanisms that can classify the different questions based on the course outcomes and Bloom’s Taxonomy. The goal of this research is to enhance Moodle so that the questions in an examination could be aligned with the course outcomes and different Bloom’s Taxonomy levels. This alignment is important in order to ensure high quality examination as well as help teachers in developing a balanced examination that encompasses all the course outcomes and different levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.