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The development of an artificial intelligence classifier to automate assessment in large class settings: Preliminary results

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Instrument Design and Development

Tagged Division

Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--44085

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/44085

Download Count

257

Paper Authors

biography

Euan Lindsay Aalborg University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-3266-164X

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Euan Lindsay is Professor of PBL and Digitalisation in Engineering Education at Aalborg University. His focus is the use of technology to flexibly support providing authentic learning experiences for student engineers. He is best known for his work as Foundation Professor of Engineering at Charles Sturt University.

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biography

Mohammad Naser Sabet Jahromi Visual Analysis of People Laboratory (VAP), Aalborg University

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Mohammad Sabet earned his Ph.D. in Signal Processing in 2017. That same year, he joined the Visual Analysis and Perception (VAP) Laboratory at the Media Technology Section of Aalborg University as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In 2020, he transitioned to the role of Imaging Scientist at the Research and Technology Department of the Demant Group, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Subsequently, in summer 2022, he returned to Aalborg University to serve as an Assistant Professor at the VAP Laboratory within the Media Technology Section. His current research interests encompass a range of topics, including Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI), Medical Image Processing, and Computer Vision.

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Abstract

This evidence based practice paper presents preliminary results in using an artificial intelligence classifier to mark student assignments in a large class setting. The assessment task consists of an approximately 2000 word reflective essay that is produced under examination conditions and submitted electronically. The marking is a simple pass/fail determination, and no explicit feedback beyond the pass/fail grade is provided to the students. Each year around 1500 students complete this assignment, which places a significant and time-constrained marking load upon the teaching faculty. This paper presents a Natural Language Process (NLP) framework/tool for developing a machine learning based binary classifier for automated assessment of these assignments. The classifier allocates each assignment a score representing the probability that the assignment would receive a passing grade from a human marker. The effectiveness and performance of the classifier is measured by investigating the accuracy of those predictions. Several iterations and statistical analyses were carried out to determine operational thresholds that balance the risks of false positives and false negatives with the required quantity of human marking to assess the assignment. The resulting classifier was able to provide accuracy levels that are potentially feasible in an operational context, and the potential for significant overall reductions in the human marking load for this assignment.

Lindsay, E., & Sabet Jahromi, M. N. (2023, June), The development of an artificial intelligence classifier to automate assessment in large class settings: Preliminary results Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44085

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