Toward Automatic Interpretation of Narrative Feedback in Competency-Based Portfolios

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Toward Automatic Interpretation of Narrative Feedback in Competency-Based Portfolios
Language: English
Authors: Moonen-van Loon, Joyce M. W. (ORCID 0000-0002-8883-8822), Govaerts, Marjan, Donkers, Jeroen (ORCID 0000-0002-6769-0355), van Rosmalen, Peter (ORCID 0000-0003-3405-9599)
Source: IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies. Apr 2022 15(2):179-189.
Availability: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Tel: 732-981-0060; Web site: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=4620076
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2022
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Competency Based Education, Portfolios (Background Materials), Feedback (Response), Independent Study, Higher Education, Student Evaluation, Evaluation Methods, Goal Orientation, Longitudinal Studies, Learning Analytics, Data Use, Medical Students, Medical Education
DOI: 10.1109/TLT.2022.3159334
ISSN: 1939-1382
Abstract: Self-directed learning is generally considered a key competence in higher education. To enable self-directed learning, assessment practices increasingly embrace assessment for learning rather than the assessment of learning, shifting the focus from grades and scores to provision of rich, narrative, and personalized feedback. Students are expected to collect, interpret, and give meaning to this feedback, in order to self-assess their progress and to formulate new, appropriate learning goals and strategies. However, interpretation of aggregated, longitudinal narrative feedback has been proven to be very challenging, cognitively demanding, and time consuming. In this article, we, therefore, explored the applicability of existing, proven text mining techniques to support feedback interpretation. More specifically, we investigated whether it is possible to automatically generate meaningful information about prevailing topics and the emotional load of feedback provided in medical students' competence-based portfolios (N = 1500), taking into account the competence framework and the students' various performance levels. Our findings indicate that the text-mining techniques topic modeling and sentiment analysis make it feasible to automatically unveil the two principal aspects of narrative feedback, namely the most relevant topics in the feedback and their sentiment. This article, therefore, takes a valuable first step toward the automatic, online support of students, who are tasked with meaningful interpretation of complex narrative data in their portfolio as they develop into self-directed life-long learners.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2022
Accession Number: EJ1339291
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Self-directed learning is generally considered a key competence in higher education. To enable self-directed learning, assessment practices increasingly embrace assessment for learning rather than the assessment of learning, shifting the focus from grades and scores to provision of rich, narrative, and personalized feedback. Students are expected to collect, interpret, and give meaning to this feedback, in order to self-assess their progress and to formulate new, appropriate learning goals and strategies. However, interpretation of aggregated, longitudinal narrative feedback has been proven to be very challenging, cognitively demanding, and time consuming. In this article, we, therefore, explored the applicability of existing, proven text mining techniques to support feedback interpretation. More specifically, we investigated whether it is possible to automatically generate meaningful information about prevailing topics and the emotional load of feedback provided in medical students' competence-based portfolios (N = 1500), taking into account the competence framework and the students' various performance levels. Our findings indicate that the text-mining techniques topic modeling and sentiment analysis make it feasible to automatically unveil the two principal aspects of narrative feedback, namely the most relevant topics in the feedback and their sentiment. This article, therefore, takes a valuable first step toward the automatic, online support of students, who are tasked with meaningful interpretation of complex narrative data in their portfolio as they develop into self-directed life-long learners.
ISSN:1939-1382
DOI:10.1109/TLT.2022.3159334