Development of a tool to support continuous assessments and improve the feedback cycle on statistical analysis assignments for large classes

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a tool, AGStex (Assignment Generation Software using Latex), that enables educators to generate individual assignments tasks and to provide targeted feedback to students in large classes in a timely manner. In this paper, the initial development of the tool targeted at a statistical data analysis course in the field of biomedical engineering is presented. In addition, the authors illustrate how educators can utilise the feedback generated by the tool to improve student learning in large classes. The paper concludes with an outline of the next steps for the project including suggestions on further work needed to inform the impact on the types of feedback generated by AGStex on students' learning outcomes.