COMPUTER-AIDED ASSESSMENT IN MATHEMATICS (PROS AND CONS FROM FOCUS GROUP)

CAA (Computer-Aided Assessment/Computer Assisted Assessment) is a common term for the use of computers in the assessment of student learning. The aim of the research has consisted in finding out the attitudes and experience of students using a focus group method regarding the use of the CAA system. For this reason, the CAA system was implemented into the teaching of Czech undergraduate students (future teachers of mathematics) in the subject Mathematical Analysis. Detailed insight into the research sample was provided by questionnaire survey focused on students’ approaches to learning and studying (deep vs. surface approach) at the beginning of the research. Experience of students taught with the aid of the CAA system in one course was followed by moderated discussion with a small group of selected students composed of representatives of different approaches to learning and studying. The focus group method allows us to get an immediate view of the problem by students’ interaction and group dynamics. Discussion was recorded and transcribed for qualitative analysis through coding and categorizing. From arising constructed structure, the presented paper is mainly focused on identified categories of Pros and Cons of the use of the CAA system.