AMS Survey of Web-based Assessment and Testing in Mathematics Departments

数学科学（21）这个项目正在研究基于网络的评估和测试软件（WATS）在一流大学数学系的日益增长的使用。近年来，一些数学系和项目已经将这些基于计算机的家庭作业系统从实验范畴中剔除，并在数千名学生中使用。有坚实的教育研究支持数学家的本能信念，即通过实践来学习数学，即，通过解决大量不同类型的问题，通常作为家庭作业。基于计算机的家庭作业系统有可能以相对适度的投资对学生的学习产生重大影响。基于计算机的家庭作业的最强案例之一是在许多大学，这些大学缺乏资源来评定大一课程的家庭作业，并根据建议的家庭作业进行每周简短的测验。在无法手工批改作业的情况下，即时反馈和个性化作业（例如，不同的数字在每个学生的版本的问题）的一个WATS有明显的价值，在改善学习和减少复制，分别。越来越多的其他大学和学院的数学系将被期望考虑使用WATS。美国数学学会正在收集、分析和传播有关本科数学课程的WATS的信息，特别关注新生课程。这18个月的努力将导致AMS在线出版物，旨在帮助数学系作出更明智的选择，是否使用基于计算机的家庭作业系统。如果一个部门的决定是积极的，这项研究将帮助该部门决定使用哪个系统。如果一个系的决定是否定的，这项研究将给该系一个明确的理由，拒绝基于计算机的家庭作业。为此，调查将收集有关计算机作业如何影响学生学习的信息。这项调查将导致一份报告，提炼的经验，数学系使用计算机为基础的家庭作业系统，并给他们的智力和实践的优点，以及缺点，为学生的学习。

Mathematical Sciences (21) This project is studying the growing use of Web-based Assessment and Testing Software (WATS) in mathematics departments at leading universities. In recent years, several mathematics departments and programs have taken these computer-based homework systems out of the experimental category, and they are using them with thousands of students. There is solid education research backing up the instinctive belief of mathematicians that one learns mathematics by doing it, i.e., by solving a large number of different sorts of problems, usually as homework. Computer-based homework systems have the potential to make a major impact on student learning for a comparatively modest investment. One of the strongest cases for computer-based homework is at the many universities that lack the resources to grade homework in large freshman courses and resort to short weekly quizzes based on suggested homework assignments. In cases where hand-grading of homework is not possible, the instant feedback and individualized assignments (e.g., different numbers in each student's version of a problem) of a WATS have obvious value in terms of improved learning and reduced copying, respectively. Increasingly, other university and college mathematics departments are going to be expected to consider the use of WATS. The American Mathematical Society is collecting, analyzing and disseminating information about WATS for undergraduate mathematics courses, with special attention to freshman-level courses. This 18-month effort will result in an AMS on-line publication that will be designed to help mathematics departments make more informed choices about whether to use computer-based homework systems. If a department's decision is positive, the study will help that department decide which system to use. If a department's decision is negative, the study will give that department a well-articulated reason for the rejection of computer-based homework. To these ends, the survey will collect information about how computer-based homework affects student learning. This survey will lead to a report that distills the experiences of mathematics departments using computer-based homework systems and gives their intellectual and practical merits, as well as drawbacks, for student learning.