Effective Teaching and Learning in Engineering Education using a Novel Web-based Tutorial and Assessment Tool for Advanced Electronics* STEPHAN HUSSMANN, GRANT COVIC and NITISH PATEL Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail: s.hussmann@auckland.ac.nz This paper presents experiences using a novel Web-based tool called OASIS (Online ASessment and Integrated Study), in the teaching of a Part 3 course in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Auckland. OASIS was employed for formative and summative assessment. The difficulties faced in introducing this new tool in an advanced engineering course and the advantages sought in doing so are discussed in this paper. The experience was evaluated over two academic years from both the instructors' and the students' points of view and found to be well received and beneficial to both parties. Principal benefits include reduced instructor marking workload and improved educational learning outcomes for students. INTRODUCTION WORLDWIDE, increasing teacher workloads threaten the quality of education at all levels. The tertiary sector is no exception to this, where an increasingly diverse student population requires more individualised treatment, while increasing class sizes tend to force a more standardised approach to education [1±3]. The large classes found in engineering typically require lecturers to devote more and more time to assessment. Our own situation is no exception to this global trend: in recent years the numbers of students enrolled at Auckland University School of Engineering in general and in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in particular have increased significantly [4]. With class sizes as large as 540 at part one, 250 at part two between 130±240 at part three and as many as 140 in some part four electives, the marking of coursework and the administrative tasks related to course delivery amounts to hundreds of hours. The increasing diversity amongst university students would best be met by more individualised programmes. Yet, decreasing funding and increas- ing class sizes are likely to result in the opposite: more impersonal programmes. Some commenta- tors believe that computers can provide a partial solution to this problem [5]. An analysis by Excel [6] shows that in classes of one hundred or more students the lecturer may well spend more time on the final assessment than on lecturing, lecture preparation, tutorials, etc. Formative assessment and terms tests, etc. further add to the assessment load. Because assessment makes up such a dominant part of workload, a frequently adopted solution to increased workload is to reduce assessment, particularly formative assessment. However, such a reduction certainly negatively affects student learning: the pivotal role of formative assessment and prompt, regular feed- back is well documented [3, 7, 8]. Computer- assisted assessment has the potential to allow an effective assessment regime to be maintained in this era of large classes. Several computer-based tools (CBTs) such as WebCT [9], Blackboard [10], Questionmark Perception [11] and I-ASSESS [12] have been developed in order to assist instructors in the delivery and assessment of courses. The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Wollongong, Australia has introduced WebCT for their first year and found it to be a very effective method for organising and running Web-based subjects. As a result of their positive experience, they plan to extend WebCT to other subjects as well [13]. Most computerised assessment systems have limited testing capabilities, often being restricted to multiple-choice questions [14] although com- mercial packages such as Questionmark perception and I-ASSESS have more sophisticated facilities. The ease of marking multiple choice questions, together with its wide availability via CBTs, can lead to an over-emphasis on this form of testing [15]. However, the objectives of most teaching programs cannot be adequately tested by multiple choice on its own: it must be used in combination with other forms of testing. * Accepted 30 September 2003. 161 Int. J. Engng Ed. Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 161±169, 2004 0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00 Printed in Great Britain. # 2004 TEMPUS Publications.