Title: A framework model for the selection of examination mode for courses offered in engineering colleges

Authors: Maheshwar Dwivedy, R.K. Mittal

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Group, Birla Institute of Technology & Science – Pilani, Pilani 333031, Rajasthan, India. ' Mechanical Engineering Group, Birla Institute of Technology & Science – Pilani, Pilani 333031, Rajasthan, India

Abstract: The current practice of assessing students through the open-book mode as against the traditional closed-book mode has been a topic of extensive research by academia. There is a growing consensus among academicians at large that open-book examinations are generally more suitable than closed-book examinations for testing the application of knowledge to innovative situations, as well as for examining higher order thinking abilities. Open-book examinations are believed to be able to reduce anxiety and rote memorising of facts. However, many argue that not all courses are suitable for open-book examination, as we should not overemphasise the benefits of open-book mode at the cost of knowledge content and depth of understanding. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for the selection of courses suitable for open-book examination. A case study of a particular course offered by one of the leading university in India is taken up to evaluate the proposed framework using the multi-criteria decision-making approach.

Keywords: open-book examinations; closed-book examinations; engineering colleges; higher education; universities; India; multicriteria decision-making; MCDM; student assessment; teaching; framework models; student anxiety; academic research; education management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2010.030869

International Journal of Management in Education, 2010 Vol.4 No.2, pp.107 - 119

Published online: 11 Jan 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article