Mathematical Framework

The algorithm in the software is based on a mathematical model that formalizes the procedures to compute students’ learning outcomes in a single course and aggregates these outcomes data from multiple courses.

The mathematical framework is based on the work by Z. Mohamed-Kassim (2015).

The essence of this modeling framework is that the learning outcomes computed at various levels rely on the assessments of students conducted within individual courses. Typically, students in a course are assessed using multiple assessment tools (e.g., exams, tests, reports, projects, presentations, etc). It is the data from these assessments (i.e., students’ marks) that are used as the basis to produce the outcomes data either for individual students, individual courses or an academic program. Other types of assessments (e.g., alumni feedback, students’ interviews and polls, etc) can also be used in addition to those students’ marks to calculate learning outcomes.

The two main procedures used in the software are matrix-mapping and data aggregation.

The matrix-mapping procedure is used to transform outcomes data. The basic idea of the matrix-mapping technique follows the approach introduced by Felder and Brent (2003) but refined to improve its computational rigor. Once the mapping is completed, the outcomes data from multiple courses are aggregated to compute the overall program outcomes