Engineering Student Self-Assessment Through Confidence-Based Scoring Kyle B. Reed University of South Florida Tampa, FL Department of Mechanical Engineering Keywords: confidence-based scoring; certainty-based markings; self-efficacy; assessment

Why? A vital aspect of an answer in real-world problems is the confidence that goes along with it. Misstating the level of confidence one has in the answer can have devastating outcomes. However, confidence assessment is rarely emphasized during a typical engineering. The objective of confidence-based scoring is to: – encourage a deeper understanding of the material – increase reflection and justification of one’s answers – use it as an assessment tool

Proposed testing method When? Proposed testing method Previously tested in three semesters Other methods?

Where? Have used in three semesters of a Senior level Mechanical Controls class and one Sophomore level Programming Concepts class, all at the University of South Florida.

What? Evaluation of confidence can be included in any question, but only tried so far on open- ended quiz questions. What has worked well? – Identifies over-confident and under-confidence, both of which can be detrimental.

Prognosis? How are you documenting impact? – Examining answer behavior within a semester How do you plan to scale-up? – Working with colleagues at USF, but am interested in collaborating with others at different Universities What challenges are you currently facing? – Understanding impact of demographics – Determining the long-term impact after graduation What advice would you like from others at FOEE? – What setups are used for experimental controls