Applying the many‐facet Rasch model to evaluate PowerPoint presentation performance in higher education

Abstract

This study investigated the usefulness of the many‐facet Rasch model (MFRM) in evaluating the quality of performance related to PowerPoint presentations in higher education. The Rasch Model utilizes item response theory stating that the probability of a correct response to a test item/task depends largely on a single parameter, the ability of the person. MFRM extends this one‐parameter model to other facets of task difficulty, for example, rater severity, rating scale format, task difficulty levels. This paper specifically investigated presentation ability in terms of items/task difficulty and rater severity/leniency. First‐year science education students prepared and used the PowerPoint presentation software program during the autumn semester of the 2005–2006 school year in the ‘Introduction to the Teaching Profession’ course. The students were divided into six sub‐groups and each sub‐group was given an instructional topic, based on the content and objectives of the course, to prepare a PowerPoint presentation. Seven judges, including the course instructor, evaluated each group’s PowerPoint presentation performance using ‘A+ PowerPoint Rubric’. The results of this study show that the MFRM technique is a powerful tool for handling polytomous data in performance and peer assessment in higher education.