Separating the Disciplinary, Application and Reasoning Dimensions of Learning: The Power of Technology-Based Assessment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to show how technology-based assessment can support personalized learning. The paper outlines the theoretical foundations and realizations of an online assessment system, eDia, which was designed to provide students and teachers regular feedback from the beginning of schooling to the end of the six years of primary education. The three-dimensional theoretical model of knowledge separates the reasoning, application and content aspects of learning. The eDia system contains almost 20,000 innovative (multimedia-supported) tasks in reading, mathematics and science, developed in the three-dimensional approach. The sample for the experimental study was drawn from first- to sixth-grade students (aged 7 to 12) in Hungarian primary schools. There were 505 classes from 134 schools (N = 10,737) in the sample. Results empirically confirmed that: (1) technology-based assessment can be used to make students’ learning visible; (2) there is a significance to separating the three dimensions of learning, which proved to be highly correlated, yet different constructs; and, finally, (3) the item banks in the eDia system are well structured and fit the knowledge level of first- to sixth-graders in all three main domains of learning.