Improving Course Assessment via Web-based Homework

Higher education increasingly relies on course assessment; however, it is challenging to cover all course and assessed content. Homework has been linked to increased student performance and may be a solution to covering or reinforcing key course and assessed concepts. Instructor time and resources are limited, making additional grading challenging. Moreover, using feedback on homework to improve student performance is time sensitive with many faculty, challenged to timely return homework feedback. Web-based tools may assist with the aforementioned issues; however, research on the effects of homework, paper-based versus web-based homework, and online learning tools is inconsistent. The goal of this research is to improve assessment via web-based homework while requiring minimal instructor effort and time. The hypothesis is stated as employing web-based homework will improve scores on student performance as measured by a university course assessment. The web-based homework occurs via the implementation of discussion boards in multiple undergraduate courses in the college of business of a mid-size regional university. Results indicate discussion boards can be used to effectively improve student performance as measured by assessment.