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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.
Sec. Assessment, Testing and Applied Measurement
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1512569
This article is part of the Research Topic Educational Evaluation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Innovations View all 6 articles

Developing a design thinking Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven auto-marking/grading system for assessments to reduce the workload of lecturers at a higher learning institution in South

Provisionally accepted
Khanyisile Yanela Twabu Khanyisile Yanela Twabu *Mathabo Nkene Mathabo Nkene *
  • University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study explores the development and implementation of a design thinking Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven auto-marking/grading system for practical assessments and accurate feedback aimed at alleviating the workload of lecturers at an Online Distance eLearning (ODeL) institution in South Africa. The study adopts an iterative approach to designing and prototyping the system, ensuring alignment with the unique needs and challenges at an ODeL higher learning institution (HLI). The study outlines a Design thinking framework for developing the AI system, emphasising empathy with user needs, clear problem definition, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iterative improvements.Integrating such a system promises to enhance operational efficiency, ensure fair and unbiased grading for assessments, and provide students with consistent, timely, personalised feedback. Tapping on theorists such as Michael Foucault and Joseph Schumpeter, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on innovative solutions for educational challenges in South Africa by employing a design thinking framework and qualitative research methods. It provides insights for developing and implementing AI-driven auto-marking/grading systems in higher education settings. Cognisant of data privacy laws, the study will highlight the essential adherence to ethical guidelines in automated assessment processes and the successful implementation of AI-driven auto-marking/grading systems in ODeL. Additionally, this study aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Quality Education (SDG 4), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9). The study will have a follow-up article that will report on the data collected, and we will conduct another study where we seek the users' feedback regarding the system.

    Keywords: 1. Design Thinking, AI-driven Auto-marking/Grading, higher education, Sustainable, Ethical Considerations in AI

    Received: 16 Oct 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Twabu and Nkene. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Khanyisile Yanela Twabu, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
    Mathabo Nkene, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.