**2. Problematics**

#### **2.1. General**

**1.2. Objectives of the actual research**

86 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

**1.3. Fields and application domains**

an authentic context, as shown in Figure 3.

**Figure 3.** The field of hierarchical aggregate assessment

eval.uqam.ca/cluster/.

The objectives of the actual research that is also the subject of a doctoral dissertation is the automation and the computerization of the hierarchical aggregate assessment process with Internet applications and mobile technologies (Wi-Fi). With computer algorithms, Internet applications and mobile technologies, teamwork could be done over the Internet with collaborative work applications used by team members. An Internet application named "Cluster" was developed by researchers of the CDAME [5] laboratory for a PhD project to automate and computerize the hierarchical assessment process with the research and devel‐ opment (R & D) methodology for the development of educative products stated by Harvey and Loiselle [6]. This application currently resides at the following address: http://

The process of hierarchical aggregate assessment has been performed everywhere by mankind throughout the ages. Although the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment was per‐ formed through ages, no scientist has considered to define a particular case of teamwork assessment where team members have several levels of hierarchy. The domain of hierarchical aggregate assessment first situates itself in the field of management and its computerization is in the field of computer science. However, the actual research also wants to situate this process in the field of education through complex assessment tasks in collaborative mode with

In effect, in the field of education, it can happen that courses or complex assessment tasks that could be performed in teams can have several hierarchical levels. The authentic context under the hierarchical aggregate assessment occurs when students perform the task in a similar environment to the workplace. This context also applies to the use of mobile technologies (Wi-Fi) in the workplace through which students can perform a complex assessment task in collaborative mode through their cell phone, iPad, iPod or laptop. The use of information technologies in the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment ensures that this process can take place in the field of mobile learning and especially in the mobile assessment field.

None of the teamwork assessment authors in the education domain as Sugrue, Seger, Kerridge, Sloane and Deane [7], Volkov and Volkov [8] and Baker and Salas [9] have specifically studied the field of teamwork assessment where teams have several levels of hierarchy. Usually, the assessment of organizations with several levels of hierarchy and supervision is part of the Management Information Systems (MIS) field. However, some teamwork assessment tasks in the field of education can have several levels of hierarchy. So, it is important to explore this domain to add new research and theories into the education and assessment field. This new field of research could develop interesting Internet software application as assessment management systems in competency-based learning (AMS) and test assessment systems (TAS) in mastery learning.

Until now, no scientist and no domain expert in the fields of management, information technology, education and assessment has studied and defined hierarchical aggregate assessment. No scientist has yet found a name to define an assessment process with several levels of hierarchy that has always been applied everywhere and has always existed. This process executes itself when individuals are grouped in teams with several hierarchy levels in order to accomplish a task. The research described in this chapter will cause changes and provide a name of this complex process that will be "hierarchical aggregate assessment". This definition will eventually be recognized by the scientific community.

#### **2.2. Teamwork assessment**

The problematics that is at the base of the process automation foundations of the assessment process of teams with several hierarchy levels resides in the development of a procedure or a computer application. According to Loiselle [10], the research and development methodology (R & D) of educational products is at the origin of the creation of educational products and the induction of theories produced by researchers throughout the development cycles of educa‐ tional product development. In the case of the actual research, an Internet application imple‐ menting the hierarchical aggregate assessment process has been developed by researchers of the CDAME laboratory according to the research and development methodology (R & D) of educational products. The process of hierarchical aggregate assessment is the theory induced by the process of research and development for the implementation of an Internet application able to process the assessment of teams with several levels of hierarchy, as shown in Figure 4.

**Figure 4.** Hierarchical aggregate assessment in the field of education

The hierarchical aggregate field defines itself as a subfield of teamwork assessment. Teamwork assessment is part of both management and education domain. So the hierarchical aggregate assessment field is a common field of education and business administration domains. This states the problematics origin of the hierarchical aggregate assessment where the assessment of teams with several levels of hierarchy has been mostly studied by management and information systems researchers while very few work has been done on several levels of hierarchy teamwork assessment in the education field even if complex assessment tasks with several levels of hierarchy could be performed in a classroom of professional training, as shown in Figure 5.

A large amount of work and research have been done in the assessment field regarding teamwork assessment. Throughout the research and the produced literature, authors such as Sugrue, Seger, Kerridge, Sloane and Deane [7]; Volkov and Volkov [8]; Baker and Salas [9]; Zaccaro, Mumford, Connelly, Marks and Gilbert [11]; MacMillan, Paley, Entin and Entin [12]; Furnham, Pendelton and Steele [13]; Freeman and McKenzie [14, 15]; Ritchie and Cameron [16]; and Lurie, Schultz and Lamanna [17] performed researches and developed theories and assessment grids regarding the dynamics of teamwork with a single level of hierarchy that includes a single leader who runs one or more team members. So far, very few authors, scientists and researchers in the field of assessment teams produced research or theories The Internet Implementation of the Hierarchical Aggregate Assessment Process with the "Cluster" Wi-Fi… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60850 89

**Figure 5.** Problematics origin of hierarchical aggregate assessment

computer application. According to Loiselle [10], the research and development methodology (R & D) of educational products is at the origin of the creation of educational products and the induction of theories produced by researchers throughout the development cycles of educa‐ tional product development. In the case of the actual research, an Internet application imple‐ menting the hierarchical aggregate assessment process has been developed by researchers of the CDAME laboratory according to the research and development methodology (R & D) of educational products. The process of hierarchical aggregate assessment is the theory induced by the process of research and development for the implementation of an Internet application able to process the assessment of teams with several levels of hierarchy, as shown in Figure 4.

The hierarchical aggregate field defines itself as a subfield of teamwork assessment. Teamwork assessment is part of both management and education domain. So the hierarchical aggregate assessment field is a common field of education and business administration domains. This states the problematics origin of the hierarchical aggregate assessment where the assessment of teams with several levels of hierarchy has been mostly studied by management and information systems researchers while very few work has been done on several levels of hierarchy teamwork assessment in the education field even if complex assessment tasks with several levels of hierarchy could be performed in a classroom of professional training, as shown

A large amount of work and research have been done in the assessment field regarding teamwork assessment. Throughout the research and the produced literature, authors such as Sugrue, Seger, Kerridge, Sloane and Deane [7]; Volkov and Volkov [8]; Baker and Salas [9]; Zaccaro, Mumford, Connelly, Marks and Gilbert [11]; MacMillan, Paley, Entin and Entin [12]; Furnham, Pendelton and Steele [13]; Freeman and McKenzie [14, 15]; Ritchie and Cameron [16]; and Lurie, Schultz and Lamanna [17] performed researches and developed theories and assessment grids regarding the dynamics of teamwork with a single level of hierarchy that includes a single leader who runs one or more team members. So far, very few authors, scientists and researchers in the field of assessment teams produced research or theories

**Figure 4.** Hierarchical aggregate assessment in the field of education

88 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

in Figure 5.

regarding the assessment of teams with several hierarchy levels (Lesage, Raîche, Riopel & Sebkhi [18]; Lesage, Raîche, Riopel, Fortin & Sebkhi [19, 20]; Sebkhi, Raîche Riopel & Lesage, [21]). This problematic funnel is described in Figure 6.

**Figure 6.** Problematics funnel of hierarchical aggregate assessment

The process of hierarchical aggregate assessment brings together team members into teams that include multiple levels of hierarchy where these people can occupy the hierarchical positions of president, team manager, team leader as well as team member, as shown in Figure 7. The structure of the team is in the form of a pyramid or an inverted tree representing an organizational chart in which each branch is a team which is a team member aggregate. The process of hierarchical aggregate assessment is the action of grouping team members together in a hierarchical organizational structure on several levels and then make an assessment process for each member of the team that is a leaf of the tree or a node of the organizational structure. The Internet application "Cluster" has implemented this data structure located in its MySQL [22] database, and its complex assessment task presentation engine in collaborative mode can perform assessment procedures for each team member or each node of the tree. So in one assessment task, the application can assess different objectives, skills, abilities and knowledge. This feature has not been implemented completely in other distance learning applications such as Moodle [23], Blackboard [24] and WebCT [24], and this statement defines the fundamentals of the problematics of this research.

**Figure 7.** Hierarchical aggregate assessment process capabilities for simultaneous assessment of multiple skills

#### **2.3. Available internet teamwork assessment applications**

Online learning software (e-learning) and online assessment software (e-assessment) com‐ mercially available are Moodle [23], Blackboard [24] and WebCT [24]. These applications can implement collaborative learning via the Internet by the formation of virtual classrooms where a student may be a member of one or more working groups and may attend one or more classes. They have basic assessment features such as homework submission in electronic format by uploading files to be given to the teacher as well as possessing database repositories of many multiple-choice questions that are part of HTML autocorrecting tests. However, none of these applications have the data structure and software architecture to group or aggregate groups of individuals or teams of students to several hierarchical levels in order to achieve complex assessment tasks in collaborative mode as the "Cluster" application does.

Few of the applications mentioned in the literature is capable of simultaneous assessment of different skills and knowledge according to the hierarchical status of the learner in the same assessment task. The following authors studied peer assessment, but only for the assessment of the same skills and knowledge of team members having the same hierarchical status: Sugrue, Seger, Kerridge, Sloane and Deane [7]; Volkov and Volkov [8]; Baker and Salas [9]; Zaccaro, Mumford, Connelly, Marks and Gilbert [11]; MacMillan, Paley, Entin and Entin [12]; Furnham, Pendelton and Steele [13]; Freeman and McKenzie [14, 15]; Ritchie and Cameron [16]; and Lurie, Schultz and Lamanna [17]. The "Cluster" application data structure is designed to record the group organizational tree structure that contains the hierarchical levels, linking the team members together, while the Moodle [23], Blackboard [24] and WebCT [24] Internet application only allows them to record virtual classes without several levels of hierarchy.
