Case exams for assessing higher order learning: A comparative social media analytics usage exam

Analyzing the media channel usage of companies via analytics is an essential skill for managing social media. To acquire this skill, students must have repetitive exercises that invoke higher order thinking. The social media usage comparative case exam uses the framework of a case-based exam to provide both learning and assessment. The pre-exam consists of the time-consuming analysis of social media usage while students have access to help in using analytics tools. The actual exam uses progressive cognitive (Bloom) level questions that have a core of correct answers which allow for student responses to be consistently graded in a timely manner. The paper describes the thought process behind this exam format that can be applied to context-driven engineering courses.