Information Entropy as a Basis for Classroom Structural Assessment

Identifying and applying new and innovative classroom-learning techniques in academia for the purpose of keeping students motivated, is currently a top priority. Assessment techniques are needed which can be applied to quantify the theoretical effectiveness of communication for any given classroom information dissemination structure. This paper explores the application of information entropy to enable the assessment of various classroom structures. Comparing an interaction in a classroom to a communication system with the source "teacher/instructor" as a transmitter of information, the destination "students" as receivers of information, and different interaction patterns observed as the mediums of information transfer, this paper uses information theory as a tool for developing metrics to better understand classroom teaching effectiveness. The assessment methods formulated, incorporate student interaction patterns, individual knowledge levels in a classroom, and the concept of information entropy to evaluate structures in educational settings, the techniques are aimed at providing a platform of stakeholder-centric models for assessing the theoretical information transfer of given complex classroom interaction patterns.Centered around several interaction patterns among actors of a classroom, knowledge, and types of classroom interfaces; this paper provides a framework for considered structural classroom settings as an aggregative result of individual factors of its stakeholders. Throughout educational assessment literature, few attempts were identified on different applications of entropy towards classroom assessment and Its application in the field of educational assessment is still at infancy. The concept of entropy is widely being adopted in various fields of research. In this paper, we portray that indeed there is a great potential of information entropy to formulate promising assessment tools in the field of education as well.