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Ready for University

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Title: Ready for University


1
Ready for University
  • Longitudinal, comparative evaluation of workshops
  • to help Access and A-level students understand
  • university assessment criteria

James Elander Anna Jessen Harrogate 4th July
2007
2
Background
  • Widening participation in HE greater need for
    learning support
  • Support often given at HE level
  • This project support at FE
  • Only 59 of undergraduate students believe
    A-level adequately prepared them for university
    (ICM research, 2006)

3
Background
  • Research on university learning and achievement
    focused on students understanding of assessment
    and assessment criteria (e.g. Norton, 1990)
  • Workshop interventions in first year module at HE
  • Geography (Pain Mowl, 1996)
  • Psychology (Elander, 2003)
  • Business studies (Rust et al., 2003)

4
  • Core assessment criteria for writing in
    psychology (Elander et al, 2006)
  • Addressing the question
  • Structuring
  • Demonstrating understanding
  • Developing argument
  • Using evidence
  • Critical evaluation
  • Using academic language
  • Workshops for first years gave positive
    evaluations (Assessment Plus Project Harrington
    et al., 2006 Norton et al, 2005)

5
Project aims
  • Extend the Assessment Plus approach to FE
  • Evaluate workshops on university assessment
    criteria for A-level and Access psychology
    students
  • In order to
  • Improve FE students understanding of university
    assessment criteria
  • Improve FE-to-HE progression, and HE retention

6
Methods
  • Setting TVU, a dual sector institution with both
    FE and HE sector
  • Focus psychology students
  • Students' understanding of assessment criteria
    measured through questionnaires
  • Understanding compared
  • Informed design of workshops

7
Baseline questionnaire outcome
  • FE students felt more confident about the
    assessment criteria than HE
  • Table 1 Proportion of FE (N74) and HE (N 191)
    students who agreed or strongly agreed to the
    statements

P
8
HE students with (n53) and without (n119)
A-level psychology
Q To address the question, structuring some
relevant material to the essay title is more
important than including ALL the right
information. True or false? Fig 1. Percent giving
true/false/dont know responses
?2 6.9, p .03
9
  • Workshop content
  • Session one talk on assessment criteria and
    homework of two essays
  • Session two work in group with two essays and
    discuss in class how they met the assessment
    criteria
  • Essays
  • Relevant to current programme of study
  • Included one poor and one good essay

10
Participants
  • A level workshops embedded in course
  • Access workshop optional extra
  • Total number of students taking part 43
  • 16 AS psychology students
  • 15 A2 psychology students
  • 9 Access students
  • 3 other
  • Mean age 19 Years (16-50)
  • 29 females, 14 males

11
Workshop evaluation measured through
  • 1) Student feedback questionnaire
  • 2) Follow-up questionnaire
  • Same questions as at baseline, completed by
    attending and non-attending students
  • 3) Student achievement
  • Analysis of grades currently in progress

12
1) Feedback questionnaireTable 2 proportion of
students (N33) answering agree or strongly
agree to The workshops helped me
13
2) Follow-up questionnaire
  • Q To address the essay question, structuring
    some relevant material to the essay title is more
    important than including ALL the right
    information. True or false?
  • Fig 2. Percent answering true

14
2) Follow-up questionnaire
  • Q Developing an argument in an essay is more
    about putting ones view forward than examining
    the pros and cons of an issue. True or false?
  • Fig 3. Percent answering false

15
Qualitative feedback
  • Helped more than many books that Ive read about
    essay writing
  • A waste of time, go revise and pass your
    A-levels instead
  • Come to one it may help you because it helped
    me

16
Conclusion future research
  • Overall appreciation of workshops
  • Changed student belief about criteria
  • FE over-confidence
  • FE students grade analysis
  • Huddersfield Aston university
  • Teaching material available at writenow website

17
  • Please visit our website
  • www.writenow.ac.uk/readyforuniversity.html
  • anna.jessen_at_tvu.ac.uk
  • j.elander_at_derby.ac.uk
  • Thanks to
  • Psychology teachers at TVU Reading
  • NTFS for funding the project
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