Ready for University

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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
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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)

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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)

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• 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)

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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

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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

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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
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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
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• 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

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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

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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

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1) Feedback questionnaireTable 2 proportion of
students (N33) answering agree or strongly
agree to The workshops helped me
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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

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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

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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

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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

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• 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