Title: Kendall Richards K.Richards@napier.ac.uk Dr Nick Pilcher N.Pilcher@napier.ac.uk
1A scaffolding framework for dialogicality, or
reanimating assessment terms with an
anti-glossary approach
- Kendall Richards K.Richards_at_napier.ac.uk Dr Nick
Pilcher N.Pilcher_at_napier.ac.uk - Academic Support Advisor FECCI
Lecturer in in-sessional EAP NUBS - Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh
Napier University
2(No Transcript)
3Key assessment terms
Account for Critically Evaluate Distinguish Interpret State
Analyse Define Evaluate Justify Summarise
Comment on Describe Examine Narrate To what extent
Compare Define Explain Outline Trace
Contrast Discuss Illustrate Relate
4Are they key terms?
5 Staged Focus Group
Home Lecturer Focus Group
Home Lecturer and Student Focus Group
Home Student Focus Group
Home and Chinese Lecturer and Student Focus Group
Chinese Lecturer Focus Group
Chinese Lecturer and Student Focus Group
Chinese Student Focus Group
6What we focused on
- Positive / negative?
- Meaning (in English or Chinese)
- What do they want you to do? Same in UK and
China? - Confident about them?
- Where did you learn about these words?
- How did you learn about them?
- Have your understandings of these words changed
at all since you have been at university? - How?
- Why?
7Findings
- We found wildly differing constructs of key terms
such as discuss and critically evaluate
dependent upon a number of factors which we
detail here - But first your turn to organise them
8Language
Critically evaluate UK based Chinese lecturers
- Chinese students and British students use this
word very differently. British students would
know its to make comments, to critically
analyse or discuss,while Chinese students
often write completely based on what is given,
descriptive, without their own understanding and
views, or just criticise, list all the negative
points without including any positive points.
Therefore, this is a very important word.
In Chinese discuss means to exchange your
opinion with another or much more other people.
So we can never discuss by yourself...if we say
discuss it is weird because you cannot discuss by
yourself.
9Culture
UK lecturers- Summarise is a really tricky
thing to get students to do.
Summarise- UK based Chinese lecturers --
there shouldnt be any ambiguity in this one
UK students -Ive been brought up in a culture
that you respect these people because theyve got
where they are today and my first reaction would
be not to even question them
UK based Chinese lecturers -- a precise meaning
of critically evaluate can only be determined
when it is put in the real situation different
cultures mean different intentions.
10Stakeholder
UK lecturer Thats good un use it all the
timediscuss must contain the elements of
critically appraise analyse review its
got synthesis its got scholarship its got
the lot in discuss
UK student Ohh I hate this oneI dont really
know what it means to discuss and I often
failed on it...well not fail but ahh you know not
do so wellI read somewhere in one book, that
discuss means that you have to highlight the most
important points of certain arguments and either
compare or contrast them I - And does that make
sense to you? No! (Laughter)
UK lecturers summarise Its a difficult one
because its synthesising stuff its something
students find hardI might ask it in a viva.
Chinese students summarise Just to finish
off, give em say 5 bullet points or actually the
main elements.
11Subject
obviously coming from English and film studies
prove is not really a word that wereally use,
it would be more... justify your argument
Ask Engineers to trace and theyll be out
with the greaseproof paper drawing pictures.
to actually get an engineers description of
soil requires certain tests requires certain
calculations.
12Development over time
I tell our students, it may be better if you
havent learnt it in China, so that you would
learnt in English first hand, there wont be
misunderstanding... and if you know a little
in Chinese but dont thoroughly understand it,
that would be worse. Many words cant be
converted, misunderstanding can easily happen. It
would be better if its a blank slate.
I think I was memorising vocabulary before, and
felt the meanings of the words are similar. Since
I came here, I see them in context, and can feel
the subtle differences between them, and not like
when I was in China.
13Development over time
I thinkmy understanding of all of these words
has changed hugely since I was at university
when it comes to me Im like no, thats a stupid
question hes gonna think Im stupid, I think
its a whole confidence thing general
agreement.
Justify Discuss Critically Evaluate
Analyse theyre confidence issues its having
the confidence to just to go for it general
agreement
My understanding of all these words has
changed.
14Level and weight
It depends on the level of the module, not on
the year that the student is in
Describe if its worth 1 is very different
from describe if its worth 5.
I would use Outline for a 5 mark question or
for 2nd year where I would use Summarise with
the 4th years because I think Summarise is a
really tricky thing to get students to do
I find that define the word for the 5 mark
question or for summary and the discuss is for
20 marks.
15Some theory underpinning our approach
- Or and now a picture round..your starter for
10 is
16Dr Samuel Johnson (1709 1784)
Ruminating on the nine years he had spent
writing the first proper English dictionary, Dr
Johnson recalled how he had set out to fix our
language. But he had found that this was folly
language was in a constant state of lively
mutability and could not be embalmed (Mullan
20103).
17Jose Luis Borges (1899 1986)
Words are symbols that assume a shared memory
(Borges 197933)
18Dr Theresa Lillis
Language, far from being a static entity, with
fixed meanings, as is implied in a dictionary for
example, is a living, social phenomenon
dynamically carrying and contributing to the
meanings that can be made... who is being
addressed, what is being addressed and the
particular meanings, or accents that wordings
develop within specific sociohistorical
contexts. (2003198)
19Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 1951)
There are a number of Language Games such as
Giving orders, and obeying them Describing the
appearance of an object, or giving its
measurements..speculating about an
event..Presenting the results of an experiment
in tables and diagrams (Wittgenstein 1953 PI23).
20Aristotle (384 322 BC)
Topics VIII Questioner and Answerer
21The Enemy within Part 1
Published Source Defining key terms Copies Loans 09 - 10
1.Cottrell (2008179) Analyse examine in very close detail identify important points and chief features Critically evaluate weigh arguments for and against something, assessing the strength of the evidence on both sides. Use criteria to guide your assessment of which opinions, theories, models or items are preferable 29 73
2. Turner et al (200889) You are required to produce an argument in almost every form of assessment that you do at university. For example, the inclusion of instruction words such as discuss, analyse, evaluate the claim that..., critically evaluate the theory... to what extent... alert you to the need for an argument. 3 2
3. Tracy (2002115) Discuss examine important aspects of argue all sides before drawing a conclusion one way outline the arguments, backing them up with evidence consider the implications Define give exact meaning of Trace show how a topic has developed from the beginning to end 2 1
22The Enemy within Part 2
- sound like stupid crap, no... p.s try
dictionary.com
23Fighting the Enemy within Part 1
L Dictionarys a hell of a powerful study...
its a magic book it tells you the meaning of
stuff, and in that respect its brilliant and it
forces me to then think... if Ive written down
Discuss would I have written what the
dictionary said? And its written by far cleverer
people than me, SA Well what I find Ive Ive
started to do... Im finding words and say small
phrases and... actually just copy and paste them
onto Google Or Wikipediaand reading through what
their understanding of it is coz... rather than
one sentence youll get a whole paragraph on it,
and it actually it helps me understand what
actually the word means general agreement
within the sense of what Ive originally seen it
like SB You see the thing is with me I would,
I would actually disagree with you the lecturer
with the dictionary erm because the dictionaryll
tell you what it means... but it... doesnt tell
you how to put it into context it might give
you... maybe one sentence containing the word but
itll no turn round to me and say... I need to
use ethnography in this kind of context L Yeh
I know what you mean I could look up ethnography
and I wouldnt know when to use it exactly yeh uh
huh fair point.
24Fighting the Enemy within Part 2
- What do you do when you critically evaluate
academically? - If the question with the word define in it is
worth 5 marks how is it different from one where
it is worth 1 mark? How? - Were you asked to discuss at school? If yes,
do you think you have to write something
different at university? - Is it possible for students of your generation
to critically evaluate the work of professors
and other researchers? - In China, if you are asked to summarise what
are you expected to do?
25Language Games
assumed shared memories
Weighting
Stakeholder
Term
Culture
Language
Subject
Language as fluid
Questioner and answerer
Level
Time
26References
- Aristotle, Topics. WA Pickard-Cambridge Books.
... Paperback 108 pages Publisher
Digireads.com (January 1, 2006) - Borges, J. L., Di, G. N. T., Reid, A., Borges,
J. L. (1979). The book of sand translated from
the Spanish by Norman Thomas de Giovanni
and, The gold of the tigers selected later
poems translated from the Spanish by Alastair
Reid / by Jorge Luis Borges. London Allen
Lane. - Cottrell, S. (2008). The study skills handbook.
Palgrave study guides. Basingstoke Palgrave
Macmillan. - Lillis, T (2003) Student Writing as Academic
Literacies Drawing on Bakhtin to Move from
Critique to Design LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION
Vol.17,No. 3,2003 pp 192 207 - Mullan, John (2010) The folly of preserving
English in aspic G2 Magazine, Guardian 08.06.10,
p3 - Tracy, E. (2002). The student's guide to exam
success. Buckingham England Open University
Press. - Turner, K, Ireland, L, Krenus, B, Pointon, L
(2008). Essential academic skills. South
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Oxford University
Press. - Wittgenstein, L. (1953) Philosophical
investigations. Oxford Blackwell - Wordle.net