Scaffolding learning for first year students: Assessments and writing

Widening participation in higher education offers us opportunities to rethink curricula to include a wider range of students. One aspect of this involves the role that communication and language competence plays in assessment. In this workshop we will investigate the sometimes implicit communication and language competencies that are part of assessment tasks and the ways in which these competencies might be developed/scaffolded within the curriculum.

Bronwyn James The Learning Centre

Scaffolding learning for first year students: Assessments and writing

› What can we reasonable do inside curricula? › What are the implicit communication and language

competencies that are part of assessment tasks?› Examples of developing/scaffolding within curricula› Putting it into practice › Resources: Some useful links for the unit of study outline › Scholars network - invitation

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Analytical

Descriptive

Persuasive

Critical

Providing information & facts

Re-organising information: applying models to data, comparing, finding patterns & categories

Taking a position, making a claim, developing an argument

Evaluating others’ work, entering a debate, considering alternatives

© Learning Centre 2012

Making the transition to university learning

What can you realistically do inside a unit of study?

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RMIT example

What is implicit in your unit of study assessments ?

What do students need to know – in addition to understanding subject content – to be able to successfully complete the assessment task? Considering the onion and the triangle, for example, do they need to know how to:

- Analyse the assessment question- Understand the meaning of key concepts- Structure a written response in a particular way- Incorporate data/other research- Critically analyse data/information/concepts - Something else…?

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Embedding language and learning support within programs

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Examples at the unit of study level

-Early low stakes assignment feeds into later assignment

-Glossary of key discipline concepts developed as a learning activity

-Assignment models with annotations or used as a peer learning activity against marking criteria

An example: Annotated essay model (focus on academic integrity)

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Segment of an online peer marking activity

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An annotated model (focus critical reflection)

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What students can do to help themselves? : Examples of on-line resources

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On-line resources

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More examples of on-line resources

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