Neisser Workshop

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Assessment Plus

ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP 4:

USE OF EVIDENCE AND EVALUATION

WORKSHOPSON UNDERSTANDING

ESSAY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

INTHE SCIENCES, SOCIAL SCIENCES,

AND RELATED DISCIPLINES

Assessment Plus (A+)is a two-year consortium project to develop tailored resources forstudents and staff that focus on core aspects of assessment criteria. The work is taking placeat London Metropolitan University, Liverpool Hope University College, and Aston University,radiating out to a number of external partner institutions.

For further details, see the project web site at http://www.assessmentplus.net .

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A+ Social Sciences Workshop 4 - Contents(Version April 2004)

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

Overview of the workshop programme 5

Note to tutors on using the protocols 6

Support materials 6

Comments welcome 6

Attracting students 7

WORKSHOP FOUR: USE OF EVIDENCE AND EVALUATION 9

USEOFEVIDENCE 10

Activity 15 Deciding what counts as a good use of evidence 10

Activity 16 Detecting citation and referencing errors 11

EVALUATION 11

EVALUATION 1: EVALUATINGTHEQUALITYOFSOURCEMATERIAL 12

Activity 17 Evaluating books as a source of information 12

Activity 18 Evaluating journals as a source of information 13

Activity 19 Evaluating the Internet as a source of information 13

EVALUATION 2: ASSESSINGVALUEANDDETECTINGBIAS 14

Activity 20 Identifying bias in written materials 15

Activity 21 Evaluating the evidence: reading paragraphs critically 16

Resources for workshop four 17

Sample sentences showing use of evidence (for two essay titles) 19

Assessment Plus: Using assessment criteria to support student learning

HEFCE funded consortium project

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A+ Social Sciences Workshop 4 - Contents(Version April 2004)

Paragraph with reference list containing errors 23

Correct version of paragraph with reference list 25

Evaluating the quality of books, journals, and materials from the

Internet

27

Assessing value and detecting bias 29

Paragraph reading questions 31

EVALUATION OF THE WORKSHOP PROGRAMME 33

Overview of evaluation forms 33

Student evaluation form for Workshop 4 35

Student evaluation form for the workshop programme 37

Staff evaluation form for the workshop programme 41

REFERENCES 47



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A+ Social Sciences Workshop 4 - Introduction(Version April 2004)

INTRODUCTION

Overview of the workshop programme

One of the aims of the Assessment Plus (A+) project is to support student learning byhighlighting the role of assessment criteria. This project is intended to enhance studentsacademic writing skills and improve their essay writing performance. In doing this wehope to address national agendas of widening participation and retention as well asprovide practical help to new entrants to Higher Education.

Most students entering Higher Education have only a limited understanding of what ismeant by the term assessment criteria and do not automatically target their work towardsmeeting the criteria in a way that is acceptable to the demands of their chosen subject.

It is hoped that the proposed series of workshops will:

provide students with a clearer understanding of what assessment criteria are andhow they are used

eradicate any misconceptions students have about what is considered appropriatewriting in Higher Education

demystify the essay-writing process

improve students academic writing.

All of the material in this document is freely available for colleagues to use oradapt, provided acknowledgment is made to Assessment Plus by citing the projectweb site.



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Note to tutors on using the protocols

The intention of this document is to provide you with some suggestions for workshopactivities to help your students write better essays. As such it can be used to deliver theworkshop as outlined, either on its own or as part of the series of five workshops, or it can

be regarded as a resource from which to pick and choose specific activities for integrationinto existing tutorials or programmes.

The workshop series

Each workshop follows the standard format of a brief rationale followed by a number ofsuggested activities. Workshop 1 is a general introduction to assessment criteria and whythey are important. Workshops 2, 3 and 4 each cover two assessment criteria, thoughseparate workshops could be dedicated to each of the criteria if preferred. Finally,workshop 5 gets students to put it all together and apply what they have learned to their

next essay or to look at a past essay and see how it could be improved.

Support materials

Most of the materials you will need to run the activities in the workshops are provided withthese downloadable documents. Following each workshop protocol, there is a resourcessection containing relevant handouts. Occasionally, you will need to supply some of thematerials needed (such as journals and books for students to evaluate in Workshop 4);when this is the case, it is clearly indicated in the protocols.

In addition, you may find that you would like to substitute some of your own materials forthe ones provided here. In this case, the protocols and resources can act as a guide ortemplate.

Comments welcome

Part of the process of developing any support for students involves trialling andevaluating, and the Assessment Plus team welcomes informal feedback andcomments at any stage. Please contact Katherine Harrington [email protected] .

In addition, the project has developed evaluation forms for each workshop and for theseries as a whole for both students and staff. Please see the section on Evaluation ofthe Workshop Programme towards the end of this document for copies of the forms.



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Attracting students

Tutors may offer these workshops as optional or compulsory depending on the localcontext and the perceived necessity for such support. For those who are hoping toencourage students on an optional basis, it is important to avoid any remedial overtones.

The following workshop titles are suggested as more student-friendly and more attractivethan the more soberly phrased titles in this protocol. Of course, deciding which titles touse is a matter for individual tutors who know their own students best and what is mostlikely to appeal to them.

Protocol titles Student friendly titles

Programme Workshops on understandingassessment criteria for 1st year

students

Writing at university

Workshop 1 What are assessment criteria? The key to improving yourgrades

Workshop 2 Addressing the questionStructuring the answer

Where to begin?

Workshop 3 Demonstrating understandingDeveloping argument How to show you know whatyou're writing about

Workshop 4 Use of evidenceEvaluation

Looking for the evidence

Workshop 5 Applying the criteria to your ownwork

Becoming more expert in youressay writing



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A+ Social Sciences Workshop 4(Version April 2004)



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WORKSHOP FOUR: i) USE OF EVIDENCEii) EVALUATION

Purpose and rationale

Sometimes students are unclear about what counts as appropriate evidence in scienceand social science essays. Those coming from an arts or humanities background may notrealize, or may be confused about the fact, that quotations are not as appropriate in theirnew subject. This workshop should clarify this issue and re-emphasize the importance ofcorrect referencing and citing of sources.

The workshop will also show students the steps they need to take when they evaluate atopic. It will highlight that evaluation is perhaps the toughest criterion and it is notexpected that this is something they will get right the first time. It should also be pointedout that students evaluative skills are expected to improve as they progress through theirdegree course.

Structure

The workshop begins with some tutor input on striking a balance between independentthinking and following conventions on the use of evidence in essays. This is followed bytwo brief exercises giving students practice in detecting appropriate uses of evidence andcorrectly citing it.

The second part of the workshop is concerned with evaluation.



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USE OF EVIDENCE

Tutor input

The assessment criterion of using evidence in essays can be potentially very confusing forstudents when they enter Higher Education. They are told that they need to think andreason for themselves, but their essays sometimes come back with comments like Im notinterested in your opinion or Wheres the evidence for this? (Mazuro and Hopkins, 2002).

Students need to be told about trying to achieve a balance here, where we want them tothink for themselves about an essay topic, but the demands of writing an academic essaymean they have to follow the convention of backing up any assertions they make withappropriate evidence.

What counts as appropriate evidence varies to some degree between subjects, but

generally students writing essays in subjects with a tradition of empirical research shouldconcentrate on empirical research findings reported in journals and on conceptual andtheoretical books and papers. As mentioned in workshop three, quotations should beused very selectively, if at all. It is often better to paraphrase quotations in your ownwords; only when it is important to draw attention to the specific words used by someoneelse (e.g., when referring to terms and definitions used by a theorist or researcher), shoulddirect quotations be used. In common with most subjects in higher education, statementsof personal opinion and anecdotal material should be avoided.

Activity 15 Deciding what counts as a good use of evidence Handout

Provide students with examples of essay sentences that show a variety of strengths andweaknesses in their use of evidence. (Sample sentences from essays in the areapsychology are provided with this document; however, tutors may prefer to provide theirown sentences which refer to other subjects or to more general topics. Suggestions ofsample sentences to include in future versions of the protocols would be gratefullyreceived by the A+ team.). To make this exercise more fun, groups could draw sentencesout of a hat to work on.

Remind students that evidence is something that is used to support a point; it is not simplya reference to the findings of empirical research (it may be helpful here to refer back to theparagraph questions introduced in the last workshop). Ask them to look at theirsentences and decide what is strong and/or weak about how evidence is used and whythey think this. How could each use of evidence be improved? After ten minutes, ask



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each group to share with the class how they have improved the weaknesses of each useof evidence.

Tutor input

Lead students in a general discussion about potential sources of evidence for their essaysand about the importance of correct referencing and citation of these sources. Tellstudents that they should refer to their course handbooks or to journals in their subjectarea to establish the correct citation and referencing format required of them.

Activity 16 Detecting citation and referencing errors Handout

This activity gives students practice in following the conventions of the Harvard system.

Provide students with the paragraph and brief reference list that contain citation andreferencing errors which is included in the resources section. Ask them to work in smallgroups to correct the paragraph. Once they have finished, provide them with thecorrected paragraph and reference list and talk them through the corrections they did anddid not identify.

EVALUATION

Tutor input

Students can be told that it is not assumed they will be fully able to critically evaluate fromthe first piece of work in the first year; rather, it is hoped that their ability to do this willdevelop over the course of their degree. Tutors generally are appreciative of attempts toevaluate, and many regard thoughtful critical evaluation as a hallmark of the best essays,so it is important to work on developing this aspect of essay writing.

As a basic rule of thumb, there are two levels of evaluation:

i) evaluating the quality of the information in a book, article or material from theInternet,



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ii) assessing the value of the information and detecting bias in a book, article ormaterial from the Internet.

i) Evaluating the quality of source material

The ideas in this section are taken from the work of Angela Duckworth and Ruth Keane(both librarians at Liverpool Hope) inAcademic Writing and Information Retrieval for theSciences and Social Sciences.

Handout

The Resources section includes a two-page handout with much of the followinginformation, which could be provided to accompany the activities below.

Activity 17 Evaluating books as a source of informationStudents can be asked how they could evaluate the quality of the information within abook. Can they assume that because a book is published, it is of a high quality or theinformation is accurate? They also need to consider the purpose of evaluation. It is not

just a way to judge the individual merits of one book, but is more a tool to assist them inselecting the best information for their essay from the vast wealth of informationavailable.

Ways to get started evaluating books

Resources required provided by tutor

Provide students with a variety of books. Ask them to get into pairs, choose a book, andanswer the following questions.

(a) Is the book up to date?

(b) Has the book been written by a well-known and respected author?

(c) Does it use mainly primary (original) sources or secondary sources (originalwork cited by someone else)?

(d) Is the book scholarly rather than popular?

(e) Is the bibliography substantial?



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Each pair should have a chance to consider at least two different books. They shouldthen share their answers with the whole group.

Activity 18 Evaluating journals as a source of informationIn the sciences and social sciences, one of the most valuable sources of information isfound in journals. This is because printed materials are often out of date by the time theyare published, something particularly true of books as they take a long time to write andget published. For journal articles the process is swifter, although even here it may takeeighteen months or more from the time the author submitted her/his first manuscript to theeventual acceptance and publication of the final version. Information in journal form is,therefore, likely to be much more up-to-date than information in books, and using currentinformation is very important in both the sciences and the social sciences. Nevertheless,

journals still need to be evaluated in the same way as books.

Ways to get started evaluating journals


Provide students with a variety of journals. Ask them to get into pairs, choose a journal,and answer the following questions.

(a) Is the journal scholarly or popular?

(b) Is it national or international?

(c) Have the articles been reviewed by peers?

(d) Is it a well-known and respected publisher? (For example, Elsevier is a well-respected publisher of a number of journals.)

(e) Has the journal been recommended by any of your tutors?

Each pair should have a chance to consider at least two different books. They shouldthen share their answers with the whole group.

Activity 19 Evaluating the Internet as a source of informationThe Internet, or World Wide Web, can prove to be a valuable search tool if used correctly.It is important to note that the Internet is not reviewed or refereed by relevant subjectauthorities. Anyone can publish on the Internet and so care must be taken when usingthis as a source of information. Web sites also come and go, so it is essential to make a



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note of the full details of an Internet site and the date it was accessed if it is going to bereferred to in an essay.

Ways to get started evaluating material on the Internet

This activity requires access to computer facilities with an Internet connection.


Provide students with a number of web site addresses and ask them to evaluate the sitesusing the following questions. They could work in pairs or on their own.

(a) Is the author given? Is there an e-mail link to allow contact with the author?Are there any details of credentials/qualifications?

(b) Check the URL. Does it start with a well-known, reputable organisation? (Try

deleting parts of the URL; work from the outside until you reach the original host).Does the site have any links? Do they work?

(c) Does the site have the date it was created? Does it have the date it was lastupdated? Are these current?

(d) What is the purpose of the site/page? Is it to inform, to sell a product, topromote an organisation? Is it educational or popular?

(e) Did you find this site via a link from a reputable site? Has the site beenrecommended by a tutor/librarian?

After evaluating at least two different sites, students should share their answers with thewhole group.

ii)Assessing value and detecting bias

Tutor input

Handout The following information is also available on a handout in the resourcessection.

Explain to students that having evaluated the information source, they will still need toread with a critical eye and be alert to an authors bias. In what ways can research intheir subject have value in relation to the essay question? For example, it could havevalue in terms of:



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a) consistency with theory,

b) important implications/applications,

c) wide impact,

d) innovativeness/creativity,

e) rigorousness.

Ways to get started assessing value and detecting bias:

a) Look at the strengths and weaknesses of what you read. Can you think of anyalternative explanations for the claims that the theory/research makes? If so,

bring them into your essay, and if possible support them with evidence.

b) If you are looking at empirical research, look for possible flaws in its design.Perhaps there were potential practice effects or order effects, or the test usedwas culturally biased (e.g., I.Q. tests).

c) If you are looking at a quantitative study, can the research be generalised? Ifthere were participants, did they form a representative sample?

d) What is the authors hidden agenda?

Activity 20 Identifying bias in written materialsResources required provided by tutor

Provide students with an extract from a journal article or a book chapter and ask them tosee if they can identify a bias. Questions to help them include:

a) Is/are the author/s claiming too much from the research findings?

b) Is/are the author/s coming from a specific theoretical position?

c) Does/do the author/s have a practitioner bias?



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Activity 21 Evaluating the evidence: reading paragraphs criticallyThis activity is adapted from materials developed by Sandra Sinfield of LondonMetropolitan University.

It tries to bring together the two parts of the workshop by encouraging students to thinkcritically about the way others use evidence and to see that this critical approach will helpthem use evidence effectively in their own work.

Handout


Provide students with an extract from a journal article or a book chapter along with thehandout in the resources section that lists paragraph reading questions.

Ask the students to work in small groups to come up with answers to the questions inreference to a paragraph in the excerpt provided. You may want to select an appropriateparagraph for them. After they have had enough time to produce some answers,encourage the students to share with group what they have written. In the course of thediscussion, help them to see that the critical approach they employed in order to answerthe questions will help them use the evidence critically in their own essays.

Conclusion

By the end of this workshop, students should have an understanding of what counts as anappropriate and effective use of evidence in their essays. They should also feelencouraged to begin to use their evaluative powers when finding source material, readingthat material, and then using the evidence.



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A+ Social Sciences Workshop 4 - Resources(Version April 2004)

RESOURCESFOR WORKSHOP FOUR:

USEOF EVIDENCE

AND EVALUATION



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Sample sentences showing use of evidence

Essay title: To what extent are individuals influenced by the majority and how can this beexplained?

1) The first systematic study on conformity was that carried out by Solomon Asch (1951).In one of his experiments, participants were shown a display of vertical lines ofdifferent lengths and were asked to indicate which of three comparison lines matcheda standard line in length. He included his assistants as participants, but this was notknown to the other participants. On several occasions Aschs assistants were askedto give answers that were obviously incorrect and which were stated before the realparticipants responded. Most participants went along with the wrong answer; theychose conformity over their own judgement.


2) Injunctive norms do not always influence behaviour: no matter how strong they are,people sometimes disobey and indeed ignore them. As a way of explaining this,Cialdini et al. (1990) postulated the normative focus theory, which suggests thatpeople obey injunctive norms only if they perceive the norms to be related to their own

actions. This theory is well supported in several studies that were conducted byCialdini and his colleagues.


3) Several studies have shown that individuals conform to majority behaviour; however,there are some situations in which such conformity does not happen. For instance,take the war on Iraq. Even though the majority does not wish to pursue a militaryattack on Iraq, Britain and America have gone ahead. This situation shows that theability of the majority to influence others can be limited by certain circumstances.



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Sample sentences showing use of evidence

Essay title: How do different psychological theories explain the development of eatingdisorders?

1) Cognitive psychology suggests that distorted body image is one of the main reasonsfor both anorexia and bulimia. Garfinkel and Garner (1982) suggested that anorexiamay be due to the patient overestimating her or his own body size in comparison tonormal people, and it is this distorted image that contributes to significant weight loss.Cooper and Taylor (1988) stated that bulimia is a discrepancy between estimated andactual body size, which results in a distorted view of ones image and results inexcessive dieting. Vanderliner et al. (1992) suggested that bulimic individuals tend tothink a situation is more stressful than most people do and therefore binge and purgeas a comfort or a way of dealing with stress. Liebman, Minuchin and Baker (1974)believed family therapy would improve communication levels of family members, as

eating disorders may be a result of the patients isolation within the family and thistherapy allows the release of their frustration and anger towards the family.


2) Bulimia patients typically binge when they encounter stress and experience negativeaffect. Patients with bulimia nervosa are low in self-esteem (Garner, Olmstead &

Polivy, 1983, p. 1). Many young women with an eating disorder come from familiesthat demand perfection and extreme self-control but do not allow expressions ofwarmth or conflict (Rosman & Baker, 1978, p. 1). With regard to bulimia, there may bea deficiency in the neurotransmitter serotin, which plays a role in both mood regulationand appetite (Hilgards Introduction to Psychology, p. 1).


3) Many psychodymanic theorists argue that eating disorders stem from a disturbedchild-parent relationship. Goodsitt (1997) proposes that bulimia in females stems froma failure to develop an adequate sense of self, because of a conflict-ridden mother-daughter relationship. According to this view, bingeing is likened to the sufferersneed for her mother, and purging is likened to a desire to reject her.



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Paragraph with reference list containing errors

Essay title: Discuss the role of bottom-up and top-down processes in visual perception.

Paragraph: Behavioural and neurophysiological studies seem to support feature matching

theories. Neissers visual search task (1962, Scientific American) examined discrimination

of a target letter (Z) amongst letters sharing similar straight-line features (W, X, and Y)

and those completely contrasting (O and C). Consistent with Selfridges pandemonium

hypothesis (1959), target discrimination was faster amongst contrasting letters than those

sharing similar features (i.e., fewer cognitive demons are able to respond, therefore

decisions are made more rapidly). Further support came from Hubel and Weisels (1979)

single-cell recordings of neurones in the visual cortex. They established that there is a

hierarchy of cells responding to the orientation of line segments as well as variations in

luminescence and width. Similarly, other studies (De Valois & De Valois, Spatial vision,

1980, as cited in Sternberg, 1996) identified cells that responded to corners and angles,

further substantiating feature comparison theory. However, as Sternberg comments,

although studies such as these have increased our knowledge of the neurological

processes that allow us to perceive line segments of varying complexity, feature mapping

theories on their own cannot explain the richness and complexity of visual perception

(2003).

References:

Neisser, Ulrich. (1964). Visual search. Scientific American, 210, pp. 94-102.

Selfridge, O. G. Pandemonium: A paradigm for learning. (1959). In Proceedings of theSymposium on the Mechanization of Thought Processes (pp. 511-529). London: HerMajestys Stationery Office.

Hubel, D. H., & Weisel, T. N. (1979). Brain mechanisms of vision. Scientific American.

De Valois & De Valois. (1980). Spatial vision.Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 309-341.

R. J. Sternberg. (2003). Cognitive psychology. Harcourt Brace & Co.



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Correct version of paragraph with reference list

Essay title: Discuss the role of bottom-up and top-down processes in visual perception.

Paragraph: Behavioural and neurophysiological studies seem to support feature matching

theories. Neissers visual search task (1964) examined discrimination of a target letter (Z)

amongst letters sharing similar straight-line features (W, X, and Y) and those completely

contrasting (O and C). Consistent with Selfridges pandemonium hypothesis (1959),

target discrimination was faster amongst contrasting letters than those sharing similar

features (i.e., fewer cognitive demons are able to respond, therefore decisions are made

more rapidly). Further support came from Hubel and Weisels (1979) single-cell

recordings of neurones in the visual cortex. They established that there is a hierarchy of

cells responding to the orientation of line segments as well as variations in luminescence

and width. Similarly, other studies (De Valois & De Valois, 1980, as cited in Sternberg,

1996) identified cells that responded to corners and angles, further substantiating feature

comparison theory. However, as Sternberg (2003) comments, although studies such as

these have increased our knowledge of the neurological processes that allow us to

perceive line segments of varying complexity, feature mapping theories on their own

cannot explain the richness and complexity of visual perception (p. 136).

References:

De Valois, R. L., & De Valois, K. K. (1980). Spatial vision. Annual Review of Psychology,31, 309-341.

Hubel, D. H., & Weisel, T. N. (1979). Brain mechanisms of vision. Scientific American,241, 150-162.Neisser, U. (1964). Visual search. Scientific American, 210, 94-102.

Selfridge, O. G. (1959). Pandemonium: A paradigm for learning. In D. V. Blake & A. M.Uttley (Eds.), Proceedings of the Symposium on the Mechanization of Thought Processes(pp. 511-529). London: Her Majestys Stationery Office.

Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Cognitive psychology. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace.



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Evaluating the quality of books, journals, and material from the Internet

The following ideas are taken from the work of Angela Duckworth and Ruth Keane (both librariansat Liverpool Hope University College) inAcademic Writing and Information Retrieval for theSciences and Social Sciences.

Evaluating books as a source of information

It is important not to assume that because a book is published, it is of a high quality or theinformation is accurate. You should also consider the purpose of evaluation. It is not justa way to judge the individual merits of one book, but is more a tool to assist you inselecting the best information for your essay from the vast wealth of informationavailable.

Ways to get started evaluating books:

(a) Is the book up to date?

(b) Has the book been written by a well-known and respected author?

(c) Does it use mainly primary (original) sources or secondary sources (original workcited by someone else)?

(d) Is the book scholarly rather than popular?

(e) Is the bibliography substantial?

Evaluating journals as a source of information

In the sciences and social sciences, one of the most valuable sources of information isfound in journals. This is because printed materials are often out of date by the time theyare published, something particularly true of books as they take a long time to write andget published. For journal articles the process is swifter, although even here it may take

eighteen months or more from the time the author submitted her/his first manuscript to theeventual acceptance and publication of the final version. Information in journal form is,therefore, likely to be much more up-to-date than information in books, and using currentinformation is very important in both the sciences and the social sciences. Nevertheless,

journals still need to be evaluated in the same way as books.



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Ways to get started evaluating journals:

(a) Is the journal scholarly or popular?

(b) Is it national or international?

(c) Have the articles been reviewed by peers?

(d) Is it a well-known and respected publisher? (For example, Elsevier is a well-respected publisher of a number of journals.)

(e) Has the journal been recommended by any of your tutors?

Evaluating the Internet as a source of information

The Internet, or World Wide Web, can prove to be a valuable search tool if used correctly.It is important to note that the Internet is not reviewed or refereed by relevant subjectauthorities. Anyone can publish on the Internet and so care must be taken when usingthis as a source of information. Web sites also come and go, so you must ensure that youhave the full details of an Internet site you plan to refer to in your essay and the date youaccessed it.

Ways to get started evaluating material on the Internet:

(a) Is the author given? Is there an e-mail link to allow contact with the author? Are

there any details of credentials/qualifications?

(b) Check the URL. Does it start with a well-known, reputable organisation? (Trydeleting parts of the URL; work from the outside until you reach the original host).Does the site have any links? Do they work?

(c) Does the site have the date it was created? Does it have the date it was lastupdated? Are these current?

(d) What is the purpose of the site/page? Is it to inform, to sell a product, to promotean organisation? Is it educational or popular?

(e) Did you find this site via a link from a reputable site? Has the site beenrecommended by a tutor/librarian?



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Assessing value and detecting bias in research

Once you have evaluated the quality of your information source, you will still need to readwith a critical eye and be alert to an authors bias. In what ways can research in your

subject have value in relation to the essay question? Some ways in which it could havevalue include:

a) consistency with theory,

b) important implications/applications,

c) wide impact,

d) innovativeness/creativity,

e) rigorousness.

Can you think of any other ways that research findings in your subject may havevalue?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Ways to get started assessing value and detecting bias:

a) Look at the strengths and weaknesses of what you read. Can you think of anyalternative explanations for the claims that the theory/research makes? If so, bringthem into your essay, and if possible support them with evidence.

b) If you are looking at empirical research, look for possible flaws in its design. Perhapsthere were potential practice effects or order effects, or the test used was culturallybiased (e.g., I.Q. tests).

c) If you are looking at a quantitative study, can the research be generalised? How manyparticipants were there? Were the participants a representative sample?

d) What is the authors hidden agenda?



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Paragraph reading questions

Reading with a critical eye helps us to take an appropriately critical approach in our ownwriting. When reading something that you are considering referring to in your next essay,ask yourself the following questions. The answers should help you figure out if the

material is relevant to your purposes (answering a specific question), and if so, how to useit in a critical way in your essay.

What is this paragraph about?

What is the authors angle? How do I know?

What is the argument?

What is the evidence?

Is the evidence valid? How do I know?

Is the evidence relevant? How do I know?

Have I heard/read anything similar or dissimilar? What was it?

Do I agree or disagree? Why?



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A+ Social Sciences Workshop 4 - Evaluation(Version April 2004)



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EVALUATION OF THE WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

We have tried to design a programme of workshops that is founded in past experienceand research findings, but of course that is no guarantee it will work!

The Assessment Plus team is keen to improve the workshops in response to student andstaff feedback. Included on the next pages are two types of student feedback form andone staff evaluation form.

Should you choose to use any of these forms (or a modified version of them to suit yourparticular needs), the Assessment Plus team will be happy to receive them; we willanalyse the data for you and return a brief summary report for your own use. Subject tothe usual condition of ensuring that no individual and no institution is identified, theAssessment Plus team would ask that these data might also be used in researchpublications.

Overview of evaluation forms

The first type of student evaluation form has been designed to be delivered after

each workshop session. There is one form for each session, and the questions relatespecifically to the aims and learning outcomes of the individual sessions.

The second type of student evaluation form has been designed to be delivered at

the end of a series of workshop sessions. The questions on this form focus on gettingstudents opinions on whether or not the workshops helped them to understand the

meaning and importance of essay assessment criteria and the relevance they think theworkshops will have for their future work and performance.

The staff evaluation form includes questions that largely mirror those asked in the

second type of student evaluation form.



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Student responses are an important and valued part of our continuing developmentof the workshops programme.

If you wish to make any additional suggestions that you think might help us, please usethe space below.

Which were the most helpful aspects of this workshop?

Which were the least successful aspects?

How could this workshop be improved?

How will what you have learned help you with your essay writing?

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this questionnaire!



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Assessment Criteria Workshops: Student Feedback Questionnaire

Assessment Workshops are an experimental form of small group learning developed by theAssessment Plus project. Student feedback is an important part of the evaluation and furtherdevelopment of the workshops and related initiatives, so we are extremely grateful for

information about your experiences.

1. What did you think when you first found out about the workshops?

2. How many of the workshops did you attend?

None One Two Three Four All five

3. When you did not attend workshops, what was the main reason?

Please tick a box to show how much you agree or disagree with each statement.

Stronglydisagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Stronglyagree

4. The workshops helped me tounderstand what assessmentcriteria are.

5. The workshops helped me tounderstand what makes a goodessay.

6. The workshops confused meabout what makes a good essay.

7. The workshops helped me tounderstand my subject.

8. The workshops helped me toprepare for the moduleassessment.



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Stronglydisagree


9. The workshops will help me towrite better essays.

10. The workshops will help meachieve a better grade in futureessays.

11. The workshops will help me tomake better use of feedback fromtutors on my essays.

12. The workshops helped me tostudy more effectively.

13. The workshops were usefulonly for university writing.

14. The workshops were useful forwriting outside university.

15. The workshop on whatassessment criteria are was useful(workshop 1).

16. The workshop on addressingthe question and structuring ananswer was useful (workshop 2).

17. The workshop ondemonstrating understanding anddeveloping argument was useful(workshop 3).

18. The workshop on use ofevidence and evaluation was

useful (workshop 4).

19. The workshop on applying thecriteria to my own work was useful(workshop 5).



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Stronglydisagree


20. The workshops helped meunderstand how to address the

question in an essay.

21. The workshops helped meunderstand how to structure anessay.

22. The workshops helped meunderstand how to demonstrateunderstanding in an essay.

23. The workshops helped me

understand how to develop anargument in an essay.

24. The workshops helped meunderstand how to use evidencein an essay.

25. The workshops helped meunderstand how to criticallyevaluate in an essay.

26. The workshops helped meunderstand how to use appropriatelanguage in an essay.

27. The workshops helped meunderstand how to identifystrengths and weaknesses in myown writing.

28. The workshops helped me feelmore confident about writing at

university.

29. The workshops made me feelmore anxious about writing atuniversity.



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30. Please indicate how much of what you learned in the workshops was new to you?

None of it Some of it About half of it Most of it All of it

31. What would you say to a student considering joining one of these workshops in thefuture?

32. What was good about the workshops, or went well?

33. What was poor about the workshops, or went badly?

34. What was missing from the workshops, or should have been included?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS!



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Assessment workshops: Staff feedback questionnaire

Assessment workshops are an experimental form of small group learning developed bytheAssessment Plus project. Staff feedback is an important part of the evaluation and

further development of the workshops and related initiatives, so we are very keen to hearyour views and appreciate detailed responses wherever possible.

1. What did you think when you first found out about the workshops?

2. Please list the workshops/activities that you delivered, along with any specificcomments you wish to make (e.g., on their relevance, accessibility, ease of delivery, etc.).(Please attach a separate sheet if that is more convenient.)

In the following section, we ask foryour views on how students responded to the



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Please tick a box to show how much you agree or disagree with each statement.

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

agree

3. The workshops helpedstudents to understand whatassessment criteria are.

4. The workshops helpedstudents to understand whatmakes a good essay.

5. The workshops confused

students about what makes agood essay.

6. The workshops helpedstudents to understand theirsubject.

7. The workshops helpedstudents to prepare for themodule assessment.

8. The workshops will helpstudents to write better essays.

9. The workshops will helpstudents achieve a better gradein future essays.

10. The workshops will helpstudents to make better use offeedback from tutors on theiressays.

11. The workshops will helpstudents to study moreeffectively.

Stronglydisagree




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12. Students respondedpositively to the workshops.

13. Students found the

workshop on what assessmentcriteria are useful (workshop 1).

14. Students found theworkshop on addressing thequestion and structuring theanswer useful (workshop 2).

15. Students found theworkshop on demonstratingunderstanding and developing

argument useful (workshop 3).

16. Students found theworkshop on use of evidenceand evaluation useful(workshop 4).

17. Students found theworkshop on applying thecriteria to their own workuseful (workshop 5).

18. The workshops helpedstudents understand how toaddress the question in anessay.

19. The workshops helpedstudents understand how tostructure an essay.

20. The workshops helped

students understand how todemonstrate understanding inan essay.

Stronglydisagree




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21. The workshops helpedstudents understand how todevelop an argument in anessay.

22. The workshops helpedstudents understand how touse evidence in an essay.

23. The workshops helpedstudents understand how tocritically evaluate in an essay.

24. The workshops helpedstudents understand how to use

appropriate language in anessay.

25. The workshops helpedstudents understand how toidentify strengths andweaknesses in their ownwriting.

26. The workshops helpedstudents feel more confident

about writing at university.

27. The workshops madestudents feel more anxiousabout writing at university.

Continued . . .

28. Please list the kind of verbal feedback you received from students about any aspect ofthe workshops.



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In this section we ask foryour views on the design and purpose of the workshopsand on their effectiveness in facilitating teaching.

Stronglydisagree


29. The workshops seemeduseful only for university writing.

30. The workshops seemeduseful for writing outsideuniversity.

Please attach a separate sheet if that is more convenient.

31. Generally, what do you think worked well about the workshops?

32. Generally, what do you think went badly?



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33. Would you recommend removing any aspects or activities from the workshops?

34. Would you recommend adding anything?

35. Would you recommend these workshops to future students?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS!



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A+ Social Sciences Workshop 4 - References(Version April 2004)

REFERENCES

Mazuro, C. & Hopkins, L. (2002). Different assessment criteria for different levels of apsychology degree: Does a 2.1 at 1st year have to meet different criteria than a 2.1at 3rd year? Paper given at the Psychology Learning and Teaching Conference(PLAT 2002), University of York, 18-20 March 2002.

Neisser Workshop

Documents

Transcript of Neisser Workshop