Used formative assessment to help students to learn how to write a university-level report.
Gordon Port, teaching assistants in the School of Biology
During their first term in the School of Biology, students must produce four different reports based on field trips. Students collect a range of simple data during these field trips and are asked to submit a report in which they present and analyse this data one week after they get back. The first three reports are formative and marks are given as a grade rather than a mark (eg: 2.1, 2.2 etc.) to give the students an idea of how they are doing without fixating on a particular mark.Students are given examples on blackboard and full instructions on how to present their reports and group feedback is uploaded to blackboard after the assignments have been handed back (24-48 hours after hand-in). The final assessment is summative and a real mark is given which counts toward the students final grade for the year.
Many students struggle with the basic skills of report writing and the presentation of graphs and analysis of data, particularly in their first term. These formative reports give them the opportunity to practice without feeling anxious about any effects on their overall marks.
Although formative assessment was not well-received when it was first trialed in the second semester of Year One - it was seen as pointless because it did not contribute to the final grade - in the first term it was very popular. Students were positive about the formative reports and agreed that they had helped them to understand how to write up fieldwork at a university level.
Formative Assessment to Improve Report Writing
Assessment and Feedback, Student Induction
Undergraduate (Stage 1)
Biology
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Up to 200 students in a group
In response to issues