Ready for University
Evaluation of an Intervention to Prepare Students for First Year University Assessment
Prof. James Elander & Anna JessenWolverhampton9th May 2008
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Background• EU:
– need 20.000.000 skilled workers over next 20 years
• UK goal: – 50% of youth complete university– Widening participation
• More support needed:– Often given at university– This project: support at pre-university
• Further Education (FE): A-level and access • EU: Gymnasium
• 1st year university students felt A-level did not prepare them for university(Smith, 2004)
• 1st year university students;– 47% expressed difficulties with essay writing– 78% did not know what markers were looking for in their
essays (Pain & Mowl, 1996).
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
• Core assessment criteria for essay writing:• Addressing the question• Demonstrating understanding• Critical evaluating• Developing argument• Structuring• Using evidence• Using language (Elander et al, 2004)
– Require complex skills and deep approach to learning (Elander, 2004)
– Assessment Plus: workshops to help 1st year psychology students understand criteria evaluated positively (Harrington et al., 2006)
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Project aims• Prepare students for 1st year university
assessment• Improve progression to, and retention in university
By
• Extending the Assessment Plus approach to FE• Evaluating workshops on university assessment
criteria for FE psychology students
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Study design
Direct evaluation (n=33)
Post-intervention questionnaire (n=50)
Standard tuition (n=35)
University students: Pre-intervention questionnaire (n=189)Qualitative interviews
FE students: Pre-intervention questionnaire (n=74)Qualitative interviews
Workshops (n=43)
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Pre-intervention:Qualitative comparison
• FE– Selection & inclusion of
material– Surface approach to
learning– “if you write correct
information, and we have it all in we are demonstrating understanding”
• University– Analysis and
transformation– Deep approach to
learning– “You basically need to
interpret what you read instead of simply just rewriting what you read”
Pre-intervention questionnaire-essay writing belief
• “In order to ‘answer the essay question’ structuring some relevant material to the essay title is more important than including ALL the right information”– University students with A level psychology 44% agree– University students without A level psychology 62% agree
(Chi-squared = 4.1, p= .04)
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Pre-intervention questionnaire-self-rated understanding & ability
Proportion of students agreeing
FE Uni
I know what is meant by ‘structuring’ my essay
88% 79%
I understand how to critically evaluate 53% 47%
I understand what it means to build an argument in an essay
78% 70%
I know how to detect bias in written sources 72% 34%
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
The intervention
• Workshop content:– Session 1:
discussion of assessment criteria homework of 2 essays– Session 2:
work in group with 2 essays discuss in class how they met the assessment criteria
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Participants
• Total number of students taking part: 43– 31 A level students– 12 Access students
• Mean age: 19 Years (16-52)• 29 females, 14 males
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Feedback questionnaireProportion of students agreeing or strongly agreeing to: “The workshops helped me...”
39 % …structure36 % …develop an argument
23 % … demonstrate understanding
40 %… to… critically evaluate
20 %… feel more confident about writing65 %… understand what makes a good essay
55 %… understand assessment criteria
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Qualitative feedback
• “helped more than many books that I’ve 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”
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Change in self-rated understanding & ability
Time: F = 8.3, p= .015Group: F = 0.1, p= .75Interaction: F = 3.6, p= .08
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4
Pre-intervention Post-intervention
Mea
n sc
ore
Workshops
Standard tuition
2 x2 ANOVA (pre-intervention vs post-intervention X workshop vs standard tuition)
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Change in essay writing beliefProportion agreeing that 'in order to “address the essay question”, structuring some relevant material to the essay title is more important than including ALL the right information'.
2 5
4 0
5 5
7 0
Pre - in te rve n tio n Po st- in te rve n tio n
Per
cent
of s
tude
nts
W o rksh o p s
Sta n d a rd tu itio n
G2 (log linear chi-square) = 11.75, p< .025
9th of May 2008Thames Valley University
Conclusion
• FE students more confident about assessment criteria than university students
• But demonstrated more surface approach to learning & limited understanding of criteria
• Workshops– Broadly appreciated by students– Reduced self-rated understanding– Changed belief about essay writing
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