Preentry qualifications keeping teaching staff informed Clare Carter, Roisin Curran, Sarah Maguire U

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Pre-entry qualifications keeping teaching staff
informedClare Carter, Roisin Curran, Sarah
MaguireUniversity of Ulster

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Context

• Concern about poor progression of first year
  students
• Concern about study skills of incoming students
• Concern about student expectations (or lack of)
  of independent study
• Growing awareness that we lacked knowledge of
  students prior educational experiences

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Types of qualifications

• A level
• AVCE now Applied GCE
• BTEC
• Content may be different
• Teaching style has similarities

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Teaching at secondary level

• Highly specified courses
• Specification available to students
• Teacher will relate teaching to specification
• Reading outside text book not generally
  encouraged

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Assessment

• Mark schemes available and highly specified
• Coursework drafted and feedback given several
  times before final submission
• Exams limited in time (AVCE/BTEC only limited
  number of exams)
• Modules may be retaken to improve mark

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What does this mean for student learning?

• It is very teacher-dependant - structured and
  focussed by the teacher
• Feedback on progress and assignments is frequent,
  with opportunities to improve before submisssion
• Only the best students will read around the
  subject
• It is assessment-driven

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What do we expect?

• Independent learners
• Once-only submission of coursework
• Students to understand what is feedback and how
  to use it
• Reading-around the subject for the best marks

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Staff Development

• Started with conference
• Workshops for faculties
• Academic Induction
• PgCHEP modules

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Activities

• Task 1
• Compare content of qualifications with current
  1st year curriculum content
• Task 2
• Focus on the assessment of secondary
  qualifications, particularly the style of
  questions, and compare with current assessment in
  first year modules
• Task 3
• Reflect on students previous learning and
  teaching experience and compare to lecturers
  expectations of 1st year students

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Materials provided

• Course specifications
• Chief Examiners reports
• Exam papers
• Exam answers (if available)

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Feedback

• this should be compulsory for all staff
• now I understand that its not all the students
  fault

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Changes in practice

• Tutorials
• Shorter exams in first semester
• Study skills incorporated in first year modules

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Whats next?

• Changes to A levels first entrants 2010
• Number of modules
• Applied A levels
• Diplomas a limited number offered for entrants
  in 2010
• Construction Built Environment
• Creative Media
• Society, Health Development
• Information Technology
• Engineering

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Sources of information

• Exam board websites
• OCR www.ocr.org.uk
• QCA
• www.qca.org.uk/14-19/
• www.qca.org.uk/qca_5396.aspx
• Dept of Children, Schools and Families
• www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/Qualific
  ationsExplained/DG_070676

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• Contact c.carter_at_ulster.ac.uk