Telematics education II: Teaching, learning and assessment at foundation level

International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, Apr 2005 by Vaezi-Nejad, S M, Olabiran, Y

Group work, involving poster and oral presentations, is used in several modules: for example, in the Introduction to technology, Statistics and Project modules. Importance is placed on developing students' ability to communicate clearly in writing and orally, and to work productively with others.

It is recognised that many students will require learning support beyond the timetable classes provided. Students requiring additional support in mathematics and english are directed to the Mathematics and Writing and communication workshops, respectively. Further language support is available from the faculty's language support workshops. This will inevitably lead to an increased load on these Workshops, but there should be enough spare capacity for the load to be taken up. A feature of the revalidation is that all successful applicants will have undergone literacy and numeracy testing, so that evidence of their strengths and weaknesses will be on file from the outset of the course. Additionally, students will be set a formative assessment during induction week, to be marked and returned by their personal tutor. It is envisaged that this will take the form of asking the student to look critically at his/her own past learning experiences; to construct a weekly study planner; and finally to write an account explaining why s/he has chosen this particular course and expressing her/his future aspirations. This will provide another opportunity for problems in the area of literacy to be notified to the support systems at faculty and university level. In the past there has been a tendency to commend these support systems to the student without any 'follow-up' to ensure that advice had been acted upon. Under the revalidated scheme, the reference to the support systems in the areas of literacy and numeracy will be mandatory, and attendance at support sessions will be monitored. Students who persistently fail to take advantage of the necessary support will be warned that their continuance on the course is at risk. :

Assessment

It is considered that the functions of the assessment process are to:

* allow staff to monitor the progress of the student;

* enable the student to became aware of his/her own progress;

* identify areas of weakness and direct the student to appropriate sources of help;

* provide a stimulus to learning by giving the student short-term goals at which ; to aim;

* ascertain that the student has, by the end of the course, attained the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to permit him/her to enter on an advanced course of study with an expectation of success; and

* assist in the determination of the most appropriate course of further study for the student.

Assessment in semester A is continuous[dagger] with no end-of-semester examinations covering the entire work of the semester. This is designed to allow students to adjust gradually to study by providing them initially with a variety of assessment tasks each based on a limited study period. Continuous assessment would include homework assignments, both of an essay type and problem solving nature, laboratory and computer-based practical reports, written and oral presentations, as well as timed, invigilated progress tests (the latter are distinguished from examinations by their shorter duration and restricted syllabus coverage; they are viewed as important in bridging the gap between other types of assessments and end-of-semester examinations). The overall mark in any given module will consist of at least three components. Students are provided with an assessment schedule at the start of the semester to assist them in planning their study. At least two modules will have progress tests scheduled at the end of semester A.