Although assessment is acknowledged as being of central importance to the student learning experience, assessment practices have been consistently highlighted as one of the weakest features by the Quality Assurance Agency and identified by many as a crisis within higher education. This paper explores the use of Patchwork Text Assessment within a…

Teaching and assessing large classes can be reframed from focusing on overcoming difficulties with large classes, to seeking the unique educational opportunities provided by such learning environments. We discuss data and examples illustrating how active learning and formative assessment can be successfully embedded into the teaching of large…

There is growing concern among many regarding plagiarism within student writing. This has promoted investigation into both the factors that predict plagiarism and potential methods of reducing plagiarism. Consequently, we developed and evaluated an intervention to enhance good practice within academic writing through the use of the plagiarism…

Extensive engagement with current academic sources is expected of all psychology undergraduates. Thirty-eight undergraduate psychology students took part in a series of focus group discussions of their information-searching experiences and skills. The majority of students had not been required to engage with any form of information searching while…

The argument presented here is that the teaching of psychology in the UK is focused on the learning of technical skills and is missing the opportunity to enthuse and inspire students in the personal science. This focus mirrors a general educational drive in the UK towards achievement at external examinations which are assessed by narrow cognitive…

In this study we report the findings that we obtained when we repeated a study conducted approximately 10 years ago. In the initial study we found that mature students did as well as traditional-entry ones in first-year essays and examinations. However, they did less well initially when writing laboratory reports. In this replication study these…

The employability of psychology graduates is not only related to the content of the degree, what one might call the "hard" measures, but is also underscored by the intellectual and personal development afforded by studying psychology, the "soft" measures. Employers need to know that psychology graduates have something to contribute to their…

Lecturers in psychology have many different roles that they must play. It is often very difficult to know what roles are the most important and which to focus on. This study assessed the perceived importance of seven different roles lecturers undertake according to psychology lecturers and students. Results indicated that assessor, course planner,…

The aim of the study was to look at the effectiveness of combining a variety of teaching and learning methods in an attempt to facilitate students' understanding of assessment criteria. Fifty-three psychology students were asked to complete the mismatch exercise (Norton et al., 2002), and a booklet entitled "Your Assignment results and how to…

Background: Recent changes in higher education in the UK have led to much discussion about the performance of men and women students with different methods of assessment. Aim: To see whether or not there were differences between the marks awarded to men and women final-year psychology students as a function of the modes of assessment used. Method:…

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are becoming more common in UK psychology departments and the need to assess their reliability is apparent. Having examined the reliability of MCQs in our department we faced many questions from colleagues about why we were examining reliability, what it was that we were doing, and what should be reported when…

Introduction: Research has shown that students do not like student presentations, yet a case can be made for them. This study seeks to understand the effects that presentations have on students. Method: Within an action research framework, two repeated-measures studies were completed, one with students undertaking assessed presentations the other…

This article describes the development of assessment criteria for specific aspects of examination answers and coursework essays in psychology. The criteria specified the standards expected for seven aspects of students' work: addressing the question, covering the area, understanding the material, evaluating the material, developing arguments,…