Lin Norton

Complex skills and academic writing: a review of evidence about the types of learning required to meet core assessment criteria

Assessment criteria are increasingly incorporated into teaching, making it important to clarify the pedagogic status of the qualities to which they refer. We reviewed theory and evidence about the extent to which four core criteria for student writing—critical thinking, use of language, structuring, and argument—refer to the outcomes of three types of learning: generic skills learning, a deep approach to learning, and complex learning. The analysis showed that all four of the core criteria describe to some extent properties of text resulting from using skills, but none qualify fully as descriptions of the outcomes of applying generic skills. Most also describe certain aspects of the outcomes of taking a deep approach to learning. Critical thinking and argument correspond most closely to the outcomes of complex learning. At lower levels of performance, use of language and structuring describe the outcomes of applying transferable skills. At higher levels of performance, they describe the outcomes of taking a deep approach to learning. We propose that the type of learning required to meet the core criteria is most usefully and accurately conceptualized as the learning of complex skills, and that this provides a conceptual framework for maximizing the benefits of using assessment criteria as part of teaching.

Full-time studying and long-term relationships: Make or break for mature students?

Abstract Results are reported of a 2-year longitudinal study looking at the effects of full-time degree study on full-time mature students who were also in long-term committed relationships. The findings from the first year of the research suggested that while there were particular stresses for students with domestic responsibilities; the single most buffering effect was support from the students partner. The follow-up study in the second year confirmed these findings, but also suggested that there was a decrease in the amount of partner support experienced in the second year. The implications for counselling and student support services are discussed.

‘Now that’s the feedback I want!’ Students’ reactions to feedback on graded work and what they do with it

Since the introduction of the National Student Survey (NSS) in 2005, like many other institutions, the university where this study took place has expended substantial effort in improving the quality of feedback to students. However, despite much research, changes in pedagogical approaches and shifts in conceptual understanding related to feedback practice, assessment and feedback still receive the lowest satisfaction ratings in the NSS. Lecturers are discouraged when students fail to take note of their feedback, or sometimes do not collect assignments that have been marked. Understanding why feedback is not always acted upon remains an important area for researchers. This paper reports on an in-depth interview study with 14 final year undergraduates, reflecting on their perceptions of feedback written on marked assignments, by selecting examples of what they considered to be ‘good’ and ‘bad’ work. Findings suggested that emotional reactions play a significant part in determining how students will act on the feedback they receive, and the concept of ‘emotional backwash’ is introduced.

Researching Your Teaching: The Case for Action Research

This article puts forward a case for all who are involved in teaching psychology in higher education to reflect on and improve their teaching by engaging in action research. Drawing on her own experiences as a psychology lecturer, the author shows how the process works by using an example of a research study on the effects of written feedback to help students improve their essay writing. The article ends with a consideration of why psychology lecturers are particularly well qualified to undertake pedagogical action research.

e-HTAM: A Technology Acceptance Model for electronic health

Serving citizens through an integrated e-Health system requires an understanding of the behaviour of the population as well as the factors that influence their acceptance and usage of technology, such as technology design and sociocultural factors. This has been called e- Health acceptance.

Analysing metalearning in first‐year undergraduates through their reflective discussions and writing

This study reports on an initiative using Meyer’s (2000a) Reflections on Learning Inventory (RoLI) to bring first‐year students’ understandings of themselves as learners together with the expectations of their academic subjects. Students on a generic skills‐based programme were asked to discussed their RoLI profiles with their academic tutor, and then write about what they had discovered about their beliefs and approaches to learning and how this fitted the demands of their academic subjects. The findings from this study suggest that one‐to‐one discussion of an individual learning profile is useful as a first step in raising levels of metalearning awareness in first‐year undergraduates. There is also some evidence to suggest that tutors might be able to make predictions about how a student will perform academically, based on a combined interpretation of the RoLI profile together with an analysis of their reflective writing about their learning approach.

Exploring barriers and solutions to academic writing: Perspectives from students, higher education and further education tutors

Staff and student perceptions of what constitutes good academic writing in both further and higher education often differ. This is reflected in written assignments which frequently fall below the expected standard. In seeking to develop the writing skills of students and propose potential solutions to writing difficulties, a study was conducted in a university and a nearby further education college in the north west of England to explore barriers and solutions to AW difficulties. This paper reports the findings generated using unmoderated focus groups with second-year university health studies students (n=70) and moderated focus groups with further education college teachers (n=3) and health studies lecturers in a university (n=6). Findings indicated that staff and students’ perceptions of what constitutes AW differed. The barriers to academic writing that were identified included lack of time and confidence; lack of extended writing at FE level; lack of reading and understanding of academic texts or journals; referencing; and academic jargon.

Helping Undergraduates to Become More Effective Learners ‐An Evaluation of Two Learning Interventions

SUMMARY The study discussed in this paper evaluated two learning interventions given to first year undergraduates in a department of Psychology and a department of Theology and Religious Studies. The Psychology intervention, which was in its second year of development, aimed to promote a deep approach to the whole of the psychology course by involving tutors as well as students. The Theology and Religious Studies intervention was a new student‐based initiative designed to help students develop the necessary skills for effective learning within the religion component of their course. Evaluating both courses showed a major problem with student attrition, which might indicate some self‐selection of more committed students. However, of those who did attend throughout, there were significant beneficial effects on academic performance for Psychology students but not for Theology and Religious Studies students. The results are discussed in the framework of a systemic approach to improving students as effective l...

The ideal‐self inventory: A new measure of self‐esteem

Abstract This article reports on some research in progress developing a new measure of self‐esteem which we have called the Ideal‐Self Inventory (ISI). The inventory is based on a constructivist approach and simply asks participants to list ten characteristics to describe their ideal self together with the ten opposite characteristics to describe their not ideal self. The ISI has been tested on over 100 student volunteers and correlates significantly with the adult version of the Coopersmith Self‐Esteem Inventory. The applications of this new measure are discussed with particular reference to counselling and psychotherapy.

Epistemic match: a pedagogical concept for understanding how students fit into the chosen subject

Previous studies have suggested that a student’s personal epistemological beliefs can be a predictor of their academic performance. The current research aimed to extend this work by exploring whether the disciplinary epistemological beliefs presented to students in their classes and assessments might mediate the relationship between students’ personal epistemological beliefs and performance. A comparison of a student’s personal epistemological beliefs with the epistemological beliefs presented in their classes and assignments was carried out, establishing the level of ‘epistemic match’ between student and discipline. It was expected that epistemic match would be a predictor of a student’s performance. A total of 362 first year students from eight subject disciplines at a UK university completed a questionnaire measure of personal epistemological beliefs. A total of 38 staff from the same disciplines also completed a questionnaire which was adapted from the original student version to represent a measure of the presented epistemological beliefs in their discipline. The results showed a significant relationship between performance and levels of epistemic match. Closer epistemic match was associated with higher performance. The conclusion is that epistemic match is a reliable predictor of students’ performance in their first year.