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Mark my words: creative assessment and effective feedback in linguistics

Mark my words: creative assessment and effective feedback in linguistics. Twice the credit in half the time: managing teaching and assessment with reduced teaching hours Paul Rowlett (Salford). Context. Pre-noughties: BA (Hons) in Modern Languages (mainly)

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Mark my words: creative assessment and effective feedback in linguistics

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  1. Mark my words: creative assessment and effective feedback in linguistics Twice the credit in half the time: managing teaching and assessment with reduced teaching hours Paul Rowlett (Salford)

  2. Context • Pre-noughties: BA (Hons) in Modern Languages (mainly) • MFL specialists who opt for linguistics after level 1 • Noughties: BA (Hons) Linguistics and a modern language; BA (Hons) Modern languages and linguistics • Students come committed to linguistics from the outset

  3. Before • Core module: Language and mind, 10 credits, level 2 • The argument for innateness, e.g., language acquisition, the systematicity of non-standard grammar, the reality of traces, structure dependence • Crain, Stephen & Diane Lillo-Martin (1999) An introduction to linguistic theory and language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell. • Gleitman, Lila & Mark Liberman (eds) (1995) An invitation to cognitive science: language. Cambidge, Mass.: MIT Press.

  4. Before • Delivered via two hour-long classes over 11 weeks (semester 1) • Classes = lectures, video viewings (BBC programmes about Genie and NSL, followed by discussion), student presentations • During second half of module, 15—20-minute group presentations; mark used as a “safety net”, up to 25% of module mark; • Presentation based on article from primary literature (mainly):

  5. Before • Jürgen M Meisel (1995) ‘Parameters in acquisiton’, in Fletcher & MacWhinney (eds.) The handbook of child language. Oxford: Blackwell. • Vivian J Cook & Mark Newson (1996) ‘General concepts of language acquisition’, in Cook & Newson Chomsky’s universal grammar: an introduction. Second edition. Oxford: Blackwell. • Stephen Crain (1993) ‘Language acquisition in the absence of experience’, in Bloom (ed.) Language acquisition: core readings. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf. • Steven Pinker (1993) ‘Rules of language’, in Bloom (ed.) Language acquisition: core readings. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf. • Jill de Villiers (1995) ‘Empty categories and complex sentences: the case of wh-questions’, in Fletcher & MacWhinney (eds.) The handbook of child language. Oxford: Blackwell. • Elissa L Newport (1993) ‘Maturational constraints on language learning’, in Bloom (ed.) Language acquisition: core readings. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

  6. Before • Students prepare/deliver presentation in groups of 2/3 • Students told their presentation to be aimed at fellow students (rather than lecturer) • Students expected to make effort to be accessible • Students asked to show relevance to rest of module and linguistics more generally • Students free to decide how much/which parts of article to present • Students expected to use standard presentation aids, e.g., OHP slides and a handout • Students told to expect questions from audience • Students given advice on how to work: read article alone first, taking notes of main points; meeting up with other group members to discuss whether (a) to give broad summary of entire article or (b) to present section of article in detail; rehearsing to make sure the group doesn’t overrun

  7. Rationale for presentation • Desire to diversify methods of assessment • Salford’s real-world focus (group work, less reliance on essays or other written work) • Desire to encourage reflective practice • QCA/Dearing key skills agenda

  8. Before • Presentation assessed by lecturer and other class members • Mark = average of lecturer’s mark and students’ marks • Assessment criteria = clarity/accessibility, e.g., was it contextualised re whole module?, audibility?, legibility?, quality of handout?, dealing with questions?, timekeeping? • Written qualitative feedback provided by lecturer

  9. After • Early 2000s: review of teaching and assessment within School • 10-credit content modules mostly abolished • 20-credit modules introduced instead • 20-credit modules = two hours per week • Therefore, contact time effectively halved • Assessment regimes rationalised

  10. Consequences • 10-credit Language and mind merged with 10-credit Foundations of semantics to form 20-credit Language, meaning and mind • Number of contact hours halved for roughly same curriculum coverage • Videos to be viewed in students’ own time rather than class time (thereby losing communal discussion time) • Group presentations replaced by poster presentations • Poster presentations compulsory part of assessment scheme (replacing one written assignment) • Students asked to produce A1 posters, based on the article, for the benefit of students in rest of class • Same assessment criteria • Posters assessed by two lecturers and by students • Lecturers assign a mark, students indicate ranking

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