CRITERIA CAN ONE SIZE FIT ALL 03102020 Lorna

CRITERIA CAN ONE SIZE FIT ALL? 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 1

CAN ONE SIZE FIT ALL? • A simple ‘yes’/’no’ question • Yet not so simple, because we cannot agree on the size 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 2

THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM • • Virtually impossible to pinpoint the root of the problem; A work in progress; Somewhat inconclusive survey; Thus the focus is now on working towards a solution which might address many of the issues causing the variety of ‘preferred’ criteria. • There are now a lot of questions to address! 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 3

What are they for? What aspects are they concerned with? Who are they for? How do they fit together? Criteria 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 4

WHO ARE THEY FOR? • The student needs to have an understanding of what is required; this can be gained from clear criteria and a clear rubric. • The teacher needs them to justify a grade. • But …… 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 5

QUESTIONS • Do the students understand the criteria? • Do the teachers explain them and show they relate to different tasks? • Do EAP teachers have an obligation to explain and model to a greater extent than university lecturers? • Does the way in which the teacher uses the criteria facilitate autonomous learning? 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 6

WHAT ARE THEY FOR? • Evaluation of a piece of work? • Justification of a grade? • Ensuring consistency? • Feedback? 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 7

QUESTIONS • If teachers are using the criteria for different purposes, or see the purposes as different, are they useful? • Is it alright to view them and use them in different ways, and if so, what impact does this have on the students? (This is particularly relevant where teachers use criteria as a means of giving ‘feedback’) • Is ‘use of sources’ a criterion per se, or is it one aspect of task response? 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 8

FEEDBACK • What sort of feedback can highlighted criteria provide for students? • If two students have the same points highlighted, does that mean they have exactly the same problems? • How can students understand where they have weaknesses, which individual problems they have – e. g. use of sources/task response, grammar. 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 9

WHAT ASPECTS ARE THEY CONCERNED WITH? • Grammar and syntax • Structure • Content • Task response 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 10

QUESTIONS • How measurable are some of these? • Are critical thinking and autonomy included? • Are they applicable to both written and oral discourse? 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 11

ONE ASSESSMENT, ONE SET OF CRITERIA? • Can written and oral tasks be assessed using the same criteria? • What is different between the two (in EAP)? • Does every written task require a discrete set of criteria (essay, report, critical review etc. )? • Is there a core that is common to all assessments? 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 12

TASK RESPONSE? • What can this include? • • • Addressing the question Critical thinking Ability to work with content Appropriate to the mode – written or spoken Register Genre 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 13

THE VARIABLE COMPONENT • Are grammar, syntax, structure and lexis the same for all assessments? • If so, can all the task-specific variables be added to task response? • Can ‘task response’ be the criterion which changes according to the task itself, the stage of the course and the mode? 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 14

A NEW MODEL? LANGUAGE Grammar/syntax Vocabulary & expression Style/register CONTENT Focus/approach Use of sources Voice 03/10/2020 STRUCTURE Overall Paragraphs/section s Cohesion TASK RESPONSE “ideals” CRITERI A Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 15

TASK RESPONSE • Definition/purpose: a set of key aims for a particular task • Use: the core (i. e. content + language + structure) remains the same; task response amended for a particular task • Rationale: can be amended for different tasks and for different stages of the programme • Aim: can be used as the basis of feedback (“back” & “forward”) in conjunction with extended comments 03/10/2020 Lorna Fleming; Kerry Tavakoli; February 2015 16