Resources and other forms of support

LEVEL 1

November meeting

Across their Level 1 curriculum, students will experience a range of different types of assessment. Some courses will conclude with a traditional end-of-course unseen exam; others will have 100% coursework assessment.  Students taking a 6^th-century course, for example, will have 100% coursework assessment and no exam. Some courses have exam exemption if students achieve a certain level of marks in their coursework. 

Students may also find it helpful to discuss the other forms of assessment which they may encounter, especially if they are new to them.  Our students come from a variety of educational backgrounds.

The School and the course guide will have set out how to request extensions and evidence needed. Do be aware that for some forms of assessments (which can include in person exams, online exams, MCQs) it may not be possible for there to be an extension. For others, such as essays, an extension may be possible and in some situations this can be very useful – do be aware, however, that this can lead one extension to run into another deadline. Students should be encouraged to reflect on this with their personal tutor and as needed with Student Support. It is possible for students to have provision for agreed extensions which means that they do not need to provide evidence each time. It is a question for discussion with the School what extension, if any, is possible in any situation.  It should be stressed to students that any requests for extensions must be made (like any request) using their University email account and that replies will be sent to their University email account.    

Exam revision

Ideally, revision is a planned process! It is generally not a good idea to leave revision until the last minute. While some students do seem to thrive on last-minute 'cramming', it is widely accepted that for most students this is not the best way to approach an exam.

Potential discussion areas include:

• What does revision involve?
• What works?
• What might you try?
• What resources are there to help?

Some suggested resources for revision and exam techniques:

• Course-specific information about the format of each exam, other forms of assessment and preparation techniques should be given by the relevant course coordinator/team.
• Past exam papers are available through the Exam Papers Database. These can guide students as to the type of exam questions to expect and can be used as timed practice questions before the exam. Students should check that the past papers are still a relevant example of the exam that they will be taking.
• ACHIEVE generic resources on Revision and Exam Skills for students include tips on planning and managing revision and exams.
• Student Learning Service Revision and Exam Techniques Workshops. All workshop places will be bookable in advance through the SLS website.

Some points for students to consider:

• What is the format of each? Examples: Will there be multiple-choice / short answer / essay questions?
• How many questions will they have to answer?
• Will there be a choice of questions?
• How will each form of assessment be marked? Examples:
  • Will there be multiple-choice / short answer / essay questions? 
  • How many questions will they have to answer?
  • Will there be a choice of questions?
  • How will the exam be marked? Will there be equal weighting given to each answer?
  • What is the deadline for completion or where will the exam be held?
  • How did I submit my answers?

Exams: the process

How does it work at Aberdeen for formal exam diets?

• Students receive their exam timetables through their Student Hub or MyTimetable, which include the time, date and location of each exam. Students with special provisions/adjustments (extra time/use of computer/own room etc.) are informed of their particular arrangements. There is exam timetable information for students on the Infohub website:
• Students are advised to arrive at the exam location in good time as they are normally admitted into the exam hall/room approximately 10 minutes before the start of the exam.
• Students are not allowed to join the exam after the first 30 minutes.
• Students will be given all necessary stationery (exam booklets/graph paper) but must bring their own pens and pencils. Take lots.
• Food is not allowed; bottled water can be taken into the exam room.
• Mobile phones must be turned off and left with bags/coats in the designated place in the exam room. Phones cannot be used as clocks / calculators or dictionaries.
• It is sometimes possible for students, for whom English is not their first language, to take a paper copy of a dictionary into an exam but they should check in advance that this is permitted. No electronic dictionaries may be used.
• Students are not permitted to leave the exam room during the last 30 minutes of the exam.
• Some courses may have online exams.  Usually these will be completed over a particular period (48 hours or more); sometimes students are to complete these over a fixed period  within a longer period (eg 3 hours  within 48 hours) and occasionally at a specific time. Course coordinators will provide details of this. 
• Course results, which will appear as a single Common Grading Scale (CGS) grade for each course, will be issued to students through their Student Portal. The pass grade for all courses is D3.

Information about feedback and feedback logs at the University of Aberdeen. Also, a discussion point for reflecting on exam performance and preparation, for all year group meetings.

Feedback Logs

Feedback Logs are a means to promote students’ engagement with feedback.  At the introductory meeting with Level 1 students and at other meetings focused on feedback for different Levels of students (or indeed at any other appropriate time) Personal Tutors can encourage their Tutees to keep a Feedback Log to record and reflect on feedback given in courses across their programme of studies.  Students can also note what actions they have taken/will take to improve.  It is hoped that by engaging with the Feedback Logs, receiving, reflecting and responding to feedback will become a more meaningful and beneficial practice.  By sharing their Feedback Logs with their Personal Tutors (as well as with other appropriate academic and support staff) students can allow staff to gain a contextualised overview of their progress, as well as identify areas of difficulty.

All students are provided with a Feedback Log template to use in MyAberdeen, which leads them to create a shareable portfolio.  Instructions on to how to develop, maintain and share the Log are also available. 

Feedback Log template

As shown above, students note their name, degree programme, year of study and courses; they also note the total number of credits being taken per half-session of each academic year they are studying here.  For each course, the template provides two distinct areas in which each student records:

1. A copy (or file) of feedback received for each assignment undertaken + a brief summary of the key points of the feedback.  Students can also note or cross-reference to any other form of feedback received (which may exist elsewhere e.g. in a lab notebook).
2. The actions the student has taken/will be taking in response to the feedback.

Students are asked to complete both sections for each piece of feedback they are given during a course.  If the feedback is in electronic form (written or recorded) they can attach a copy.  If it is handwritten they can scan the original in any MFD, email it to themselves and upload the pdf to the Log.  This will allow a record to build up over the student’s time in the university, which documents all feedback given, the understanding of the feedback and the actions taken in response. 

Example of a Feedback Log in progress

How does sharing a Feedback Log work?

If a student wishes to discuss any aspect of feedback with his/her Personal Tutor (or with any other appropriate member of staff) the member of staff can request access to the Feedback Log.  This will enable him/her to see the student’s record of all feedback received to date.  The information will provide a broader context for discussions about the student’s progress overall and help identify any areas of difficulty, which may (or may not) be confined to certain courses. 

If the student has completed the Log, the reader will gain a quick overview of the student’s interpretation of feedback received across his/her courses of study.  If the summaries of written (or recorded) feedback are accompanied by copies of the originals, the reader can also check to see if the student’s interpretation is accurate!  Many misunderstandings of feedback can and do occur.  Any action points or responses noted will allow the reader to see what measures (if any) the student has taken/is undertaking to act upon any recommendations for improvement given in the feedback. 

If nothing is recorded against a particular course, or courses, then this can prompt a conversation between the student and the reader to determine why this is the case.  Resulting conversations can be more focused according to the similarities or differences noted across the range of courses. 

Download the above page regarding feedback logs as a pdf

There is extensive information about feedback on the University's feedback web pages which will be of use in your preparation for meetings on this theme.

You can download this full resource in pdf format.                    

LEVEL 1 or Direct Entry (DE) students - January meeting:

Meeting focused on exam reflection

As this will have been the first set of assessments for this cohort of students, there may well be questions in their minds as to what happens next. At the time of your meeting, the students may not yet have received their course results.  Some of the students may not have had any formal exams but instead will have had to submit course work for their final assessment(s).

Receiving and interpreting the results

• All course results will be delivered via the Student Hub. 
• For each of the courses they took, students will receive a final course grade, which will be expressed as a single grade on the Common Grading Scale (CGS), which will be issued to students through their Student Hub. 
• They will need to understand that a final grade of D3 or above indicates a pass and they will see noted ‘A’ (for achieved).  A final grade of E1 or below indicates that they have not passed the course and they will see noted ‘NA’ (not achieved).
• The calculation of a final course grade will take into account all marks achieved in summative (the results count toward the final grade) assessments.  Each assessment will form a percentage of the final grade (see relevant Course Guide or the Undergraduate Online Course Catalogue for the percentage weighting of each assessed element).

What happens if a student does not pass a course?

• If a student does not pass a course there will be a resit opportunity, during the resit period to try to complete the course.  The prescribed resit format for each course can be found in the relevant Course Guide or the Undergraduate Catalogue of Courses. 
• If a student was unable to sit an exam due to notified illness, or other circumstances, there will not be a final course result.  The opportunity to complete the course (in the prescribed format for that course) will be during the resit period in the summer.

Will there be feedback?

The University policy on providing feedback can be found in the Institutional Framework for the Provision of Feedback on Assessment (page 2):

Feedback on examinations should:

1. Be provided as soon as possible after the exam diet.
2. Where appropriate, be offered as generic feedback.
3. Be available to individual students upon request

Students should also be encouraged to speak to their course coordinator about feedback they have received on other forms of assessment.

All Students

Suggested questions for group reflection on assessment preparation:

• How did you go about preparing for your assessment? When did you start? Was this early enough, do you think?
• Did you sit with your lecture notes and read and re-read them over and over again?  This ‘passive’ learning activity is generally shown to be unproductive.
• Did you do any active learning, reconstructing the material into a different form when revising? This is generally shown to promote greater understanding and deeper learning.
• Did you test yourself: use online tests/quizzes, brainstorm with friends, use quizzes in textbooks etc?  These too, are active learning activities.
• Did you access past exam papers (through the Library database) and practise timed answers?  
• Did you engage carefully with the nature of the assessment?

Suggested questions for group reflection on the exams:

• How was your time management?
• Do you think you allowed yourself time to read through the instructions and the questions on the paper thoroughly?
• Did you struggle in the exam to show what you know while still answering the question?
• Did you move beyond just reciting your notes?
• Were there parts of the assessment that you found easy?  Which bits were difficult? Why was this?
• How can you improve in the areas you found tricky? (e.g.: Did you find essays more difficult than Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)?  Why do you tihnk this is?  What can you learn from the experiences and practices of your peers?)

Honours Students

• Did you think you show understanding and thought as well as knowledge?
• Do you think you showed what your ideas were building on?
• Did you acknowledge the critical work of others?

All Students

Some questions to consider on receiving the results:

• Are your results as you expected?
• Are your results as good as you had hoped for?
• Do you think your results are a fair reflection of the effort you put in?
• What techniques did you use?
• How do you think you could improve, e.g. did you find essays more difficul than Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)?

What can I do to improve?

• Request individual feedback on your exam paper(s) and assessment if generic course feedback still leaves you feeling unsure
• Access online resources on revision and exam skills on ACHIEVE
• Attend a Student Learning Service workshop to help develop your revision and exam techniques
• Request an individual Study Advice Session with the Student Learning Service to help develop your revision and exam techniques
• Attend in-course revision and/or exam techniques sessions, if offered
• Access the Library past exams papers database to practice exam answers

They are grouped under four main categories:

Academic Excellence

• In-depth and extensive knowledge, understanding and skills at internationally-recognised levels in their chosen discipline(s);
• A breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills beyond their chosen discipline(s);
• An ability to participate in the creation of new knowledge and understanding through research and inquiry;
• A contextual understanding of past and present knowledge and ideas;
• An intellectual curiosity and a willingness to question accepted wisdom and to be open to new ideas

Critical Thinking and Effective Communication

• A capacity for independent, conceptual and creative thinking;
• A capacity for problem identification, the collection of evidence, synthesis and dispassionate analysis;
• A capacity for attentive exchange, informed argument and reasoning;
• An ability to communicate effectively for different purposes and in different contexts;
• An ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• A diverse set of transferable and generic skills

Learning and Personal Development

• An openness to, and an interest in, life-long learning through directed and self-directed study;
• An awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses;
• A capacity for self-reflection, self-discovery and personal development

Active Citizenship

• An awareness and appreciation of ethical and moral issues;
• An awareness and appreciation of social and cultural diversity;
• An understanding of social and civic responsibilities, and of the rights of individuals and groups;
• An appreciation of the concepts of enterprise and leadership in all aspects of life;
• A readiness for citizenship in an inclusive society.

• To reflect an increased focus on the breadth of the student experience.
• To encourage staff and student engagement with a reflective and developmental process that would extend across the curriculum and co-curriculum, at all levels of undergraduate study.
• To enhance student employability in the global employment market.

Through engaging staff, student and employer awareness and development of the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes.

Through stating explicitly in each course how it supports the development of Aberdeen Graduate Attributes and encouraging students to articulate their reflections and development of them.

Through establishing ACHIEVE, a central site located in MyAberdeen, which offers undergraduate students resources to assess and reflect upon their skills and development needs in the curriculum and the co-curriculum.  ACHIEVE also refers them to relevant support services, including the Student Learning Service and the Careers and Employability Service.

Please refer to the meeting preparation resources for some suggested activities and prompt questions.