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Send to friendStreamlining feedback on generic skills in practical reports
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Generic skills acquisition
The survival skills module is the first task my second year Physiology students complete and they do this in week one. The topics covered are: How to read a textbook, how to answer questions, cramming, academic skills website (where to get help), plagiarism and collusion, (what is it and how to avoid it) how to reference scientific literature and websites, analysing and drawing graphs using Excel and how to draw a biological drawing.
Why do such an exercise? Several years ago my instructions for a practical report were to "draw a graph" and many of the students did, free hand (no graph paper, no ruled lines!!!). I enquired as to why they didn't do it using Excel and they told me they didn't know how. The exercise has now been expanded to encompass a greater range of skills.
Once the students complete this exercise I know they have all the skills to successfully complete the unit. I can then ask them in a practical report to analyse class data and plot graphs using Excel and I know they can do it. Students are given two sets of data (Group A and Group B) that they access via the Physiology homepage on DSO (Deakin Studies Online). They calculate the mean, standard deviation of the data, perform a t-test, and plot the data (mean and SD) using Excel. I have detailed instructions in their survival skills guide to take them through this process step by step. They can then use this guide throughout the semester as a reference for how to do certain things.
The guide also provides the students with information about how to get the most out of their textbook and other tips on improving their study skills. Plagiarism and collusion are words that students have heard of but they still do not fully understand. The guide provides information about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. In the assignment students are given an extract from a textbook and then a piece of work that a fictitious student wrote. Students must state whether or not the student plagiarised and give reasons.
Evidence of the initiative's effectiveness
This is the first semester that the survival skills assignment has been in place.
Advantages: It has streamlined the marking of the prac reports because if there are any mistakes such as referencing, too many decimal places in their calculations the demonstrators just write on the report "SS" which means the students have to go back to the information in the survival skills assignment and work out why they have lost the marks. We do not have to write detailed comments on each prac report. Students can refer to this information throughout the semester. All students have used Excel for data analysis and graphing to complete their practical reports and they are now very proficient in using this program. Referencing in their reports has also greatly improved.
