Bridging gaps and jumping through hoops: First-year History students’ expectations and perceptions of assessment and feedback in a research-intensive UK university

Abstract

The wider context of arts and humanities education in the UK has demanded that university teachers and administrators focus on 'end points'. Increased emphasis on the generic and transferable skills attained through arts and humanities programmes, along with intense concern to raise students' reported levels of satisfaction, do not necessarily help university teachers to make the best use of the expanding body of research on how students actually learn from assessment and feedback. This article focuses not on the final-year students, whose views are increasingly solicited in satisfaction surveys, but on two cohorts of first-year History students as they write their first essays and have their first experiences of feedback in a research-intensive institution. The article explores at a micro-level some of the factors which earlier research has identified as critical to the development of assessment and feedback practices which are conducive to students' self-regulation and future learning.

Non-native student and supervisor expectations during the process of completing a graduation thesis: A case study

“…Research findings (cf. Leijen 2015, Leki, Carson 1994, Petric 2002, Skinner 2014 unanimously emphasise the complex nature of academic writing and, therefore, it was expected that students on all levels would support the claim. The data in Table 4 below display the responses as they appeared in the study.…”

Bridging the gap: teaching and studying Ancient History and Classical Civilisation from school to university

“…When asked to comment on the challenges of starting university education, students are more likely to identify deficiencies in the teaching they receive compared to what they had experienced at school. Here, Booth's research can be usefully supplemented by the work of Skinner (2014), also in History, and both Ballinger (2003) and Wilson et al (2016) in English Literature.…”

How do we integrate skills and content in classics? An inquiry into students’ use of sources

“…Engagement with primary sources is a sine qua non of arts and humanities subjects generally. Many students studying history at undergraduate degree level struggle with critical engagement with literature (Booth, 2003, 2005; Skinner, 2014: 367). However, the challenge is more acute in the interdisciplinary field of classics and ancient history.…”

“…Finally, the drop in contact hours between students and teachers reduces the amount of teacher guidance students receive at university (Ballinger, 2003: 101; Ellis, 2008; Skinner, 2014: 370). Therefore, in their new academic setting when they are also coming to grips with these new expectations, first-year undergraduate students must rely more on their own initiative in reading academic literature, as well as forming ideas on contemporary debates in the field (Baker, 2017: 404; Ferreira, 2018: 9; Skinner, 2014: 367).…”