Softchalk used for coursework

Friday 27th June, 14:40 to 15:20

EC1-23

Timothy Matthews

For their coursework students from 306BMS were expected to review a current research topic in cancer biology. They had an individual title which was posed as a question, based around a recent research publication. Students had to build a review to give their informed (by published literature) opinion on the question. They are required to present information in a manner that another student at the same level could easily understand and learn from, as they all had individual topics and titles that are not covered in the lectures this is an important communication aspect.

For this they used Softchalk to build a ‘mini-website’ rather than producing just another essay. Not only did this make the assignment more interesting for the students, it also provoked them to develop other skills that they may not have realised would be beneficial to them in their careers away from University; skills such as digital literacy and contributing to online journals.

Softchalk was chosen for this as it provided an easy to use option (we did not want the focus to switch away from cancer biology, so needed something that all students would easily be able to cope with). It also allowed a format that lent itself to developing a learning resource for other students to look at. The inclusion of e.g. a quiz is extremely informative as to the engagement of the student with the topic area and also their understanding of the material.

The aim of this session is to share this good practice and help tutors think differently about how their students produce coursework. It will also showcase one of the many ways CELE can help you with your course development.

Leave a Reply