Motivation and emotion/Changes/2021

Changes - 2021

Summary

Student feedback about this unit in 2020 was very positive - 97% were satisfied. For more detail, see Motivation and emotion - Evaluation 2020.

As a result of student feedback, the following changes have been made for 2021:

1. Book chapter weight decreased from 45% to 40%; quiz weight increased from 30% to 35%.
2. Assessment guidelines and marking criteria have been revised.
3. The amount of lecture content has been reduced.
4. Wikiversity help material has been improved.

Students will have opportunities to provide anonymous feedback on the unit at the beginning, middle and end of the teaching period via InterFace which can be accessed through MyUC.

Student-suggested improvements

Evaluation by students in 2020 made many useful suggestions. As a result, the following changes were made for 2021:

Assessment

1. Weight: Some students commented that quizzes were under-weighted and the book chapter over-weighted. Therefore, quiz weight has been increased from 30% to 35% and book chapter weight has been decreased from 45% to 40%.
2. Large nature of combined assessment project: Some students reported feeling daunted by the large nature of the combined project (70% - i.e., topic development (5%) + book chapter (45%) + multimedia presentation (20%)) Therefore,
   1. the overall weight of the major project has been reduced from 70% to 65% by reducing the book chapter weight from 45% to 40%.
   2. information has been added to the Unit Outline, assessment guidelines, lectures, and tutorials to communicate that, as a Level 3, final semester unit, the major project (topic development, book chapter, multimedia presentation) can be considered a scaffolded "capstone" project, allowing students to bring together and demonstrate their knowledge and skills to produce useful real-world resources.
3. Topic development / Book chapter:
   1. Several students, whilst appreciating the novel nature of the book chapter/multimedia assessment, reported difficulty learning the technical aspects of how to edit online. Therefore, the explanatory rationale for the assessment modality has been improved by:
      1. more clearly connecting the graduate attributes developed through this assessment modality (on Wikiversity and in lecture slides).
      2. better communicating the applicability of these skills and artefacts such as for student eportfolios, internships, professional profiles, and employability skill development).
   2. Some students commented about an apparent lack of peer-reviewed academic information for some of the book chapter topics. Therefore, tips have been added to the assessment guidelines and book chapter template about conducting an initial literature search before selecting a topic.
   3. Some students reported difficulty in both presenting a chapter plan for the topic development and managing other writing/draft notes on the same page. Therefore, the book chapter template has been improved to including a working notes section.
   4. Some students were confused about the book chapter requirements. Therefore, guidelines and marking criteria have been revised to enhance clarity.
4. Multimedia presentation
   1. One student requested earlier guidance. Therefore, a how to make a multimedia presentation pre-recording has been added.
5. Quizzes
   1. Some students reported feeling overwhelmed by the number of quizzes and associated reading requirements, particularly during the first half of semester during which two-thirds of the content is covered. Therefore, a recommended schedule, with alternative suggestions, has been added to the quiz guidelines and lecture 01 about options for managing the quiz and reading load.

Lectures

1. Some students requested earlier availability of lecture notes. Therefore, lecture notes will be made available by the beginning of each teaching week.
2. Several students reported that lectures contained too much information. Therefore, the lecture content has been revised, especially for lectures which cover more than 1 textbook chapter, so that it fits more comfortably into the allocated time.
3. Several students didn't like that some of the content was repeated, therefore the recapping of previous lectures during the first few weeks has been removed.
4. Some students reported navigational difficulties in moving from UCLearn to Wikiversity, particularly to find lecture notes. Therefore, navigational alignment between the platforms has been reviewed and improved.

Wikiversity

1. Some students reported finding it difficult to learn how to edit the Wikiversity site. Therefore, the Wikiversity help material in the tutorials has been improved.

Lifelong learning skills

1. One student suggested that the motivation and emotion knowledge and skills taught in the unit helped with their learning confidence and effectiveness and that some of this could be useful if presented during first year. This suggestion was passed onto the undergraduate psychology course team.