Advantages
This formative assessment helps to provide a quality teaching and learning environment by giving students regular feedback, and provides means for progressive improvement through a scaffolded learning model. Fosters practical and cognitive skills that contribute towards Critical Judgement, Effective Communication Skills, and Ethical and Social Understanding (UQ Graduate attributes) through an applied activity using an everyday stimulus (media).
Challenges
Some students struggle to locate an appropriate news item for analysis. This can be mitigated by providing students with pre-determined options. Care must be taken by the course coordinator to select context-specific media pieces that align with course content. Students are sometimes ambivalent in responding to open-ended tasks. This can be managed by providing regular feedback to students, and establishing rigorous and systematic approaches to performing critical analysis that become the focus of tutorial exanalysis that become the focus of tutorial exercises.
Tips for implementation
Allow sufficient time for individual student consultation in order to provide feedback as well as identify areas for improvement prior to submission.
How it supports academic integrity
This piece supports academic integrity via promoting a student-led approach that also allows for regular feedback. That is, it engages students in selecting their own media piece and guiding their own critical analysis; whilst allowing students to communicate their ideas and understanding through staff consultations and tutorial discanalysis; whilst allowing students to communicate their ideas and understanding through staff consultations and tutorial discussions.