Reflection

I think this was a really powerful series of activities and it certainly stimulated a lot of discussion and help between classmates as they read through two exemplars, neither of which relate to the content of the topic they would eventually write about in their own assessment. Instead it was intended to build confidence and awareness of the format, the writing-style required and how grades would be awarded. I think students would have greatly benefited from a very condensed activity getting them to write a similar (but much shorter) essay on any topic that they wanted, as a stepping stone to the real assessment. Instead (due to time constraints) we moved quickly onwards to learn content. I surveyed students before and after the activity, and students reported greater confidence in what was expected of them. However, two students were left thinking that the assessment would be about folic acid in bread. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough about the point of the activity!