OLES1662 Assessment Guide
Marks for OLES1662 will come from minor assessments (quizzes and discussion
forums), worth a total of 55%, and a major assessment (expert witness testimony),
worth a total of 45%. Minor assessments will be completed each week (excluding
Weeks 1 and 10), and components of the major assessment will be due in Week 8
(recorded planning session) and Week 10 (recorded presentation and peer review).
Rationale: Assessments have been designed to meet the challenges of online learning. The
weekly small assessments are intended to maximise engagement and encourage you to
stay on top of the lecture material. The group-related work (forums and major assessment)
will provide you with a learning community that can support you as you engage with
occasionally confronting content.
Minor Assessments (55%)
Quizzes (30%)
You will complete six short quizzes in this unit between Weeks 2-13. These will be
accessible through a link on Canvas (made available the week they are due).
Weight: 5% each
Style: 20 MCQ
Time: 30min
Weeks: 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13
Availability: Tuesday 9am - Friday 11:59pm. NOTE: Quizzes will close
automatically Friday at 11:59pm, so be sure to start the quiz no later than Friday at
11:29pm to give yourself the full 30 minutes.
Details: Each quiz will cover 2 weeks’ worth of lecture content (except the Week 11
quiz, which will cover 3 weeks). Expect ~3-4 questions per lecture, and ~1-2
questions per required reading. The questions are not designed to be excessively
tricky; the best approach is to make sure that you've watched the lectures/read the
readings before attempting the quiz. Only one attempt per quiz is permitted.
Discussion Forums (25%)
You will participate in five online forum discussions between Weeks 3-12. These
are intended to enhance your scientific literacy, shape critical thinking skills, and
make you better science communicators. They will also provide you with a small
cohort (your discussion forum group) within this large online unit that will serve as
your "OLES learning community".
Weight: 5% each
Length: Est. 200-400 words
Weeks: 3, 5, 7, 9, 12
Availability: Monday 9am - Friday 11:59pm. NOTE: Forums will stay open for late
submissions until the following Tuesday, but late penalties will apply.
Details:
Groups: Starting in Week 3, you will be placed into an online discussion
group (~10 students per group). Forum posts are individually marked, but you
will be able to see and respond to the other posts from your group. You are
encouraged to (respectfully) respond to and engage with other posts from your
group members, though this is not required.
Style: These are intended as casual forums − professional academic writing
is not expected, and you will not lose points for conversational language or
simple grammar errors (though clarity is still important).
Content: The style of the prompts will be different each time. You may be
asked to provide your opinion on a topic, find/post a link to relevant online
content, provide your thoughts in response to a brief clip from social media, etc.
All prompts will be in some way related to engagement with scientific literature.
Code of Conduct: We encourage respectful debate, but any posts that are
hostile, bullying, or discriminatory towards a particular group or individual will
not be tolerated. Avoid stating opinions as facts (e.g., "Masculinity is toxic",
"Women are more emotional", etc.). Frame your ideas in the context of your
experience (e.g., "In my culture...", "I was raised to believe...", "From my
personal experience...").
Marking: Posts are assigned a mark between 0-5. Late submissions: 1 mark/day
will be deducted. See Rubric below for further details.
Rubric: General feedback for each mark. Mark may be attributable to justifications
a-c (where listed), or a combination of several factors.
0 1 2 3 4 5
a) No submission
b) Submission that
violates code of
conduct.
a) Minimal effort,
significantly below
suggested word
count
b) Off topic
a) Some effort.
Below or within low
range of suggested
word count.
b) Touches on
topic, but misses
the main point
c) Lacks
clarity/difficult to
follow or
understand
a) Satisfactory post
within suggested
word count, and
broadly on topic.
b) Lacks originality
and/or depth
a) Strong post,
within suggested
word count. Clear
effort, evidence of
original thought.
b) Satisfactory post
with evidence of
further engagement
in forum (i.e.,
responding
to/commenting on
other posts)
a) Exceptional post.
Within or above
suggested word
count. Thoughtful,
insightful, creative.
b) Strong post, plus
additional
engagement in
forum (i.e.,
responding
to/commenting on
other posts)
Note on AI Use: You may use AI to help clarify writing/organise thoughts, but this
assessment is designed to give you a chance to be human with other humans.
Please take it.
Major Assessment (45%)
Your major assessment will be a recorded oral presentation, framed as an "expert
witness testimony". You will be placed in groups of 5 (with members from your
Discussion Forum Groups), given details of a case, and asked to prepare an
argument (based in the scientific literature) either for the Defence or the Prosecution.
The assessment will be split into 3 components, marked separately: the
Presentation, the Planning Session, and the Peer Review.
NOTE: Additional details about this assessment will be released in upcoming weeks.
Expert Witness Testimony
Presentation
Weight: 30%
Length: 15min
Details: The presentation can be recorded on Zoom. Not every group member
needs to present, but all need to contribute in some way (research, argument
development, planning, etc). Submission will be an MP4 uploaded to Canvas.
Marking: Each presentation will receive a single mark; every group member who
participated will receive that mark. If a group member did not participate at all, this
can be indicated in the peer review, and they will receive a zero for the
assessment. Minimal or token participation may result in a fractional mark.
Planning Session
Weight: 10%
Length: 15min
Details: After receiving your case and your group assignments, your group will
need to schedule an initial "planning session" over Zoom. The first 15min of this
session will be recorded and the MP4 submitted to Canvas as evidence of
individual engagement.
Marking: Full marks will be awarded to members who are present and actively
participating.
Peer Review
Weight: 5%
Length: Est. 500 words (~100 words per group member)
Details: Submitted individually. You will assign a participation score to each of your
group members (0-5), along with a written description of 1) what they contributed to
the project, 2) what their strengths were, and 3) areas where they may improve.
Marking: Peer review submissions will receive a mark from 0-5. Highest marks will
go to thoughtful and constructive reviews that reveal active engagement in group
activities.
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