New Advanced Higher Subject Implementation Events Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies:

Unit Assessment at Advanced Higher

Unit Assessment – Recap Flexible and open Assessment Standards and Evidence

Requirements in Units

Greater range of techniques and methodologies for assessment – encouraged

Assessments can be designed to provide evidence across more than one outcome or Unit – combined assessments

More opportunities to gather naturally occurring evidence

– assessment as part of learning and teaching

Unit Assessment Support Purpose

As at Higher, Assessment Support will be provided which you can use to:

Assess your candidates

Adapt for your own assessment programmes

Help you develop your own assessments

your own assessments

Unit Assessment Support at Advanced Higher – Key Features

Valid from August 2015

Complements and supports learning and teaching

Assess competence against Unit Outcomes and Assessment Standards

Designed to encourage professional judgement

Provide broad-based tasks – allow assessors to choose appropriate context and forms of evidence

Show range of approaches to generating assessment evidence

Give information on the type of evidence which could be gathered

Unit Assessment Support at Advanced Higher – Approaches

Package 1 Unit by Unit approach for – discrete assessment tasks for each Unit (Philosophy of Religion, Medical Ethics, Religious Experience)Portfolio approach for Researching Unit

Package 2 Unit by Unit approach – discrete assessment tasks for each Unit (Philosophy of Religion, Medical Ethics, Religious Experience)

Package 3 Portfolio approach – naturally occurring evidence (Philosophy of Religion, Medical Ethics, Religious Experience)

Unit Assessment Support at Advanced Higher – Researching Unit

Develop independent research skills in the context of complex religious, moral or philosophical issues 1.1 Justifying an appropriate, complex religious, moral or philosophical issue for research

1.2 Planning a programme of research

1.3 Researching, collecting and recording information in an organised way

1.4 Explaining approaches to organising, presenting and referencing findings.

1.5 Correctly referencing a source using an appropriate referencing system

Unit Assessment Support at Advanced Higher – Amendments

Subject Update Letter – January 2015 Planned changes to Unit Specifications

Minimise over-assessment

Assessment Support Package Example

Unit Assessment Support

Philosophy of Religion

Package 2: Unit by Unit Approach

Document Read Through

Unit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Overview of Assessment:

Outline of the example task

Advice on how to adapt the task

Evidence in one form may be supplemented with evidence in other forms

Unit Assessment SupportUnit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Assessment Conditions

Level of teacher/lecturer support should be appropriate but evidence must be the candidate's own work

When group work is used, evidence of individual achievement is required

Centres responsibility to ensure that all evidence is the individual candidate’s work

Unit Assessment SupportUnit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Assessment Conditions (continued)

Only apply restrictions which are required by the Assessment Standards

No time restrictions - candidates should have sufficient time to complete the task

No restrictions on resources which candidates may use in the assessment

Same conditions apply National 3 – Higher

Unit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Evidence to be gathered

A range of possible forms of evidence may be appropriate

Keep accurate records of the candidate meeting the Assessment Standards

Only need sufficient evidence to show achievement of the Assessment Standards once

Unit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Judging Evidence Table tells you how to judge evidence against the Assessment Standards

Illustrations of possible candidate responses

Approach used can change, Outcome / Assessment Standards do not change

Unit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Re-assessment arrangements

Assessment should be carried out when the individual candidate is ready

If a candidate fails to provide evidence for all the Assessment Standards, it is only necessary to re-assess the individual

Assessment Standard that they have yet to achieve

Unit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Examples of recording documentation

Exemplar tables for recording candidate’s/group’s achievement of Assessment Standards

These can be adapted as required

Unit Assessment Supportdocument read through

Assessment Task

Aligns with the prompts in the Overview of Assessment section

Exemplifies one context in which Unit assessment may take place

Workshop 1Unit Assessment

Using the materials provided, in small groups of 2-3, discuss: Identify subject-specific topics for discussion

Workshop Aims To understand the assessment and evidence requirements of

Unit Assessment To consider a range of ways of generating evidence for the Unit

Assessment Support provided

Using the materials provided, in small groups of 2-3, discuss: Definitions of skills and descriptions of minimum competence Ways to minimise assessment (e.g. using one piece of evidence

to meet multiple Assessment Standards) Renewed focus on Researching Unit and what it will mean for

your practice

 

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