1. Unit Writing HN Review May 2011 Scottish Qualifications Authority bobby.elliott@sqa.org.uk caroline.douglas@sqa.org.uk

3. Agenda

4. Outcomes Describe the unit writing process. Identify and locate support materials. Identify the unit specification template. Explain Bloom’s Taxonomy. Write a unit specification.

5. Outcome 1: Describe the unit writing process

6. Outcome 2: Identify and locate support materials Documentation Writing Higher National Units using the revised format Online resources SQA Groupspace for unit writers People Vetter Qualification leader Lead developer (Gerry) SQA officer (Caroline)

7. http://groupspaces.com/UnitWriting/

8. Outcome 3: Identify the unit specification template

9. Outcome 4: Explain Bloom’s Taxonomy

10. Outcome 5: Write a unit specification Devising the title Stating the unit purpose Determining level and credit Writing outcomes Writing knowledge and skills statements Writing evidence requirements Producing assessment guidelines Holistic assessment

11. Devising the title One line summary of the unit’s contents State the area of skills and knowledge Examples Software Development Operating Systems: Virtualisation Troubleshooting PC Problems Don’t… Use “Introduction to…” or equivalent Begin with a conjunction such as “A” or “The” Use numbers

12. Stating the unit purpose Brief summary of what the unit is about The summary leads to the outcomes May include information about target group(s) or progression routes Example “The purpose of this unit is to provide the knowledge and skills required to write Higher National unit specifications. It is intended for college lecturers who wish to acquire these competences to enable them to participate in unit writing as part of the Higher National Review of HNC/D Computing.”

13. Determining level and credit Level Use the SCQF system Use the SCQF level descriptors It’s not a science! Credit Express as HN credits and SCQF points 1 HN credit = 40 hours of guided learning 1 HN credit = 8 SCQF points Avoid fractional values Round up

14. SCQF descriptors

15. Writing outcomes Follows from purpose Normally 3-5 outcomes per unit Prefaced with: “On completion of the unit, candidates should be able to:” Begins with a verb Use Bloom’s Taxonomy Don’t use intangible verbs such as “Know” or “Understand” Don’t use vague verbs such as “Demonstrate” or “Illustrate” Avoid process-oriented outcomes such as “Use” or “Participate”

16. Writing outcomes: examples State the main roles in an Information Services Department Describe the main stages in the software development life cycle Explain a virtual machine Test a computer program Analyse a network fault Resolve a customer problem Create a flowchart to illustrate a common problem solving procedure

17. Writing knowledge and skills statements Essential knowledge and skills needed to achieve the outcomes Background knowledge/underpinning skills New knowledge/new skills General knowledge Soft skills Not performance criteria Don’t define standards Don’t define quantity or quality

18. Examples Describe the unit writing process Structure of qualifications Need for national standards Role of awarding bodies Role of writer and vetter Main stages in the writing process Quality control within the writing process Inter-personal skills needed

19. Examples continued Identify and locate support materials Background knowledge? Underpinning skills? New knowledge? New skills?

20. Writing evidence requirements What candidates have to do to produce evidence that they have achieved the outcome(s) The type of performance The standards expected The volume of evidence Any essential conditions Evidence for all skills Sampling of knowledge Do not specify the instrument of assessment

21. “Describe the unit writing process” The evidence for this outcome comprises a knowledge assessment that samples from the knowledge and skills statements in the outcome. The assessment will consist of a number of short answer or selected response questions, undertaken under controlled conditions without access to reference material. Each assessment should consist of a different sample of knowledge and skills.

22. Producing assessment guidelines This section is not mandatory It provides guidance on the assessment activity that will generate the required evidence It suggests how best to carry out the assessment It may suggest a specific instrument of assessment including duration and pass mark

23. This outcome could be assessed by a multiple-choice test, comprising 25 questions, with a pass mark of 15 out of 25 (60%). The questions would be drawn from each of the knowledge and skills statements. A distribution of questions could be: Structure of qualifications (3 questions) Need for national standards (2 questions) Role of awarding bodies (4 questions) “Describe the unit writing process”

24. Holistic assessment THE FIRST RULE OF UNIT WRITING IS MINIMISE ASSESSMENT THE SECOND RULE OF UNIT WRITING IS MINIMISE ASSESSMENT THE THIRD RULE OF UNIT WRITING IS MINIMISE ASSESSMENT

25. Holistic assessment Do not assess each outcome Assess the unit as a whole Aim for one assessment per unit No more than one knowledge and one practical assessment per unit Sample knowledge Don’t produce long lists of knowledge and skills

26. Questions & Answers