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SCOPE Project Lecturer's Report:
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Organisation of course
Each student attended two lectures per week and one seminar every fortnight over a 12 week semester. All of the students were expected to read the selected article(s) for the course reader, and contribute to the seminar discussion. Assessment was a 2000 word essay, and a two hour exam.
Organisation of Scope Packs
Pack material was selected and organised on the basis that it would contribute to the student's understanding of the major themes within the course - the response by young people to issues that confront them in modern society. Because other readings were recommended to students (see course outline), extra material for the pack was not considered necessary. Our own library provision was a very important complement to the scope pack, enabling the students to read additional material. Although it was somewhat frustrating that some scope material took longer to be approved by the publishers, the overall time-period for completion was just about right.
Scope Packs
The price is still a little bit too high for the profile of our students - the problem is that the readings will probably not be so useful for the remaining two years of their study. However, because I highly recommended the pack and stressed its overall importance, there was a very high 'take-up' rate - 90 were sold.
One of the important benefits of the pack was that it focused students on the required reading for the course, especially in seminars, and probably helped them to gain more confidence in discussing complex issues. It also avoided their dependence on a particular text. I would like to use the Scope pack again for the course, but probably reduce the number of articles to 6 - the number of seminars in the course. I have discussed some of these issues with my colleagues, and they seem to feel that a pack for other years may be suitable, especially the first year.
Student Reading
One of the main disappointments in the running of the course was the lack of reading that was displayed in student essays and exams. The wider reading that was present in the seminars was not evident in student performance in essays and exams. However, this may be due to the particular group of students, and is not necessarily a reflection of the content of the pack.
Electronic Delivery
I am not particularly keen on the Scope resource bank, even though our new library will have a new range of high specification computers. In my opinion, printed course packs are much more attractive and tangible. Perhaps these banks can be used to provide additional material, such as lectures or seminar notes.