Coursework
Encyclopedia
Coursework is the name for work carried out by student
s at university
or middle
/high school
that contributes towards their overall grade
, but which is assessed separately from their final exams. Coursework can, for example, take the form of experiment
al work, or may involve research
in the science
s. It can comprise dissertations, book reports or essay
s submitted for arts
subjects. Unlike exams, students may have a number of days or weeks to complete the assignment, and often are allowed to use text books, notes, and the internet for research.
In universities, coursework is often one of many different modes of assessment. Students are required to produce coursework in order to broaden knowledge and enhance research skills, and to demonstrate that they can discuss, reason and construct practical outcomes from the theoretical knowledge learned during their course. Sometimes coursework is tackled by a group, so students may learn both how to work in groups and from each other. But plagiarism and copying present major issues to confront.
There has been some controversy regarding the help students can receive whilst doing their coursework, abuse of which may lead to the disqualification of students at different levels. In the UK
, the Joint Council for Qualifications can disqualify plagiarism
. Easily accessible websites have given people the opportunity to "lift" ideas and even complete essays, despite the greater protective measures employed to detect this. While coursework may give learners the chance to improve their grades, it also provides an opportunity to "cheat the system". This is one of the reasons that coursework in the UK is gradually being removed from the GCSE course and replaced by a system where all of the grade comes from either a series of modular assessments over the course of the course and/or a "final exam". In other situations, coursework has been designed to be performed under exam conditions over a period of time, which lowers the possibility of cheating. In the majority of subjects at GCSE, coursework has been replaced by "Controlled Assessment", where students must complete coursework under exam conditions. The rules of controlled assessments are as follows:
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s at university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
or middle
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
/high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
that contributes towards their overall grade
Grade (education)
Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...
, but which is assessed separately from their final exams. Coursework can, for example, take the form of experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
al work, or may involve research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
in the science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
s. It can comprise dissertations, book reports or essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s submitted for arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
subjects. Unlike exams, students may have a number of days or weeks to complete the assignment, and often are allowed to use text books, notes, and the internet for research.
In universities, coursework is often one of many different modes of assessment. Students are required to produce coursework in order to broaden knowledge and enhance research skills, and to demonstrate that they can discuss, reason and construct practical outcomes from the theoretical knowledge learned during their course. Sometimes coursework is tackled by a group, so students may learn both how to work in groups and from each other. But plagiarism and copying present major issues to confront.
There has been some controversy regarding the help students can receive whilst doing their coursework, abuse of which may lead to the disqualification of students at different levels. In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Joint Council for Qualifications can disqualify plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
. Easily accessible websites have given people the opportunity to "lift" ideas and even complete essays, despite the greater protective measures employed to detect this. While coursework may give learners the chance to improve their grades, it also provides an opportunity to "cheat the system". This is one of the reasons that coursework in the UK is gradually being removed from the GCSE course and replaced by a system where all of the grade comes from either a series of modular assessments over the course of the course and/or a "final exam". In other situations, coursework has been designed to be performed under exam conditions over a period of time, which lowers the possibility of cheating. In the majority of subjects at GCSE, coursework has been replaced by "Controlled Assessment", where students must complete coursework under exam conditions. The rules of controlled assessments are as follows:
- Must be completed under timed exam conditions
- During planning time teachers may not provide feedback to any work produced
- During planning time students may not draft their work, only notes and research can be carried out.
See also
- busy workBusy workBusy work is a term for work or assignments that are time consuming, but not useful. It is typically used to refer to schoolwork which is time consuming for students but not educationally valuable, but can also refer to procedures or paperwork in a bureaucracy which is unnecessary...
- book report
- homeworkHomeworkHomework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside of class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built...
- schoolworkSchoolworkSchoolwork is work assigned by a teacher, school, or other educational institution. The term generally refers to both work completed at home , as well as work completed during class . Typically, schoolwork is done in class, during the time period allotted by the instructor...
- schoolSchoolA school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
- educationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...