Ethical Beings Assessment Rubric
In all cases, the university’s 17 point mark scheme will broadly apply. How to interpret the 17 point mark scheme in relation to each of the assessments will be discussed in seminars and one-on-one
meetings with the module tutor. The below will also be discussed in these seminars and meetings.
You are required to meet with your tutor at least once before Christmas to discuss your choice of assessment.
Student Devised Piece and Group Discussion
Your devised piece is due noon, Thursday, 14 th January (week 1, term 2). The group discussion will then be scheduled for week 2 or 3 of term 2.
What is a devised piece?
Your devised piece is your chance to display your critical engagement with the themes of the module and take a considered approach as to how you might practically apply what you have learned in a medium of your choosing.
What does a devised piece look like?
Your piece should engage with the question: “How can I help a child develop as an ethical being?”
This question is not meant to be limiting and you will be free to answer the question negatively and interpret the terms of the question as you see fit so long as you express and support those interpretations with argument or bibliographical support (see below for bibliographies).
You should try and set yourselves some constraints as to the particular situations and audience you want to focus on. This will stop your piece from becoming too broad and unwieldy.
There is no right or wrong way of presenting your devised piece. It can take any form you wish and should display your personal experiences of and thoughts about the module’s topics in the best way possible. It could be a story, workshop, presentation, blog, comic, painting, video, essay, dance, website, poem, song, learning resource, collage, diary...anything. An awareness of why you chose the form you chose and why you chose it above other forms will be looked for.
Once you have started thinking about how you might like to answer the main question, or if you are struggling to get off the ground with your thinking, make sure you contact the module tutor to discuss your approach and if it will meet the requirements of the assessment. This will be particularly important if you are doing anything other than a written piece as you will need to know the
“equivalent” assessment limit.

Ultimately, your engagement with theory and ideas is more important than presentation. If you are running out of time then do not get caught up in fine polishing details. First and foremost, make sure you clearly demonstrate and critically engage with theory.
Referencing and bibliographies
You may choose any academic style of referencing and bibliography layout you wish so long as it is thorough and consistent. The tutor should be able to follow up and check your ideas easily and, where quotations are given, locate that quotation within the referenced material.
Bibliographies are required for this assessment. If your piece does not naturally include a place for a bibliography please submit one separately.
If you are concerned that you have not obviously expressed where and how your piece has been influenced by material in your bibliography then your bibliography may include short annotations.
Any single annotation should be 25 words maximum and read along the lines of: “This work impacted upon my choice to X”, “X’s theory of Y influenced why I included Z”, or “I rejected X’s thinking on Y when I chose to Z”.
The purpose of this bibliography and its annotations are to avoid plagiarism and to indicate influence and/or incorporation of ideas. It should not include any further explanation of the influences highlighted or separate argument. Such things must be demonstrated and incorporated into the piece itself and so will not be marked if present in the bibliography.
Bibliographies and their annotations do not count towards the overall word count.
Please speak to the tutor if you are unsure about any of this or have never done a bibliography before.
Your devised piece will be enhanced by evidence of:

A critical engagement with different disciplinary theories concerning childhood and ethical development;

Consideration of the contribution (positive or negative) one or more of the following might make to ethical development: (1) others such as parents, society, friends, teachers, writers, pets, etc.; (2) objects and artefacts such as books, films, etc.; and (3) significant life or learning experiences such as changing schools, abuse, empathetic experiences, particular workshops, etc.;

An awareness of how your theory/theories are signalled and put into practice by your piece, i.e. the form of your piece needs to have a demonstrable relationship to the ideas behind it;

Careful reflection on intended audience and their potential interaction with the piece;

Effective organisation and presentation of the ideas and material;


An informed and considered use of primary and secondary materials in the creation of your piece;

A considered awareness of potential weaknesses in your ideas/piece and the ability to engage with or respond to them;

A well-presented and, if necessary, a succinctly annotated bibliography.
It may be that these things do not all come through in the piece itself but are drawn out in the group discussion. This is why the piece and the discussion will be marked in tandem.
How will the group discussion work?
During the group discussion there will be a presenter, a panel of three students who will be allowed to question the presenter, and a chair/timekeeper. Each student will rotate through these rolls. This will ensure that everything is kept to time and everyone has a fair chance to showcase what they have learned.
The order will be determined randomly before the assessment day. The allotted time for presentations and questions will also be determined before the day but is subject to number of students on the module, types of material submitted, etc., and so is not included here.
You do not have to present your piece if it is not in a form that lends itself to presentation. For example, the presentation slot may be replaced with reading time, you may decide to run a workshop, or the piece may have been pre-circulated. However, you will have to respond to questions on the day. If it has been necessary to pre-circulate a piece then those responding to it will be graded accordingly. What exactly this entails will be negotiated before the day.
Each slot will run as follows:

Presentation if necessary.

Each panel member will be given the chance to ask one brief clarificatory question of the presenter if necessary. This can only be clarificatory, i.e. to check you have understood a point or term correctly.

A few minutes will be given for the panel to gather their thoughts and look at their notes.

Question from panel member 1.

Response from presenter.

Follow up question from panel member 1 – this must be relevant to the presenter’s response and cannot be an entirely new question. A follow up question is also not necessary.
If you were satisfied with the presenter’s response then do not feel the need to continue your questioning. As outlined below, unnecessary or irrelevant questioning is detrimental to your mark and recognising a good answer shows your own understanding and will gain you a higher mark.

Response from presenter.

Repeat for panel members 2 and 3.


If time, panel members may ask further questions.
Presenters, don’t be afraid to ask for the question to be repeated or to take time to consider your answer.
Proceedings will run without the interjection of the tutor/marker unless it becomes absolutely necessary.
Panel contributions will be enhanced by:

Clear and concise questions that allow for response and discussion.

An avoidance of unnecessary jargon and a willingness to explain any terms you are asked for clarification on.

Relevant lines of questioning informed by the module and primary or secondary material.

Ability to reflect on and assess the presenter’s answer and spot follow-up points where
appropriate.
Presenter responses will be enhanced by:

A clear attempt to directly answer the question being posed.

An ability to critically respond to questions being posed and defend your theoretical points where necessary.

An ability to recognise if a legitimate point has been made which changes your mind on something in your piece and an attempt to reassess your piece in line with that where appropriate.

Responses informed by the module and primary or secondary material.

An avoidance of unnecessary jargon and a willingness to explain any terms you are asked for clarification of.
Essay
Your essay will be due noon, Thursday, 14 th January (week 1, term 2).
How should I approach this essay?
You will choose the topic and question of the essay. The only restriction is that it ties into a theme or idea arising from the module. It could be a traditional academic essay responding to a question such as ‘Are childhood and adulthood two distinct phases of life?’ or ‘Is a Platonic conception of moral development still relevant today?’ It could also be reflective piece on the learning styles you have encountered on the module as opposed to elsewhere in the university, or even a collection of short

poems of vignettes that capture your emerging thoughts on a certain topic. Feel free to play with the notion of what an ‘essay’ is. As with the devised piece, so long as you can defend your choices in some way – whether that is through an indicative, annotated bibliography or in the essay itself – you should feel free to experiment with form.
Once you have identified a topic that interests you, or if you are struggling to think of one, discuss this with the module tutor to make sure it is suitable and how best to approach it.
Your essay will be enhanced by evidence of:

A clear line of theoretical inquiry in response to particular questions and/or stimuli arising from the module.

A sustained and organised engagement with that question and/or stimuli.

The ability to address an intelligent but non-specific audience – i.e. there is a clarity of expression and lack of unnecessary or unexplained jargon.

An awareness of how the form you have chosen matches and best expresses the content of the position or ideas you are presenting, i.e. why is the particular form you chose the best form for your ideas?

Clear and critical engagement with the theoretical positions arising in module and relevant primary and secondary material.

Rigorous and clear referencing where appropriate.

Ability to anticipate and engage with potential counter-arguments and opposed positions to your own.
Bibliographies
As above, bibliographies are necessary but if you have chosen a creative form of essay and you are concerned that the influences upon your choice of style might be missed, you can include annotations so long as they follow the same guidelines as laid out above for the devised piece.