ORAL PRESENTATION ASSESSMENT COMPONENT LW593 EU LAW 2009/10 As module convenor for the 15 credit module LW593 EU Law in 2009/10 (Anneli is taking over for 2010/11), I have been asked to submit a brief report providing feedback on the oral presentation assessment component for this module. As part of the curriculum review process, KLS decided that LW593 should incorporate an oral skills assessment component. This type of assessment did not feature in the predecessor 30 credit module LW511 European Law. Description of the assessment: students are required to submit a 15 minute joint presentation on a designated leading judgment of the Court of Justice within an allotted seminar. They are expected to relay the basic background facts, the key elements of the Advocate General’s (AG) opinion and the Court’s judgment as well as provide a brief comment/evaluation on the Court’s judgment (in terms of its impact and reasoning). Whilst it is up to the students how they wish to structure and deliver their presentation, it is recommended that labour is evenly and rationally divided so that for instance one student deals with the background facts and analyses the AG opinion, whilst the other focuses on the judgment and evaluates its impact and reasoning. Marking: seminar leaders mark the presentation using a standardised marksheet (see overleaf for template). Students are marked on the basis of the following criteria (equally weighted): Knowledge and understanding of the case Analysis and evaluation of the case Degree of clarity and logical structuring of presentation Degree of effective oral communication (including audibility, pacing of presentation). Weighting of oral assessment: 10% of overall marks (remainder 80% exam and 10% essay). Feedback: Students receive a copy of the marksheet which serves as feedback. This was completed within 2 weeks of the final round of presentations, so some 3-4 weeks prior to the exam. Recording: Each presentation is intended to be video-recorded for quality audit purposes, although this is not guaranteed for technical reasons. The recordings are made also with the intention of making this available for inspection by the students of the specific seminar group on moodle. This is done in order to enable students to reflect on how to improve upon their oral communication skills. No oral presentation resits in LW593: Where a student fails their oral presentation due to poor performance or because they missed their presentation slot, then there is no opportunity to resit the oral presentation. Students only resit the exam in LW593 if their overall first round mark for all the assessments is below 40%. Students are to send in concession claims to the summer Exam Board if they fail their oral assessment – it is for the Exam Board to take such claims into account and to take action as appropriate. 1 General comments: The oral assessment component appeared to work well overall, and students seemed to like working with the case material (original documentation), appreciating the broader legal and non-legal skills dimensions. The joint presentation format requires students to coordinate with a fellow student, which adds in another skill to this exercise in terms of planning. The presentations were integrated within the seminars and became effectively one of the seminar questions relevant to the particular seminar topic to be addressed. All students are required to read the relevant case prior to the seminar. Time management in each seminar needs to be strictly adhered to in order that the other seminar questions (usually between 3-5) receive an airing. Attendance at seminars was reportedly very good, and it is reasonable to assume that the case presentations had some part to play in this. Improvements needed and anticipated for 2010/11: students need more information/reassurance at the beginning of the module in addition to the detailed info provided in the module outline. A link with the UELTS support on presentations is desirable in this regard. Assessment for Oral Presentation in LW593 EU Law Student: Seminar question: Seminar group: Seminar leader: Quality assessed 1. Degree of knowledge and understanding of the case Date of oral presentation: Mark (out of 10) 2. Degree of analysis and evaluation of the judgment 3. Degree of clarity of analysis and logical structuring of presentation 4. Degree of effective oral communication (including audibility,appropriate pace of presentation) Overall Mark (average of above) Additional Comments (where necessary) – including noting if student presented the first oral presentation of their seminar group. MHR Aug.2010 2 3