Since 2005, Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses in England and Wales have been awarded at Masters level which requires students to be able to write reflectively in an academic style in the discipline of Social Science. We have found that the majority of Mathematics and Science PGCE students rarely experience this style of academic writing in their undergraduate studies. This can put them at a disadvantage compared to other students.
The project reported in this paper set out to develop the skill of academic writing of Mathematics and Science PGCE students. The first part of this collaborative study focused on peer-assessment of a synopsis for the second assignment with an emphasis on learning conversations. The effectiveness of this teaching strategy and other forms of support such as formative feedback of the first assignment and discussing exemplar assignments were analysed.
The survey responses and questionnaires revealed that the students valued the forms of support offered. A small percentage of students, however, reported that they found the peer assessments less helpful and preferred more tutor feedback. This appears to indicate that students would benefit from developing better skills for self-assessment and peer-assessment to make learning conversations more productive
