1. Clare Saunders and Danielle Lamb Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies

2. Introduction Aim – to challenge assumptions about what students make of National Student Survey (NSS) questions and the experiences they are asked to draw on. Structure: 1. Description of Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies (PRS) student focus group 2009; 2. Consideration of NSS questions from subject perspectives; 3. Presentation of data from PRS student focus group 2009; 4. Discussion.

3. PRS student focus group 2009 The purpose of the focus group session with students was to: Share: Their awareness of the NSS; What they took into account when looking at the NSS questions; How they weighted their experiences in answering the NSS questions; Uncover: What they really thought about the NSS and its usefulness.

4. NSS “The teaching on my course” 1. Staff are good at explaining things. 2. Staff have made the subject interesting. 3. Staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching. 4. The course is intellectually stimulating.

5. NSS “Assessment and feedback” 5. The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance. 6. Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair. 7. Feedback on my work has been prompt. 8. I have received detailed comments on my work. 9. Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand.

6. NSS “Academic support” 10. I have received sufficient advice and support with my studies. 11. I have been able to contact staff when I needed to. 12. Good advice was available when I needed to make study choices.

7. NSS “Organisation and management” 13. The timetable works efficiently as far as my activities are concerned. 14. Any changes in the course or the teaching have been communicated effectively. 15. The course is well organised and is running smoothly.

8. NSS “Learning resources” 16. The library resources and services are good enough for my needs. 17. I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to. 18. I have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities, or rooms when I needed to.

9. NSS “Personal development” 19. The course has helped me to present myself with confidence. 20. My communication skills have improved. 21. As a result of the course, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems.

10. NSS “Overall” Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course. Looking back at the experience, are there any particularly positive or negative aspects you would like to highlight? (boxes to complete)

11. Results from the PRS student focus group – general points Questions are too ambiguous. Questions often poorly phrased. Perhaps unsurprisingly, often one student took a question to be asking something very different to how another student took it. Without the kind of in-depth probing we did about the questions, students would be unlikely to think critically about what they are being asked. Students from different disciplines are likely to take questions in different ways.

12. Results from the PRS student focus group – specifics Edited highlights of the transcript of the session are available. The transcript is an anonymised verbatim report of what students said. Sometimes students answer the question itself directly, rather than saying what they take the question to be asking, but this also gives us insight into what they take the question to mean.

13. Thanks Thanks for taking part! If you have any further questions please let us know: Danielle Lamb: danni@prs.heacademy.ac.uk Clare Saunders: clare@prs.heacademy.ac.uk http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk