Supporting academic skill development through Cadmus
Academic skill development and the associated values of academic scholarship are key life-long learning endeavours. Starting out at university can be a daunting experience for many students who may be unfamiliar with the expectations for referencing, paraphrasing and acknowledging the work of others in university assignments.
It can be confusing to learn that there are different referencing styles, and the requirements of each. Locating resources to support academic writing can also be challenging.
This is where the Cadmus online assessment platform comes in.
Cadmus embeds academic skill development resources, including referencing support, within the application. Cadmus assessment design incorporates educational approaches to promote student academic skill development, embedding academic skill resources within assessment tasks. The Cadmus Manual contains all of the information required in one easy to access location. Students no longer have to leave an assessment task to locate resources. The Cadmus Manual has been customised to contain direct links to University of Adelaide specific resources.
“I like the opportunity Cadmus gives to direct students to useful academic writing resources.” Julia Miller, School of Education
The Cadmus platform is now available as part of the MyUni ecosystem. To accompany the adoption of the platform, a set of Principles and Guidelines/Practices is now available.
Cadmus supports individual written assessment tasks, including essays, annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, reflective writing, case studies, problem based learning, laboratory reports. Iterative assessment workflows enable students to obtain feedback throughout the assessment process.
Cadmus currently supports Harvard, APA and Vancouver referencing styles.
Cadmus also supports the University’s updated assessment policy, as it integrates directly with TurnItIn. Students have immediate access to TurnItIn Similarity Reports to assist with the identification of areas for academic skill improvement. This is complimented by an updated guide to assist in interpreting TurnItIn Similarity Reports.
“The integration of Cadmus had an outstanding achievement: the identification of students who need further support in developing their academic writing skills, cognisant of academic integrity.” Dr Esma Dogramaci, Adelaide Dental School
“A real benefit of the tool is the ability to have all assignment instructions and extra resources together in one location.” Dr Alex Whittaker, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
Improved instructional design, using a set of customisable templates, reduces confusion and unnecessary cognitive load for students trying to decipher the requirements of an assessment task. Assessment tasks can be staged, and feedback is available to students prior to submission of an assessment, using the drafting feature.
“The Cadmus interface was easy to use and provided a seamless platform for delivering instructions to students which built on what was discussed in-class. As a result, we saw a significant improvement in the academic skills developed, as well as individual assessment grades compared to previous semesters” Dr Bonnie Williams, School of Biomedicine, Adelaide Medical School
Upcoming Webinar
Interested to learn more about how Cadmus can improve academic skill development assessment in the delivery of your own course? Register for the upcoming webinar: How does Cadmus support academic skill development and academic integrity?
Story written by Jo England, Learning Enhancement and Innovation.