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It is increasingly recognized that the most important influence on what students learn and the way that they learn it - above all, whether student learning is active or passive, deep or surface - is the form in which assessment is carried out (Gibbs 1992; Marton & Saljo 1984; Rust 2002).  The limitations of a traditional exam-based approach are clear: where students are offered a choice of questions, it may be entirely rational for them to question-spot, revise selectively and think of the subject in terms of a series of discrete topics rather than attempt to develop their understanding of it as a whole, while often ‘all that may actually be being assessed are the students’ memorizing and essay-writing skills’ (Rust 2002: 147).  The introduction of assessed coursework essays is often seen as a means of encouraging students to focus more on analysis and evaluation than regurgitation of information, but with mixed results; moreover, it immediately raises concerns about the issue of plagiarism (Carroll 2002).

All second-year students on the Ancient History programme at the University of Bristol take a unit entitled Approaches to Ancient History, which explores issues in the theory and practice of history, including the use of concepts from the social sciences in the study of the ancient world.  The unit emphasises the skills of analysis, critical evaluation and the application of knowledge in new situations (for example, applying new theoretical ideas to historical material with which the students are already familiar), and expects students to reflect on their own historical practice (cf. Gunn & Rawnsley 2004).

Approaches has traditionally been assessed through a conventional essay and exam, equally weighted.  From 2001, the ‘essay’ took the form of a project, in which students were asked to evaluate a theoretical approach of their choice by considering its application to historical material which they had studied in earlier units (Morley 2001).  This change was intended not only to relate the assessment more directly to the specific learning outcomes of the unit, but also to promote the development of the students’ ability to direct their own learning and design their own research project, skills which are essential for the compulsory final year dissertation.

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