During the academic year 1992-93, Level 1 students in the biosciences were required to carry out group projects over a two-week period. A class of 120 students, divided into groups of four, was given one of three projects, the assessment of which contributed to their final end-of-semester marks. Students' views of the projects were assessed using a comprehensive questionnaire. The issues addressed include (1) student perceptions of project work; (2) student perceptions of working as part of a small team/group; (3) student perceptions of skills attained during the course of the group project work. The results of this study indicate positive outcomes from such practical work.

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Despite the inevitable constraints inherent in effecting a major change of policy and practice, a new approach to the assessment of undergraduate honours research projects in two science-based teaching units was achieved through an evolutionary active research-based process. The implications of a transition from a subjective assessment of honours projects to a more objective, criterion-referenced strategy were investigated through implementation and feedback. A pilot study was undertaken in which project assessors were asked to use a criterion-referenced scheme in parallel with the existing scheme. Statistical analyses of data obtained using both the 'old' and 'new' schemes confirmed the reliability of the new criterion-referenced assessment strategy. In addition, the new scheme offered a number of important advantages over the old system: (1) increased objectivity through reference to a number of clearly defined explicit criteria, (2) opportunity for the provision of valuable feedback to the students, (3) flexibility with regard to the weightings and collation of marks, and (4) ease of use. Devising the perfect assessment strategy is an elusive pursuit, but implementing a scheme which contributes to a more student-centred ethos of teaching, learning and assessment is surely a step in the right direction.