First year social policy students were found to have gaps in their foundational factual knowledge of a module entitled 'government and institutions' which created barriers to more advanced work in subsequent modules. A one-hour multiple choice exam has been developed as part of the assessment. Student feedback is positive and the teaching benefits are that it builds student confidence early on whilst also allowing staff to identify any early problems. A few questions are attached to indicate the level of understanding required. Further developments have occurred.

A staged problem-solving exercise was devised to enable students to make an assessment of whether Esping-Andersen categories or critiques of them aid understanding of differences in health care inputs/outputs in selected countries. The design is around a tutor-led workshop where students are provided with guidance through a set of notes and they work through exercises using statistical tables and referring to theoretical models. An excerpt from the worksheet is also given.