OCR B Controlled Assessment

I will slay the dragon! Attended the OCR B 'Get Ready' inset training last week. Although the sessions were a little disorgainsed some key questions were answered. I think that many of the worries people have about the new specifications (and especially controlled assessment (CA)) can be resolved by ready the specification document carefully.

I was also a little disappointed that Hienemann got in a long sales pitch for their 'spec matching' 'partnership' titles. I believe that this approach leads to overreliance on text books and a rather dry curriculum that is unable to react to current events.

However, it was great to get my hands on the sample CA questions and other support material. It was also good to get hold of some planning ideas.

The link at the bottomof this post will take you to my thoughts so far. These will be shared with the department on Monday and will probably change. Also, they shouldn't be relied upon for your own planning!

you will find:

A plan for the first 3 cohorts. This includes the changing Sustainable Decision Making Exercise (SDME) unit. This has implication on the timing of the units and what is taught. For example, the SDME theme doesn't need a case study focus. The plan is based upon a Jan SDME in Year 11 and submition of the CA in Jan of Year 11
A list of current case studies. This will most certainly change. I need to provide a list for my department so that they are supported. It will also help with moderation of exams etc and help with sharing resources. Many of the case studies are based upon text book examples, but the information will be supplimented. You will notice a stong focus on the local. Any case study that can be exemplfied in Portsmouth we'll be using it!
A suggested plan of action for the Fieldwork Focus and Geographical Investigation. This is based upon information at the OCR inset.

Finally, get to your curriculum manager and demand that they write a CA policy. Is your school ready for the huge change? Are there networks and time for curriculum leaders to shre best practice? What implications are there for trips?

You'll find the document here. I'd apreciate any thoughts and ideas you may have.

Comments

High Impact, Low effort

This month is the start of the #29daysofwriting challenge. I enjoyed this last year and will be using my Staffrm account to post. I'll also be reporting here, both to give a little more detail and to keep a log of what I have written. The challenge developed a great sense of community last year, which is why I'm choosing to write on Staffrm. What I would say to those who are new to writing or don't want to run out of ideas is: Write for yourself. Clarify an idea, write something out loud. The process of distilling thoughts into writing is immensely beneficial to your practice. If other read, comment and respond, that's a bonus. Ignore the muppets who know nothing of your context, style or students. Mix it up - I like to read about real stuff from real classrooms and schools and also about other stuff. If we always write about school, how does that work for workload? If you've nothing nice to say, don't say it. So, the following has been ...

What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey. As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others. Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up. I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions. From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment. From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die. How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach? Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment i...

Banned Word Board

Today I want to share some simple ideas that I have found to be very effective in the classroom. I can't say that they are my own original ideas, although I have played around with them. The first is the Banned word Board. This is a simple display in the classroom that lists a number of words that are not allowed to be used by pupils in their written or oral answers. The effect has been an increase in the quality of written work, and I have almost made comments such as 'Sir it's simple, the stuff just affects the thing and causes people problems'. Pupils are now more able to use specific language, something that is vital especially at GCSE. I have had to make a few modifications, such as the introduction of 'Heavenly Words' This is an additional display placed on the ceiling. I found this necessary as pupils needed some stimulus in finding replacement words. After advice received after posting the idea on the SLN forum , I have also introduced semi-banned words...

David Rogers

Search This Blog