Description

ABOUT THIS COURSE

This new course focuses on all aspects of the AQA A-Level History NEA from designing a superb question to deciding upon appropriate source material and establishing an effective system of
supervision and management for the whole of the NEA delivery within school. We will also consider how to standardise most effectively within a department and ensure that an effective system of
internal moderation is established.

The course will enable teachers to develop their understanding and skills needed to guide and to assess student responses to the three assessment objectives in the AQA A-Level History NEA.
The course will also emphasise those teaching and learning strategies which will best facilitate improvement in student performance with a focus on the role of assessment for learning.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

• Develop a deeper understanding of the assessment demands in AQA A-Level NEA History
• Discover what moderators are looking for in top band answers
• Improve your ability to assess and improve student responses
• Strengthen your approach to producing high level evaluative work on sources and interpretations Take away strategies and approaches to maximise students’ marks in each AO
• Find out more about how to give the most effective feedback to students

Designing the Best Question and Ensuring a Student Sticks to it

10.00 – 10.30pm

• Develop a critical understanding of exam board requirements
• Gain an appreciation of the precise demands, especially for breadth / context in AO1
• Evaluate past questions and appreciate the difference between approval and advice
• The best practice in ensuring that students understand how to approach the design of questions
• Creating an effective atmosphere of enquiry and embedding this in an appropriate and easily accessed question

Managing the NEA in the Department – Marking and Moderation

10.30 – 11.15pm

• The best time to launch the NEA. Planning out the year for students
• The advantages and disadvantages of dividing up delivery by AO
• What support can be offered to whole groups and individually?
• The potential issues in reviewing draft work
• Establishing the standard using TOLs. Creating effective moderation systems and proving that best practice has been adhered to

Break

11.15– 11.30am

AO1 – Writing the ‘Essay’

11.30 – 12.2opm

• Understanding the requirements of AO1
• The problem of breadth. Ensuring that an appropriate, contextual response is developed
• Analysis and evaluation – ensuring that the response moves out of Level 2
• Focus on the effective use of annotation
• Guiding students to produce a clear answer to the question

Lunch

12.20 – 1.20pm

AO2 – The Value of Sources

1.20 – 2.10pm

•  Where to acquire the sources. Website analysis
• The integration of sources into the broader response
• How to focus on value – moving beyond simple summation
• Guidance on how much to write for each source, where to place them and what exactly moderators expect in the highest levels

Afternoon Break

2.10– 2.15pm

AO3 – The Interpretation

2.15 – 3.15pm

• Defining an academic interpretation
• Ensuring that the interpretations have the easiest historical opinions to assess
• Consideration of the precise style of language liked by moderators
• Effective quotation that moves beyond precis
• The integration of the interpretation and how to avoid the sectional approach

Finalising and submission

3.15 – 3.40pm

• Moving from the plan to the finished piece. What exactly do moderators expect in the finished NEA
• Ensuring that the work is bespoke and can be signed off as the student’s own
• The submission of the sample – how to ensure that the moderator receives all that is expected
• Managing student expectation and the internal appeals process