ABOUT THIS COURSE

This course will investigate the many different characteristics of a strong and successful History department and the role of the Subject Lead in both creating and sustaining this. A Head of History is responsible for taking the lead in developing an engaging, challenging yet accessible curriculum that promotes academic excellence for all learners. But this must go hand in hand with ensuring a positive working environment so that teaching staff feel supported, appropriately challenged and a full part of the process. The course will therefore be divided into these two areas. It will focus first on the point of view of the student, looking at a range of strategies to promote interest and enthusiasm in a rich and diverse History curriculum. It will then look at it from the point of view of staff, focusing on issues such as how to effectively delegate responsibilities and to how to manage new and experienced teachers to ensure the buy-in needed for long term success. Finally, it will consider how to prepare for and manage a departmental inspection.

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BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

• Gain an insight into the main features of what makes an outstanding History leader and department
• Explore the balance between leading by example and managing your workload
• Develop strategies for improving the student experience in History and raising attainment
• Explore opportunities to embed enrichment into the curriculum
• Develop strategies for effective management and training of staff
• Develop awareness of History-specific requirements for a successful inspection

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The assessment demands for top grade outcomes in A-Level History

10.00 – 10.45am

• What are the barriers to attaining high grades from the most recent exam?
• What is required to achieve a top band mark and how do we get there
• The importance of planning – how can this be completed in the exam environment?

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Break

10.45 – 11.00am

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Fresh and Innovative strategies for teaching A-Level History

11.00 – 11.30am

• The benefits of a flipped learning methodology for History
• Using the Cornell method for interrogating screencast notes
• Maximising deliberate practice and high order thinking time in lessons

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Motivating and engaging low ability students

11.30 – 12.15pm

• Understand the difference between low effort/low performance and high effort/low performance
• Engage low effort/low performance students by actively stimulating cooperative learning strategies
• Help high effort/low performance students improve performance by modelling the use of high impact study strategies which prioritise ‘thinking hard’
• Provide unique memorisation strategies to help low ability students retain information

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Strategies to promote retrieval, spacing and interleaving

12.15 – 1.00pm

• Memory platforms – lesson starters that maximise retrieval, interleaving and synoptic links
• Memory platform examples
• Potential synoptic links between knowledge and skill acquisition
• Planning for interleaving, spacing and retrieval to stretch and challenge
• Spaced practice

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Lunch

1.00 – 2.00pm

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Stretching and challenging your more able students

2.00 – 2.45pm

• Coach your students on the advanced use of the Leitner System and spaced/repetition flashcard-based apps such as Anki and Quizlet
• Encourage students to create effective study materials
• Strategies to promote ‘high order thinking skills’ not ‘more of the same’
• Analysing A* responses to increase opportunities for high grades

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Afternoon Break

2.45 – 2.50pm

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Unpicking the exam questions and developing top level AO evaluation skills

2.50 – 3.20pm

• Examples of model answers for discussion
• How to support students in developing AO application skills
• Examining the balance of assessment objectives
• Using the language of the exam/grade descriptors

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Exam revision and technique

3.20 – 3.50pm

• Separating common content and skills mistakes
• Applying simple but highly effective exam technique strategies to ensure high performance
• Teaching and Learning strategies to improve AO skills
• Memory, practice and myelin – the foundation of high achievement
• Look into the science underpinning deliberate practice revision techniques such as dual coding and interleaving

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