ABOUT THIS COURSE

This intensive new course will demonstrate how to guide your students, of whatever ability, to achieve the best possible grades in the upcoming OCR A-Level Chemistry examinations.

Achievement in OCR A-Level Chemistry requires students to overcome some key challenges and be able to recall a wealth of knowledge across the varied disciplines of chemistry study and apply this knowledge in familiar and unfamiliar situations. Chemistry students have a variety of strengths and weaknesses so a range of techniques are needed to ensure they can achieve the best possible mark over the 3 main subject areas: physical, organic and inorganic chemistry; as well as the practical component.

You will take away strategies and methods to stretch, challenge and motivate students of all ability ranges, ready for their exams. In particular the course will hone in on the most challenging areas, what students need to do to ensure their projected grades don’t slip down, and what, and how they must demonstrate to examiners to achieve high marks.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

• Provide teachers of OCR A-Level Chemistry with strategies to maximise the success of all their students in the Summer 2023 exams.
• Take away a range of techniques, approaches and materials that can be readily used in teaching to help students to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of chemical ideas, processes, techniques and procedures
• Explore the key concepts in chemistry that underpin topic content to develop an integrated approach to chemistry study
• Apply some of the latest research to build learning power in your students and boost confidence across the ability range
• Provide a range of effective exam techniques to prepare students to access high grades by helping them to identify the relevant chemical terminology and detail that they need to use in their answers
• Increase awareness of what we should aim to achieve with the most able Chemists
• Develop the use of retrieval practice to promote student recall, supporting the teaching of the most challenging A-Level topics.
• Equip you with strategies to support lower attaining students and accelerate their progress

PROGRAMME

Techniques to build learning power to boost confidence and ensure success

• Developing effective questioning techniques to facilitate deeper learning
• Using anticipation guides to activate prior learning and knowledge
• Enhancing your students’ understanding of terminology through Frayer models
• Helping students retain information through directed activities related to texts (DARTs)
• Concept mapping to retain information

Preparing for the 2023 Exam: what the examiners are looking for?

• Strategies for preparing students for the 2023 exam to enable them to apply detailed and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of chemical ideas, techniques and procedures.
• Key messages from previous Examiner Reports, identifying main areas for improvement.
• Techniques to engage students in the content of the course and how to maximise their focus on what brings the most reward in examinations: such as being able to apply knowledge and understanding to unfamiliar contexts and analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence.

Structuring an excellent teaching course

• Planning the course with the end in view.
• Identifying and highlighting key concepts to build an integrated approach to teaching chemistry.
• Sequencing topic content appropriately allowing opportunities to embed retrieval practice.
• Exploring strategies to improve student performance.
• Examples taken from specific challenging topics.

Stretching the A/A* student

• Embedding RSC Olympiad resources and Cambridge Chemistry Challenge resources into schemes of work and lessons to stretch the most able students in Chemistry.
• Strategies for stretching A/A* students in a mixed-ability classroom and challenging complacent high-achievers. Embedding example Oxbridge interview questions in lessons to increase depth and breadth of student understanding.
• Understanding the role and weighting of assessment objectives and why this is particularly relevant to the able student.
• HOTS not MOTS (more of the same) – activities to stretch, challenge and motivate.

Supporting lower attaining students

• Assessing prior knowledge and putting the student in charge.
• Supporting non-mathematicians in Chemistry
• Ways to effectively embed the challenges of practical–based exam questions in your teaching, preparing lower ability students to respond well in questions
• Effective revision – tips and techniques for low attainers to practice their chemistry understanding.