Description

ABOUT THIS COURSE

This brand-new course for all teachers of OCR A-Level History will explore how you can turn the mistakes made in previous exam series into an opportunity for positive change moving forward, fully preparing your students for success in the year ahead and beyond. This interactive course will support and challenge teachers in equal measures. You will leave with a thorough overview of the main lessons to be learnt from previous examinations and a wide range of ideas, methods and approaches to prepare students to maximise their potential in the 2025 exams. Emphasis will be made on the demands of the exams and NEA that are not met as well as they could be, and the implications this has for your A-Level teaching and learning.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

• Understand the main lessons to be learnt from previous examinations
• Gain an informed overview of key areas of concern
• Learn new and innovative ways to deliver areas that target these areas of concern
• Experience and try out novel pedagogy in the classroom
• Produce a strategic approach to maximise student success in 2025 and beyond

The Exam – Reflections and Approaches

10.00 – 10.40am

• Feedback from the most recent exam: what is it essential to be aware of?
• The main factors that affect examination success in papers 1 and 2 and the challenges experienced by candidates
• Deep-diving problem questions from papers 1 and 2
• How to engage students in the content of the course, and how to maximise their focus on what brings the most reward in examinations
• Reflections on the most recent mark scheme and what this means moving forward
• Starting to make a plan of action- what should we do? How should we do it?

Break

10.40 – 11.00am

British Period Study and Enquiry

11.00 – 11.45am

• What are the traits of strong responses?
• How students’ answer compared to what the exam board want to see
• Where and why do students perform poorly? The features of weaker responses
• Delivering course content in a way that students quickly grasp
• Strategies to decipher and meet the demands of the question

Non-British Period Study

11.45 – 12.30pm

• What are the features of excellent responses?
• Analysing the questions – what are the examiners expectations?
• The most common mistakes made by students
• Extend student thinking and understanding beyond the structure and assessment of the examination requirements

Lunch

12.30 – 1.30pm

Thematic Study and Historical Interpretations

1.30 – 2.25pm

• What are the characteristics of high-level responses?
• What are the common mistakes and pitfalls?
• Exploring the traits of lower responses
• Practical approaches and strategies to achieve exceptional standards in high attaining pupils

Afternoon Break

2.25 – 2.30pm

Topic Based Essay

2.30 – 3.15pm

• Using supporting material effectively, avoiding lengthy descriptions and contextual overviews
• Ensuring higher level skills are exhibited
• Problems in evaluating sources and interpretations
• Practical steps for teachers to use their subject and pedagogical knowledge effectively to plan and deliver lessons

Moving Forward and Maximising Success in 2025 and Beyond

3.15 – 3.45pm

• Summary of what we have learnt
• Producing a plan of action to maximise student success in 2025
• Specific lessons to be learnt and how to prevent them from happening again
• Ensuring whole department success – managing staff and developing a progressive teaching culture that organically learns and improves
• Probing problems in teacher delivery; how to identify concrete action steps that lead to improvement