ABOUT THIS COURSE

This course is designed to offer delegates the opportunity to scrutinise the specification, and offers advice and strategies which can empower pupils to take initiative and aim high.

The course considers the distinct roles of the three course components, and how to remove apprehension around teaching and marking. Delegates will then assess the importance of assessment data and tracking. Finally, delegates will explore questioning and interpretation of questions to allow their pupils to “think like the examiner”.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

• Share experiences, successes and failures, frustrations and support of the H408 course
• Discuss and highlight the role of assessment and monitoring of pupil progress
• Question-level analysis across all three components, including extended evaluation of the 30 mark questions

PROGRAMME

Focus on assessment demands for A/A* students

• Examine the assessment demands of all components for the highest grades
• Review characteristics of A and A* A Level students
• Consider feedback from the most recent examination series for Grade A and A* students
• Share experiences, successes and failures, frustrations from the 2022 examinations

A/A* performance in Examination Components:

• Approaches to delivering this Component to able students
• Approaches to the 10, 20 and 30 mark questions to ensure able students achieve A/A* grades
• Discuss sample 10 and 20 mark answers at Level 5 to identify key characteristics.

Literature and Scholarship

• Stretching and challenging top level students to critically analyse, interpret and evaluate literature , and demonstrate their understanding appropriately in exam questions
• Stretching and challenging top level students to critically analyse, interpret and evaluate visual/material culture, and classical thought, using evidence to make substantiated judgements and produce coherent and reasoned arguments
• Ways to support students to use scholarship successfully within their exam answers to achieve grades A and A*
• Discuss sample 30 mark answers at Level 5 to identify key characteristics.

Assessment, data and tracking and feedback

• Regular assessment and the role of the scheme of work
• Tracking versus predictive outcomes
• Tracking as department empowerment
• Tracking as pupil empowerment
• Interventions – making interventions work in Classical Civilisation – techniques to ensure student buy-in
• Effective feedback to progress, motivate and raise student attainment levels in the run up to the exams

Extending the most able beyond the curriculum

• Planning with and designing support for students aiming for top grades
• Practising exam technique for the most able
• Extra-curricular ideas that help get A and A* grades

Question-level analysis and tactics for achieving the highest grades

• Command words and assessment objectives
• Interpreting the whole question
• Worked examples
• Take-home strategies