Teaching OCR GCSE Geography ?

Just got this message from the OCR newsletter/e-mail for those who teach this specification.

GCSE Geography A and Geography B have received accreditation for first teaching September 2012. Following the recent redevelopments, some aspects of the content and assessment have changed.

View the summary of the key changes to GCSE Geography A.

View the summary of the key changes to GCSE Geography B.

The full details of the changes can be found in our accredited specifications for Geography A and Geography B and the sample assessment materials are available to download.

View all accredited documents for Geography A

View all accredited documents for Geography B

View all accredited documents for Geography Short Course

Controlled Assessment
The Controlled Assessment task titles for 2014 for Geography A and B specification are available to download from OCR Interchange.

See earlier post with reference to Chapter 6 of the Badger book which covers this....

Controlled Assessment

The place of Controlled Assessment is uncertain, although what is clear is that there will be some element of coursework in GCSE related to fieldwork. Hopefully this will continue to involve a substantive piece of primary fieldwork.

It is important that students are taken on fieldwork which is carefully designed. This will have benefits beyond the obvious ones of helping with data collection. There are social benefits, as well as the way that physically visiting a place helps when it comes to the exam... It is easier to speak from personal experience than from a place that has also been seen in an image...

The Badger book features a section on preparing for Controlled Assessment to make sure that students make the most of it, as this is an area where a lot of marks can be lost.

Some further Controlled Assessment goodies will be shared here after publication...

As an example of how you may be able to support the students before and after the event, check out this little mini-site.
This Holderness website was created by Phil Wood: a teacher educator from the University of Leicester who is working with some Leicester schools to improve their Controlled Assessment performance.

Could you produce one of these for your CA ?
Why not try using POSTEROUS - the Badger book provides information on this easy to use blogging platform....

I've got it covered...

Today, I was shown some possible designs to potentially use for the front cover of the book, and asked which one I preferred. The book is going to look great.
I've been writing some sections related to the assessment of the exam: looking at tips for Controlled Assessment, and also the value of reading the Examiner's reports each year to get tips on how exams are marked.
I also have some thoughts on fieldwork and its use to reinforce learning.
More details on the book shortly, once the marketing material is finished and distributed.