richard kennett, redland green school, bristol @ kenradical

What are your memories of GCSE History?

What are your first impressions of GCSE History from the last few weeks?

Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com

Teaching GCSE History effectively

Richard KennettSubject Leader in Education for History

Redland Green School, Bristol


Aims of the session

• What are the current History GCSEs on offer?• How is GCSE History changing in the

next few years?• What are the essentials of GCSE

History?


GCSE (the one the current Year 11 are doing)

Two main types:

• Modern World

• Schools History Project


From the OCR and Edexcel

specifications work out what you can and cannot teach and what the key differences are.

What makes KS4 unique?

Read through the GCSE Assessment Objectives. Compare them to the (now defunct) KS3 Levels.

• What is similar?• What is different?• What level does it most represent?


Timetable of change


2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017

Current Yr7 Begin the BRAND NEW GCSE

Current Yr8 Begin the ‘strengthened’ GCSE

Sit the ‘strengthened’ GCSE





Current Yr11 Sit the current linear GCSE

What does this mean?

What does this m

ean?

That’s the mechanics.

Now how do you teach effectively?

What do Burn and Fordham argue?


The THREE Essentials

1. Content2. Sources3. Exam technique


Essential 1: Content

• There is a lot to cover in a finite time (esp. when you consider trips, exams, illness)

• Much of it CAN be very boring

• It can feel very overwhelming for our students


Key to success• Making it fun• Narrative,

narrative, narrative

• Talking is good• Recap, recap,

recap


Embrace the story• Narrative, narrative,

narrative• Retelling• Galen pig• Story cubes


Embrace textbooks• They are written by the experts

– often the examiners• You’d be silly to avoid them• BUT over use them and you

will turn the kids off• Variety is the spice of life• Think about entertaining or

imaginative ways of using them



TASK:Plan my lesson. What could you do with this? How might you provide challenge for the top ability? How could you support the low ability?

Embrace chronology

• Not just making bloody timelines

• Sense of period is key• Visualising the past



http://kenradical.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/sense-of-period-summing-up-an-era-in-a-100-words/





Embrace debate• Learn content QUICKLY

then discuss it for a LONG TIME – this is far more productive

• Hot Air Balloon Debate• Hot Seating• Continuum Lines• Corners of the room



Essential 2: Source work

• Fundamental to exam success

• Brings lessons alive• Lends itself to

independent learning


Key to success• Picking out the

minutiae• Linking to context

and own knowledge• Don’t focus on bias!• Trawl the internet

for crackers

Blind Drawing• Get into pairs. One with their back to the

board. One facing it.• I will show you a source on the board. Only

those facing it can see. They must describe the source to their partner.

• Who can do the best picture?



Walk through a sourceOn the next slide is a source from the 19th century. As a group you must recreate the

source



ARK – why acronyms matter• A – Answer the question• R – Refer to the source• K – bring in your own Knowledge



http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/144979-question-paper-unit-a951-14-development-study-with-germany-c.-1919-1945-depth-study.pdf








Essential 3: Exam technique

• This is fundamental to the success of ALL students

• They MUST know how marks are allocated and exam technique

• It is inherently dull• It is not teaching history


Key to success• Knowing the

assessment criteria back to front

• Using the exam websites

• Not over doing it!

Essential 3: Exam technique

QUESTION 4: Explain why the theory of the Four Humours was so important to medicine. [7] Level 0 No evidence submitted or response does not address the question. [0] Level 1 General assertions - valid, but general answers. No specific contextual knowledge.E.g. ‘The Theory of the Four Humours was so important to medicine because it seemed to work and so people liked to use it a lot’. [1]ORDescribes The Theory of the Four Humours [1] Level 2 Identifies specific reasons - specific contextual knowledge demonstrated but no explanation.Examples include: Hippocrates / recording / observation / natural treatment / doctors were trained this way. [2-3] Level 3 Explains one specific reasonE.g. ‘The Theory of the Four Humours was so important to medicine because it provided doctors with a natural reason and treatments for illness. The theory encouraged doctors to observe patients carefully and try and understand what caused disease.’ [4-6] Level 4 Explains more than one specific reason [7]


Help me mark my Year 10 tests please!• Mark each out of

7 marks using the mark scheme

• Highlight those bits of sentences that are actually explaining the point!

Find out more….

http://www.kenradical.wordpress.com


richard kennett, redland green school, bristol @ kenradical

Documents

historyredland green

bristolrichard kennett

themrichard kennett

studentsrichard kennett

essentials of gcse history

memories of gcse history

impressions of gcse

strengthened gcsesit