Key points to improving results/retention over the last few years
The syllabus was re-ordered to ensure that we started with the most accessible topic which all students can achieve at. This helps to bridge the A Level/GCSE gap for the legacy NEAB syllabus. We started with matter & material and Hooke's law. At GCSE most students have stretched something so we are starting with familiar work. (All students could research information on Crystalline, morphous and polymeric materials at their own level. This is not a piece of work that they can get wrong. The A grade student will produce numerous pages whereas the E grade students will produce a couple of paragraphs.) For those new AQA Physics A specification we still start with the materials section of module 3. As this is no longer on the new specification, students find definitions to words like brittle, ductile etc.
The Physics department has never entered students for the spring module exams as we felt that students would not be ready. In the NEAB legacy syllabus we taught PH01 & PH02 more slowly up to the first exam in June.This helps to boost students' confidence and allows for maturation. With the new specification there is less material in the AS year than previously in the first 2 modules. We teach them in the order module 3-2-1.
All students must follow A/S Maths who are not following A level Maths over 2 years. (This syllabus, taught by the Maths Department, is selected to fit in with the Physics A level and is only for Physics non-Maths students).
Additional equipment was purchased to reduce circuses of experiments to a minimum. (They used to be 10 weeks long and often started before the theory was taught). All experiments now fit into the teaching and therefore students receive feedback as the topic is being learnt rather than many weeks later. This helps improve student's confidence and self esteem. The maximum group of experiments is three usually spread over 6 lessons, this requires four sets of apparatus per experiment allowing 12 groups (24 students). We aim to do most experiments singularly or in pairs, sets of three only occurs once in the 2 year course. (see resources)
Fixed benches were removed so that the laboratories are more open and versatile. A clean and modern learning environment encourages achievement. Students sit round in a U-shape they can all see demonstrations without having to look around a tap!
Question sheets have been re-written to be more accessible for students. This reflected the change in exam style and the changing abilities of new first year students. GCSE has changed the emphasis on the skills that students enter post 16 education with. It is easy to say that they become weaker each year
Experimental sheets were also re-written to give students more guidance at the start of the course. The sheets give every possible detail to start with including any re arranging of equations leading to how to plot a graph. As the course proceeds the sheets become less instructive encouraging the students to think for themselves.
Full model answers to past papers (As opposed to exam board markschemes) are available around exam time.
Lunchtime revision sessions for resit students. These are a series of 5 sessions for each of the first 2 modules put on prior to examinations.
Departmental tests across the year group to allow for under achievers to be identified and targeted with tutors. All test results are plotted on 1 master sheet to look for trends in student performance.
Revision packs are stored on the network so that students can print them off at any time.
These are departmental issues but many staff have developed their own individual techniques to try to improve student learning.
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