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
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
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?
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
GCSE (the one the current Year 11 are doing)
Two main types:
• Modern World
• Schools History Project
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
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?
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Timetable of change
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
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 Yr9 Begin the ‘strengthened’ GCSE
Sit the ‘strengthened’ GCSE
Current Yr10 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?
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
The THREE Essentials
1. Content2. Sources3. Exam technique
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
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
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Key to success• Making it fun• Narrative,
narrative, narrative
• Talking is good• Recap, recap,
recap
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Embrace the story• Narrative, narrative,
narrative• Retelling• Galen pig• Story cubes
Essential 1: Content
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
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 1: Content
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
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 1: Content
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
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 1: Content
Essential 2: Source work
• Fundamental to exam success
• Brings lessons alive• Lends itself to
independent learning
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
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?
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 2: Source work
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 2: Source work
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 2: Source work
Walk through a sourceOn the next slide is a source from the 19th century. As a group you must recreate the
source
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 2: Source work
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 2: Source work
ARK – why acronyms matter• A – Answer the question• R – Refer to the source• K – bring in your own Knowledge
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Essential 2: Source work
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
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
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]
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
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 @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com
Richard Kennett, Redland Green School, Bristol @kenradicalhttp://kenradical.wordpress.com