improving grades at as and a2 geology i.g. kenyon
TRANSCRIPT
Marks are lost due to:
Poor organisation and ineffective learning during the AS and A2 courses
Inadequate preparation
Poor exam technique
Geology is a cumulative learning experience
All parts of the course are inter-related
Everything learned at AS is useful at A2
Understanding rather than rote learning is needed
Learning the following will always prove very useful
• Rock Classification
• Fossil Morphologies
• The Stratigraphical Column
• Appropriate Case Studies
Issue students with a copy of the specification at the start of the course
Students should highlight columns 1 and 2 under key ideas as they are covered
All bullet points should have been highlighted by the end of the courses at AS and A2
This is a useful check for students if they have missed any lessons
Encourage students to keep up to date with the latest geological developments
An excellent website with a weekly newsletter is www.geology.about.com
Encourage students to number every single piece of paper in chronological order
Class notes, handouts and internet printouts should be numbered
File notes away under topic headings on a weekly basis
Only carry notes for the last two weeks-keep everything else safely filed away at home
Encourage students to invest in a ‘flash pen’ USB device with storage of 128/256 megs or more
Use it to copy PowerPoints and other resources from the Intranet
Transferring work between home and school/college is very easy
Vary the task setting
Get students to produce PowerPoints as a break from structured questions and essays from past exam papers
Just 6 to 8 slides which they have to present to the class
From experience this is ahighly motivating exercise
Use Geology as a vehicle for promoting the appropriate use of
IT
Simple example of a task:
Give each student a mineral from the specification
To produce a PowerPoint presentation of 6 to 10 slides
Include the following:• Chemical formula• All Physical Properties• Diagnostic properties• Minimum of 5 images• Industrial Uses• Major Producers
Get students to present their slideshows
Award marks for geological content and delivery
Two marks in your mark book with no marking outside class time!
Students should source their information correctly.
Acknowledge websites where material has been taken from
Potential Powerpoint Assignments
Each student has a different one
• Igneous Rocks
• Sedimentary Rocks
• Metamorphic Rocks
• Fossil Groups
• Geological Periods
Common Weaknesses 1
Confusing ‘Describe’ with ‘Explain’
Misunderstanding of ‘Assess’, ‘Outline’, ‘Account’, ‘Compare’, ‘Contrast’, ‘Suggest’, ‘State’, ‘Name’, ‘Label’, ‘Identify’ and ‘Evaluate’
Common Weaknesses 2
Misunderstanding of key geological vocabulary
Post-depositional, Rockhead, Texture, Trend, Superposition, Solid & Drift, Outcrop, Throw, Strike, Geothermal Gradient
Common Weaknesses 4
• Inability to use 4 and 6 figure grid references
• Confusion between Eastings and Northings
• Inability to use compass directions
Common Weaknesses 5Missing out questions completely when no written answers are required. Marking features on maps and diagrams are the most common occurrence. About 10 – 15% of candidates do this on every examination paper
Common Weaknesses 6
• Inability to plan their time effectively in the examination
• Students often run out of time and leave some questions unanswered or only partially answered
• GL4 – last part of the mapwork section
• GL5 – essay on the second modular option
Common Weaknesses 7
• Students refuse to, or leave insufficient time to read their answers through
• Results in careless errors, marks thrown away and howlers
• Possible cause of a mass extinction ‘The earth was hit by a giant ammonite’
• Methods of coal mining essay ‘technology and transport has improved so much in recent years that the coal mines are now located away from the coalfields’
Common Weaknesses 8
Inability to follow instructions
Answer requires both map evidence and knowledge
Credit only for geological hazards
Must be based on UCM in grid square 8553
Candidate must ASSESS the hazards slight – severe
Candidate should make a decision Yes OK but …. No because……
Common Weaknesses 9
Inability to locate case studies accurately
‘There was a terrible earthquake somewhere in the Middle East sometime last year which did lots of damage and killed loads of people’
‘Mount St. Helens erupted fairly recently over in America and caused lots of suffering to people, wildlife and the environment in general’
Common Weaknesses 10
Inability to make appropriate use of annotated sketches and diagrams
Sketches often very poor quality
Labels used rather than annotations
Absence of scale
Generalised diagrams rather than examples from fieldwork
Common Weaknesses 11
Inability to link length of response to marks available
1 idea or fact needed for each mark available
A 4 mark question may have 8 or more creditworthy ideas on the mark scheme
A less than perfect answer can score maximum marks
4-6 mark question answers often have responses which are far too brief