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Responding to Covid-19 Challenges

Back in September 2020 I created this quick visual to summarise what I had gleaned from Ofqual and OCR expectations around summer 2021.

OCR have provided guidance around what is expected for Summer 2022 entries in line with DfE/ Ofqual proposed changes published on 12th July 2021 that are available here. Live moderations will happen in Spring 2022 for the required 2 activity areas (both individual, both team or one of each) but you are asked to capture some video footage of top, middle and bottom performances in a range of activities (+ all performances by all candidates for off-site activities) as a contingency. In terms of the exam and clarification of which topic areas will be included in the reduced breadth, OCR provided this ‘Advance Information’ (AI) guidance in February 2022. The idea is to ensure we all teach the whole course and then perhaps narrow the focus for revision. As a result, students won’t miss out on vital aspects of the specification if they plan to progress to A level and no school will be at a competitive advantage because of the order they choose to tackle the content in (i.e. if you completed the physical training section first and then that got dropped from the specification but another school had not yet covered that aspect then they would be at an advantage in terms of the focus of available teaching time during the disruption of Covid-19. The AI is in the form of a two sided document with 6 specific topic areas (e.g. 1.1.c movement analysis) that will form the focus for ‘higher tariff’ questions, presumably those worth 3-6 marks. Consequently, I would recommend practicing 5 and 6 mark questions on these aspects of the specification but all content needs to be learnt by all students.

Here are four things to consider:

  1. How can you best ensure students gather video evidence of performance in their chosen activities? Getting them to create a 5-10 minute movie covering all core and advanced skills as well as clips from two competitive scenraios seems good practice regardless of live, video or no moderation of practical grades
  2. Online learning – utilising our new found skills with google/ MS forms and ability to connect with students beyond the classroom provides the perfect opportunity for more flipped learning, online collaboration spaces and self-marked quizzing to help secure basic knowledge
  3. Absences – we really should have systems in place to ensure any individual or group of students who are missing from a lesson (e.g. isolating or ill or school closure) are responsible and able to keep up with what they are missing via appropriate virtual learning environments (VLEs), buddying systems and other creative solutions
  4. Course programming – if the coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything it is the need to be more responsive and adapt what we do to best suit current needs rather than tradition. So if, for example, you have one theory and one practical lesson a week and teach all of paper 1 in year 10 before moving on to paper 2 in the order of the textbook then have a good think about whether that is the best way or if changes would help your learners more.

Discussion

Please use the space below to share your thoughts and reflections on how best to respond to covid-19 in terms of lost learning time but also things you have discovered and have triggered a change in practice.

Responses