Coursework

Students are continually assessed throughout the Entry Level course and must complete four assignments, each worth 20 percent. Students must complete two folios of work, a fieldwork investigation and research topic. The coursework is internally assessed but moderated by us.

The table below offers an overview of the assignments:

Folio 1 & 2

Each folio must focus on the content of two different modules, from a choice of Modules 1, 2 or 3.

Teachers are free to set the written tasks; however each folio must first be approved by us and must address different places, types of data, skills and issues. The final work can include:

  • practical exercises;
  • exercises based on role play situations; and/or
  • decision-making tasks.

Some teachers prefer to set tasks that challenge students to develop and write about their own concepts and values.

The folio must contain three pieces of the student’s work, produced under controlled conditions. Contact time must be set aside to complete the three written tasks. This may be split into a number of sessions during the two years of the course. In total, the folio should take approximately 3 – 4 hours to complete.

Fieldwork Investigation

The fieldwork investigation must be based on one aspect of Module 1, 2 or 3. However,the module selected for the fieldwork investigationmust be different from the two modules selected for the folios.

The investigation must be a first-hand study of a small area, for example the student’s home area or the school grounds. Teachers are free to set the assignment but we must approve it.

Teachers must guide students and help them to develop questions for the investigation and/or to identify a problem that needs to be solved. Teachers must also ensure that the investigation is appropriate to the student’s ability.

Students can work together in groups following a design set out by the teacher but in this scenario, all written work must be completed individually under supervised conditions.

Students are marked on their ability to:

  • collect data;
  • produce maps, graphs and diagrams;
  • interpret and relate data to the chosen theme or topic to reach a clearly defined conclusion; and
  • present work in terms of neatness and arrangement of material.

Teachers should encourage students to use ICT where appropriate.

The time taken to complete the fieldwork investigation will vary from student to student.

The Research Topic

The research topic assesses students’ understanding of the key ideas in Module 5.

Teachers are free to choose the key idea and to set questions to be assessed but we must approve them. The research topic must be short and focused and based on secondary data.

Students can present their research and findings in a variety of formats including:

  • brochures;
  • newspaper reports;
  • posters;
  • interview transcripts;
  • video’s;
  • oral presentations;
  • storyboards; and/or
  • scripts.

Students are marked on their ability to:

  • research material relevant to the enquiry and show knowledge and understanding of relevant concepts, ideas and facts;
  • the quality of reasoning – the ability to interpret and relate the information obtained to the chosen question in order to reach a clearly explained conclusion;
  • the ability to form an opinion on the issue and to recognise the values and attitudes involved; and
  • communication and appropriateness of format.

We recommend the use of ICT in research and presentation. The time needed to complete the assessment will vary from student to student.