Let's keep this brief

Perhaps this isn’t a new revolutionary thought in education but after a few years back in secondary schools I’ve been struck by the number of teachers and students who have not read a subject specification. These documents along with unit specific content are often found on exam board websites and usually freely available for any user. With mock exams for Year 11 and 13 this last week I’ve been helping students to find and bookmark these resources as a priority before we head towards the summer exams. As a teacher, I’ve often been told by students that the work must be easy for me as I teach it every day. Alas it’s really not the case. Any ease I have with the subject has come from constant repetition of the specification content. Familiarity with what is being tested will of course hopefully result in a higher chance of achieving the top marks. Whether of course we should be teaching to tests is a discussion for another time but If you’re after an initial quick win I’d highly recommend reading and distributing the subject content to your students. This of course is doubly true for vocational courses such as Creative iMedia or the various BTECs. The nature of employer involvement and scenario ‘context’ in assignments can lead you to take a chance to customise and create your own assignments. I would advise against this for most situations as more often than not the exam board created assignments have been created with the specifications in mind and have clear links to the subject content. When in doubt, let’s keep this brief.