What Does EXPECTED Look Like in AS History Lessons?
What does EXPECTED look like in AS History Lessons?
Good effort is important; it is the foundation on which your success in History is built. We therefore have high expectations of effort and involvement for History.
For many students the transition from GCSE to AS level is one of the hardest stages of their school career. This is the stage where teachers begin to stop guiding you along every step of the way and start to expect you to take your education into your own hands, and many students find it hard to cope with this. They carry on working at the same pace as they have always done and are soon overrun with deadlines for coursework and impending exams. As long as you are putting in a good effort we are happy to help you achieve your best possible grades and explore your interests in History. At A Level, there is a much greater expectation of you to be motivated and read for your own purposes.
So what do we expect?
EXPECTED EFFORTYou MUST hit ALL of these standards in order to receive an “E” grade
Quality of work in lessons / You take notes in every lesson to the best of your ability and make full use of the time given. Any work which is not completed is caught up at home.
You make contributions in most lessons to further debate and discussion without needing to be prompted.
You ask for help as soon as possible when stuck on a task or if you are unsure what to do.
Conduct in lessons / You work quietly on all independent tasks, without distracting others or needing to be reminded about starting work.
You have been late on no more than one occasion in the half term and have forgotten equipment no more than once.
You take an active part in group work and make sure that discussion always stays on topic.
You listen attentively when people are speaking and see this as a critical aspect of learning. You do not talk whilst others are speaking.
You have not needed to be reminded about behaviour choices in lessons during the half term.
Learning outside lessons / You take responsibility for your learning outside the classroom by dedicating 2 ½ hours per week to each side of the History course (5 hours total). This has been used both for tasks set, as well as reviewing learning and reading around.
You have missed no more than 1 deadline for a piece of work and have rectified this by arranging and meeting a revised deadline.
You have taken responsibility for catching up on missed lessons by asking a friend or using spaces.
You regularly check the discussion group to stay up-to-date.
You have read at least one item beyond the set reading. This could be a fictional book, an item from the library, or one of the articles from the Weebly site.
You set aside 1 study period a week as a minimum to focus on History.
Exam work / You spend 20 minutes reviewing knowledge and exam technique before answering any exam question. You then spend the allotted time answering the exam question(s) in appropriate conditions.
You use the Weebly site to review exam technique
You ensure that you set aside appropriate time for revision for exams.
Reviewing Learning / You read all feedback carefully and use this to improve your work. You take responsibility for the improvement of your work.
What about other effort grades?
O/V / To obtain V or O grades we would expect you to go beyond these basic requirements and excel in one or more areas. V and O grades will be based on the degree of personal responsibility you are willing to take. You may be awarded a V or O grade by reading more widely around the subject, making use of resources on prompting, entering into discussions on the blog, or contributing frequently to debates. These are just some examples.C / C grades will be given where we feel that students are risking having an impact on their own chances of achieving target grades in History, or where we feel the learning of others is being affected. C grades generally represent a lack of responsibility being taken in one or more key areas. If you do not meet requirements in any ONE area above, then you can expect to receive a C grade. This is a reminder to you that you need to take more responsibility in this area. If you are unclear about why this is given, your teacher can explain.
U / U grades are seldom given as they represent either a failure to take responsibility for your own learning, or a disregard of the rights of others to learn. Students who are awarded U grades may have failed to meet expectations in a number of areas or have caused serious concern in one key area. Being given a U grade is a type of intervention, it is a warning that you are either highly unlikely to meet your target grade, or that you have having a negative impact on the learning of others. You will need to discuss any U grade with your teacher urgently so that you can take action to rectify the situation.
