Higher Event: Understanding Standards in Religious, Moral, and Philosophical Studies

2. Understanding Standards: Higher Event Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies

3. Aims of the day To support teachers and lecturers by: • reviewing changes in the Revised National Qualifications (RNQ) and the rationale behind these • highlighting changes to the question paper and discussion of best practice in preparing candidates for this • highlighting changes to the course assessment task marking instructions and discussion of best practice in preparing candidates for this • ensuring that teachers and lecturers feel confident in delivering RNQ

4. Course report – key messages • Performance in the question paper better than last year - analysis is still the best performing skill whereas evaluation remains the weakest. • Majority of 10 mark questions across World Religion and Morality sections answered very well – candidates using skills phrases with more confidence and accuracy. 10 mark evaluation questions in both sections were slightly weaker, although markers noticed an improvement in this skill. • Issues with Christianity questions • 20 mark Religious and Philosophical Questions (RPQ) continue to be answered well, with candidates deploying a wealth of information and using analytical skills well. Issues with Existence of God

5. Course report – key messages • As in previous years, centres continue to present candidates who are not able to cope with the demands of the course. This is evident as questions are not attempted. • Markers reflected on the questions and reported that they felt they were fair questions and no correspondence was received in relation to the content, difficulty or validity of the question paper.

6. Course report – key messages Assignment There was a slight improvement on last year. Resource Sheets (250 word limit) are being used well across many centres, eg plans, quotes and structure. While there is marked improvement in questions/titles, some candidates are still including irrelevant content, analysis or evaluation. Candidates receive varying levels of support from centre to centre. While the write-up must take place under exam conditions, candidates are entitled to reasonable assistance in choosing their question and carrying out their research. It was evident, especially when looking at the topics/wording of the questions, that some candidates are not receiving this guidance.

7. Essential for session 2018-19 (RNQ) • centres must ensure that they are familiar with the documentation on the SQA website • course specification, course assessment specification and course support notes can now be found in one document – course specification • units and unit assessments are no longer required • there is increased detail of mandatory course content in each area of study • there is an increase in the mark allocation, time, and structure of the question paper • there is no change in the course assessment task (assignment); however, changes have been made to mark allocation/marking instructions

8. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) • Eg Buddhism previous: • nature of reality • nature of human beings • beliefs about Buddha • samsara and nibbana • living according to the Eightfold Path • individual and community worship • Eg Buddhism RNQ: • Beliefs • Three Marks of Existence: anicca; anatta; dukkha • nature of human beings: tanha; Three Root Poisons; kamma • beliefs about the Buddha • samsara; nibbana • Practices • living according to the Eightfold Path • Five Precepts; sangha • meditation; devotion • Mandatory coverage has been ‘fleshed out’ to support centres.

9. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) • Eg Justice previous: • purposes of punishment • causes of crime • UK responses to crime • capital punishment • Eg Justice RNQ: • Causes of crime • environmental influences • psychological factors • Purposes of punishment • reformation • retribution • protection • deterrence • Responses to crime • custodial sentences • non-custodial sentences • capital punishment • Mandatory coverage has been ‘fleshed out’ to support centres.

10. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) • in terms of the religious and non-religious responses, candidates will be expected to apply religious and non-religious viewpoints to each of these purposes of punishment. • this will not require them to learn different viewpoints for each purpose - the aim of the course is to develop their skills, and their ability to take what they know about a viewpoint/perspective and apply it to a moral issue. • candidates should learn religious and non-religious viewpoints/perspectives and be taught how to apply these to each purpose of punishment. • eg candidates can apply Christian perspectives of love, forgiveness, hate the sin/love the sinner onto the different purposes of punishment.

11. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) • Eg Origins RNQ: • Was the universe and life created? • How does religion explain the origins of the universe and of life? • What evidence does religion use to support these explanations? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of evidence/explanations? • How does science explain the origins of the universe and of life? • What evidence does science use to support these explanations? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of evidence/explanations? • Can religious and scientific views on origins be compatible? • Eg Origins previous: • was everything created? • origin of the universe • origins of life • approaches to dialogue • Mandatory coverage has been ‘fleshed out’ to support centres.

12. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) • two question papers and assignment • question paper 1: World Religion & Morality and Belief • 2 hours 15 minutes, worth 60 marks • two questions in each section: 10 mark knowledge and analysis question and 20 mark knowledge, analysis and evaluation question • 10 marks essay 22 minutes; 20 mark essay 45 minutes • question paper 2: Religious and Philosophical Questions • 45 minutes, worth 20 marks • one question: 20 mark knowledge, analysis and evaluation

13. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) • Preparing candidates for assessment: • download course specification from SQA website • use the ‘Skills Knowledge and Understanding for the course assessment’ with candidates: this should form a ‘checklist’ of content covered • use the wording found in the above: ie teach World Religion section using the headings ‘Beliefs’ and ‘Practices’ and the bullet points which follow; teach Justice under the three headings ‘Causes of Crime’, ‘Purposes of Punishment’ and ‘Responses to Crime’ and the bullet points which follow – candidates must be familiar with this terminology/these headings

14. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) • Preparing candidates for assessment: • avoid unnecessary content: focus on the bullet points under each heading eg Causes of Crime: environmental influences can include upbringing, peer influence, economic poverty; psychological factors can include mental health, substance misuse • use past paper questions (2015-18) to create prelims: keep question stem and alternate content eg Analyse the moral issues arising from sentencing in the UK. (2016) Analyse the moral issues arising from custodial sentences. OR Analyse the moral issues arising from retribution as a purpose of punishment.

15. Essential for Session 2018-19 (RNQ) Assignment: • assignment task is unchanged • worth 30 marks (approximately 27% of overall marks) • high degree of supervision - common to all subjects completing an assignment of this type • resource sheet of no more than 250 words • write-up stage completed in 1 hour and 30 minutes • marking instructions and marks allocation have been changed.

16. Component 1 Question Paper

17. Rationale for changes • all units removed • all course assessment increased by 20-30% • options: increase the number of questions, or increase the allocation of marks per question • over 40 RMPS teachers were consulted with the new changes and given the opportunity to feedback • feedback taken on board

18. Rationale for changes • Decision to introduce two further 20 mark questions in World Religion and Morality and Belief: • candidates currently struggle to differentiate between analysis and evaluation questions • candidates often included analysis in evaluation questions, which is not credited • in terms of teaching, more clarity if all 10 mark questions are analysis, and all 20 mark questions are analysis and evaluation

19. Question paper 1 • Candidates will be given one 10 mark question and one 20 mark question in each area of study. • No optionality. • The 10 mark question will assess knowledge and understanding and analysis – up to 6 marks will be awarded for relevant and developed knowledge and understanding, and up to 4 marks will be awarded to relevant and developed analysis. • The 20 mark question will assess knowledge and understanding, analysis and evaluation – up to 10 marks will be awarded for relevant and developed knowledge and understanding, up to 5 marks will be awarded to relevant and developed analysis, and up to 5 marks will be awarded to relevant and developed evaluation.

20. ‘Analyse the moral issues arising from assisted dying.’ (10 marks) • Tackling the question: • analysisquestion = explain why • moral issues = these can be religious or non-religious • assisted dying = pick up knowledge marks by describing what is meant by ‘assisted dying’ and describing the moral issues • Plan: • describe what is meant by ‘assisted dying’ • describe 2-3 moral issues arising from ‘assisted dying’ • explain why these are moral issues No change to 10 mark analysis questions

21. ‘Analyse the moral issues arising from assisted dying.' (10 marks) Mark awarded for relevant and developed knowledge and understanding. Simply stating that ‘God is the source of all life’ or that ‘life is sacred’ is not enough – candidate must apply understanding to their knowledge – this is what we mean by developed. One moral issue arising from assisted dying is that God is the source of all life, and only God can decide when each life ends. (K) Assisted dying involves people seeking to end their own lives due to a terminal illness, and involves asking for help from someone else. (K) For many Christians, this is wrong: “So God created mankind in his own image; in the image of God he created them”(K) This quotation from Genesis 1 tells us that human life was created in the image God, and therefore all life is sacred, which means that we should not have the right to die when we choose.(A) Candidates will continue to be awarded a knowledge mark for a relevant source, which is used to address the question. Analysis marks are awarded where candidates identify, for example, the relationship between a belief and response to an issue, or explain the implication of a belief.

22. Sources: • Sources include, but are not limited to: • quotations from individuals, texts • references to individuals, organisations, texts • references to video clips, documentaries • references to case studies • references to theories, arguments

23. 20 Mark World Religion and Morality Questions • similar to current Religious and Philosophical Questions (RPQ) • candidates will be able to demonstrate knowledge of a wide range of content in either beliefs or practices bullet points in World Religion or under the bold headings in Morality and Belief • gives candidates the scope to be credited for relevant analysis used to introduce evaluation

24. World Religion – 20 mark questions Sikhism - Skills, knowledge and understanding for the course assessment Beliefs • beliefs about God   • nature of human beings: atma; free will; karma; equality • beliefs about maya and haumai; the Five Evils • Gurmukh; JivanMukti Practices • living according to the Gurus • Khalsa • worship: sewa and simran; kirtkarna; vandchakkana

25. World Religion – 20 mark questions Sikhism - Skills, knowledge and understanding for the course assessment Beliefs • beliefs about God   • nature of human beings: atma; free will; karma; equality • beliefs about maya and haumai; the Five Evils • Gurmukh; JivanMukti Sample question: ‘Of all the beliefs Sikhs have, beliefs about JivanMukti are the most important.’ To what extent would you agree?

26. World Religion – 20 mark questions ‘Of all the beliefs Sikhs have, beliefs about JivanMukti are the most important.’ To what extent would you agree? • Possible approaches by candidate: • agree to some extent; explain why JivanMukti important, but identify 3-4 other beliefs which are just as important • Disagree; explain why JivanMukti is not important, identify 3-4 other beliefs which are more important • Possible knowledge marks: • beliefs about JivanMukti; knowledge of other Sikh beliefs; relevant sources • Possible analysis marks: • relationship between different Sikh beliefs; implications of focusing on JivanMukti as most important Sikh belief • Possible evaluation marks: • judgement on the value of beliefs about JivanMukti over other Sikh beliefs

27. Morality & Belief – 20 mark questions Morality, Medicine and the Human Body - Skills, knowledge and understanding for the course assessment Use of embryos • Reproductive • Therapeutic • Research Organ Donation • Consent: informed; presumed • Beating heart donation • Living donors End of life • Assisted dying • Voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia • End of life care

28. Morality & Belief – 20 mark questions Morality, Medicine and the Human Body - Skills, knowledge and understanding for the course assessment Organ Donation • Consent: informed; presumed • Beating heart donation • Living donors Sample question: ‘Of the moral issues surrounding organ donation, issues surrounding consent are the most significant.’ To what extent would you agree?

29. Morality & Belief – 20 mark questions ‘Of the moral issues surrounding organ donation, issues surrounding consent are the most significant.’ To what extent would you agree? Encourage candidates to underline/highlight key words in the title – this question is not asking about organ donation, it is asking about consent. • Possible approaches by candidate: • agree to some extent; explain consent is important, but explain that issues surrounding living donors and beating heart donation are also important • disagree; explain why consent is not important, but issues surrounding living donors and beating heart donation are far more important

30. Morality & Belief – 20 mark questions ‘Of the moral issues surrounding organ donation, issues surrounding consent are the most significant.’ To what extent would you agree? • Possible knowledge marks: • description of consent; description of living/beating heart donors; description of moral issues; religious and non-religious beliefs/viewpoints; relevant sources • Possible analysis marks: • relationship between religious/non-religious beliefs/viewpoints and responses to moral issues; implications/consequences relating to consent/beating heart donation/living donors • Possible evaluation marks: • judgement on religious/non-religious beliefs/viewpoints • overall reasoned judgement on question

31. 20 mark questions • Encourage candidates to approach these in a formulaic way. • For example ‘Of all the responses to crime, capital punishment is the most effective.’ Evaluate religious responses to this statement. • Relevant content about capital punishment as a response to crime & its effectiveness. • Religious viewpoints on the effectiveness of capital punishment as a response to crime. • Evaluation of religious viewpoints on the effectiveness of capital punishment as a response to crime. • Alternative responses to crime and the effectiveness of these. • Religious viewpoints on the effectiveness of alternative responses to crime. • Evaluation of religious viewpoints on the effectiveness of alternative responsesto crime. • Overall judgement on the question and reasons.

32. Skills identification task (45 marks) • Read each of the four 20 mark essays. • Highlight the analysis and evaluation skills – you may not teach the topic, but you should be able to identify the skills. • Consider the ‘skills phrases’ used in each essay – are these familiar to you? Would your candidates be familiar with these? • Assign a mark for each essay – remember to consider the Knowledge/Skills breakdown.

33. Assignment

34. Purpose of the assignment is to assess the following skills: A. Using information from a range of sources • researching the issue, using a range of sources of information relating to the question • Providing relevant, accurate and detailed knowledge relating to the question • drawing on in-depth knowledge and understanding of the issue in order to address the question • Sustaining a clear focus on the question throughout the assignment • sustaining a clear structure and focus on addressing the question

35. Purpose of the assignment is to assess the following skills: • Analysing sources/beliefs/viewpoints/issues • analysing different beliefs/viewpoints/sources on the issue, in order to address the question • Evaluating sources/beliefs/viewpoints/issues • evaluating different beliefs/viewpoints/sources on the issue, in order to address the question • Providing an overall reasoned conclusion/ judgement on the question • presenting a reasoned and well-structured conclusion to the question

36. Assessment Conditions • reasonable assistance may be given to a class, group of candidates or on an individual basis, and may include:  • directing candidates to the instructions for candidates - e.g. SQA detailed marking instructions • clarifying instructions/requirements of the task  • advising candidates on the choice of a question/topic/issue  • advising candidates on possible sources of information  • interim progress checks  • Reasonable assistance does not include marking drafts or giving specific individual feedback.

37. Assessment Conditions Undertaking the write-up (1hour 30 minutes): • conducted under a high degree of supervision and control. • candidates must be in direct sight of the assessor (or other responsible person) during the period of the assessment. • candidates must not communicate with each other. • candidates should only have access to the specified resources (the Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Resource Sheet) – maximum 250 words.

38. Appropriate questions • Must be an issue of religious, moral or philosophical significance on which there are a range of viewpoints. • Be wary of candidates using same topic for Modern Studies assignment/English discursive – candidates can use similar content, but cannot replicate essay. • Encourage questions with scope for breadth of discussion and strong line of argument. • Encourage candidates to use previous question papers to seek out examples of appropriate questions. • Candidates using a stimulus statement, followed by ‘To what extent do you agree’ (or similar), tend to gain higher marks – title offers scope for evaluation.

39. Problematic titles: • Is abortion wrong? • Evaluate moral issues arising from the legalisation of euthanasia in the UK. • Should the death penalty be brought back to the UK? • Does God exist? • “Buddhism is a selfish religion.” How valid is this statement? • Evaluate the moral issues arising from same-sex marriage. • Are men and women equal in today’s society?

41. ‘The moral issues raised by the death penalty make it an unacceptable form of punishment’. How far do you agree? • 10 relevantknowledge (content) marks: • description of death penalty: must be tied into moral issues • description of moral issues raised by death penalty • description of viewpoints (religious/non-religious) on the death penalty • sources – quotations, references, examples Encourage candidates to avoid telling us everything they know about the death penalty - irrelevant knowledge and understanding will not be credited.

42. ‘The moral issues raised by the death penalty make it an unacceptable form of punishment’. How far do you agree? • 10 relevantanalysis marks: • explanation of reasons for moral issues: “This is a moral issue because…” • explanation of reasons for viewpoints (religious/non-religious): “Many Christians believe this because…” • analysis of sources (quotations/examples/references): “This quotation tells us that…” “This shows that…” Using sources, especially quotations, throughout the assignment gives candidates much greater scope for analysis.

43. ‘The moral issues raised by the death penalty make it an unacceptable form of punishment’. How far do you agree? • 10 relevantevaluation marks: • JUDGEMENT on the moral issues: “I think this is a valid moral issue because…” • JUDGEMENT on the viewpoints (religious/non-religious): “I strongly disagree with the Christian response to the death penalty here because…” “This Utilitarian response is convincing in my opinion because…” • Evaluation of sources (quotations/examples/references): “This quotation is relevant/irrelevant because…” • A clear, REASONED conclusion which responds to the question/issue: “In conclusion, I strongly agree that the moral issues raised by the death penalty make it an unacceptable form of punishment because…”

44. ‘The moral issues raised by the death penalty make it an unacceptable form of punishment’. How far do you agree? • JUDGEMENT on the viewpoints: ‘I strongly disagree with the Christian response to the death penalty here because…’ ‘This Utilitarian response is convincing in my opinion because…’ Remember, agreement/disagreement with a viewpoint is simply the candidate expressing their opinion. It is what comes after ‘because’ that we are looking for: Why specificallydo you disagree with the Christian response? What is it specificallyabout the Christian response/viewpoint/stance that you disagree with? Why specificallydo you find the utilitarian response convincing? What is it specificallyabout the utilitarian response that convinces you?

45. Marking the assignment

46. Marking the assignment

47. Marking the assignment

48. 60 minutes Assignment Marking Task • You will now apply the National Standard to three assignments. • Read each assignment and use the marking grid to award marks out of 30. • You may find it useful to highlight skills phrases as you go through. • Remember – you may not teach the topic you are marking; however, you are expected to be able to identify skills.

49. Assignment 1: Evaluate religious and non-religious view points to the use of human embryos for stem cell research. • Use of ‘Evaluate’ in question directs the candidate to skills. Inclusion of religious and non-religious responses provides breadth and depth. However, ‘stem cell research’ could prove challenging for ‘C’ level candidates. Essay is not about use of embryos – it is about Stem Cell Research. • Body of assignment: line of argument is sustained throughout – introduction, content and conclusion. Content is generic throughout – vague references to religious/non-religious viewpoints.

50. Assignment 1: Evaluate religious and non-religious view points to the use of human embryos for stem cell research. • Structure: attempt at providing KU, some depth but at times loses relevance. Sources: some relevant, but not specific or put into any context. • Analysis: sources explained, but lacking in breadth and depth. • Evaluation: thin, often simply candidate’s viewpoints. • Conclusion: responds to the question, but simply regurgitates previous points. K – 6 A – 5 E – 4 Total: 15