Improving Grades at AS and A2 Geology

Improving Grades at AS and A2 Geology I.G. Kenyon

Marks are lost due to: Poor organisation and ineffective learning during the AS and A2 courses Inadequate preparation Poor exam technique

Geology is a cumulative learning experience All parts of the course are inter-related Everything learned at AS is useful at A2 Understanding rather than rote learning is needed

Learning the following will always prove very useful • Rock Classification • Fossil Morphologies • The Stratigraphical Column • Appropriate Case Studies

Issue students with a copy of the specification at the start of the course Students should highlight columns 1 and 2 under key ideas as they are covered All bullet points should have been highlighted by the end of the courses at AS and A2 This is a useful check for students if they have missed any lessons

Encourage students to keep up to date with the latest geological developments An excellent website with a weekly newsletter is www.geology.about.com

Encourage students to number every single piece of paper in chronological order Class notes, handouts and internet printouts should be numbered File notes away under topic headings on a weekly basis Only carry notes for the last two weeks-keep everything else safely filed away at home

Encourage students to invest in a ‘flash pen’ USB device with storage of 128/256 megs or more Use it to copy PowerPoints and other resources from the Intranet Transferring work between home and school/college is very easy

Vary the task setting Get students to produce PowerPoints as a break from structured questions and essays from past exam papers Just 6 to 8 slides which they have to present to the class From experience this is ahighly motivating exercise

Use Geology as a vehicle for promoting the appropriate use of IT Simple example of a task: Give each student a mineral from the specification To produce a PowerPoint presentation of 6 to 10 slides

Include the following: • Chemical formula • All Physical Properties • Diagnostic properties • Minimum of 5 images • Industrial Uses • Major Producers

Get students to present their slideshows Award marks for geological content and delivery Two marks in your mark book with no marking outside class time!

Students should source their information correctly. Acknowledge websites where material has been taken from

Potential Powerpoint Assignments • Each student has a different one • Igneous Rocks • Sedimentary Rocks • Metamorphic Rocks • Fossil Groups • Geological Periods

The Exams Many students turn into headless chickens as soon as they open the examination papers

Common Weaknesses 1 Confusing ‘Describe’ with ‘Explain’ Misunderstanding of ‘Assess’, ‘Outline’, ‘Account’, ‘Compare’, ‘Contrast’, ‘Suggest’, ‘State’, ‘Name’, ‘Label’, ‘Identify’ and ‘Evaluate’

Common Weaknesses 2 Misunderstanding of key geological vocabulary Post-depositional, Rockhead, Texture, Trend, Superposition, Solid & Drift, Outcrop, Throw, Strike, Geothermal Gradient

Common Weaknesses 3 Ignoring words in bold face

Common Weaknesses 4 • Inability to use 4 and 6 figure grid references • Confusion between Eastings and Northings • Inability to use compass directions

Common Weaknesses 5 Missing out questions completely when no written answers are required. Marking features on maps and diagrams are the most common occurrence. About 10 – 15% of candidates do this on every examination paper

Common Weaknesses 6 • Inability to plan their time effectively in the examination • Students often run out of time and leave some questions unanswered or only partially answered • GL4 – last part of the mapwork section • GL5 – essay on the second modular option

Common Weaknesses 7 • Students refuse to, or leave insufficient time to read their answers through • Results in careless errors, marks thrown away and howlers • Possible cause of a mass extinction ‘The earth was hit by a giant ammonite’ • Methods of coal mining essay ‘technology and transport has improved so much in recent years that the coal mines are now located away from the coalfields’

Common Weaknesses 8 Inability to follow instructions Answer requires both map evidence and knowledge Credit only for geological hazards Must be based on UCM in grid square 8553 Candidate must ASSESS the hazards slight – severe Candidate should make a decision Yes OK but …. No because……

Common Weaknesses 9 Inability to locate case studies accurately ‘There was a terrible earthquake somewhere in the Middle East sometime last year which did lots of damage and killed loads of people’ ‘Mount St. Helens erupted fairly recently over in America and caused lots of suffering to people, wildlife and the environment in general’

Common Weaknesses 10 Inability to make appropriate use of annotated sketches and diagrams Sketches often very poor quality Labels used rather than annotations Absence of scale Generalised diagrams rather than examples from fieldwork

Common Weaknesses 11 Inability to link length of response to marks available 1 idea or fact needed for each mark available A 4 mark question may have 8 or more creditworthy ideas on the mark scheme A less than perfect answer can score maximum marks 4-6 mark question answers often have responses which are far too brief

The End

Improving Grades at AS and A2 Geology