Development of the Controlled
Assessment task for 2015
By: Adrian Pickles
FSC Preston Montford
The enquiry process
• Involve the candidates in the enquiry process.
– What is the wider geographical concept / theory
that is being tested?
– What are they aiming to achieve? – involve
candidates in posing enquiry questions
– How might candidates take some ownership for
selecting or collecting data? How will they
demonstrate independence?
Task Information
• Investigate the factors that help to create a
sustainable residential community
• 4.3 How might sustainable residential
communities be planned?
Setting up the Task
What are
the
factors?
Investigate the factors that help to create a
sustainable residential
community
A model or
theory for
sustainable
Which
community
or
communities
?
What’s different?
• Sustainable Communities study focuses on
sustainability aspects relating to equality, water,
transport, energy, waste and materials
• Many field techniques are similar to Quality of
Life studies, BUT a proposed study that just
focuses on Quality of Life would not be accepted
by WJEC.
Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the
future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their
environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned,
built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all.
Sustainable communities are:
•Active, inclusive and safe
•Well run
•Environmentally sensitive
•Well designed and built
•Well connected
•Thriving
•Well served
•Fair for everyone
Sustainable communities embody the principles of sustainable development. They:
•Balance and integrate the social, economic and environmental components of their
community
•Meet the needs of existing and future generations
•Respect the needs of other communities in the wider region or internationally also to make
their communities sustainable
Sustainable communities are diverse, reflecting their local circumstances. There is no standard
template to fit them all.
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
Primary Fieldwork - Surveys
• Use a model/concept like this to
break down “sustainability” into
manageable chunks
• Allows you to choose areas that are
more easily assessed through primary
data collection
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/sustainability/
Sustainable Communities
• The Egan Wheel
• A model to begin with
Primary Fieldwork - Surveys
• Use a model/concept like this to
break down “sustainability” into
manageable chunks
• Allows you to choose areas that are
more easily assessed through primary
data collection
Primary Fieldwork –Other ideas
You have arrived in a new and unfamiliar place- Derby Station area
Look up
Where is everyone?
•Who goes where?
Who lives here?
•Who works here?
Who comes for the
day?
Railway town
evidence?
Primary Fieldwork –Other ideas
Look up
Where is everyone?
Who goes where?
Ground level
Primary Fieldwork - Questionaires
• Questions linked
to different aspects
of sustainability
• Students have
quantitative data for
each aspect
Primary Fieldwork – Crime Surveys
(Social and cultural sustainability)
http://www.ukcrimestats.com
Which comes first?
The crime or the deterrents?
Primary Fieldwork – Services
Surveys
For local areas, suburbs, rural communities
Primary Fieldwork –
Transport Index
Include demographics---what would
retired people need, the un-employed,
school students, workers need?
Primary Fieldwork – Index of
Decay
Primary Fieldwork - Interviews
• Use a couple of
pointers to help
students get started
• For best results good
idea to prime
interviewees first
• Quality of notes will be variable! For analysis consider:
Tallying positive/negative
opinions
“Tick list” of key words
Primary Fieldwork - Photos
Not on every property
– evidence of
inequality
Solar panels – save
energy and generate
income
Lack of off-street
parking – problem for
growing population
Image: windandsun.co.uk
Useful apps:
• Skitch
• Camera Ace
(Android)
• Fotobabble (iOS)
• Audio Photos
(Android)
• Microsoft
Autocollage (PC)
Using the evidence...
How sustainable is the
community you studied?
How do your results
help us understand
this community?
How could a more
Sustainable
Community be
planned?