GCSE Geography A
Questions raised during autumn CPD events 2013
Will WJEC provide
feedback on the summer’s
exams?
Yes – but not at face-to-face training events. Feedback on the
summer’s exams will be given through a new Online Exam Review
of the WJEC website.
Scanned examples of candidate work have been annotated to show
how it has been marked. The commentaries, along with the Principal
Examiner’s report, could be used as AfL activities in class.
Will the presentations used
at this event be available on
line?
Yes. All presentations used at the training events are already
available on the geography landing page of the (public) WJEC
website. You can access them on CPD Documentation.
Are the candidate
responses used today for
the marking exercise
available on-line?
Yes. They have been uploaded to the secure area of the WJEC
website. You may use them for training in application of the marking
scheme with other members of staff in your department but should
not be shared with candidates / used as model answers. You will
need a login and password (available from the School’s Exam
Officer) to access this part of our site.
The power point used at
one event described the
2015 Theme 4 DME as
being focussed on LEDCs
but it says Europe is the
focus on the website. Which
is correct?
I apologise for any confusion. The correct focus is Europe as shown
in the documentation on the WJEC website.
The rivers task is different in
2014 and 2015. Can I use
the same river?
Yes. The focus of the task is significantly different so you can use the
same location / river for both tasks.
Can WJEC offer a visit to
new centres?
Potentially – yes. New centres should email Andy Owen to request a
visit. WJEC will find a subject expert (who is not involved in question
paper preparation) who can visit the centre.
Can you explain how SPaG
marks are allocated?
The allocation of SPaG marks for GCSE Geography A is described
on the WJEC website.
http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/19130.pptx
and
http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/18358.docx
It is important to note that the level descriptors for SPaG and the
rules which govern how they may be awarded were created by the
regulators in England and Wales rather than by WJEC.
Why have some students
been awarded 0 marks for
SPaG when they have still
achieved a C grade at
GCSE?
If a candidate has answered the geography question incorrectly (or
given an irrelevant answer) and they have been awarded 0 for the
geography content, they are automatically awarded 0 for SPaG. This
is a rule introduced by the regulators. It is to avoid the situation
where a candidate who doesn’t know the answer to the question so
they write something else (eg ‘The cat sat on the mat…) in the hope
that they will get a SPaG mark.
Why do some candidates
obtain different SPaG marks
in different questions?
The SPaG mark is awarded on the evidence presented in specific
questions and not for the paper as a whole. Although most
candidates perform their SPaG at a similar level across all questions
some do seem to work at varying standards (in the same way that
their handwriting sometimes varies considerably across the paper).
Perhaps this is because their concentration and energy levels vary
throughout the examination. Or perhaps it is because they feel
rushed and therefore make more mistakes as the exam progresses.
Questions about controlled assessment proposals
Is it compulsory to
complete a CA proposal
each year?
It is highly recommended. WJEC sets the tasks and these tasks
change every year. It is essential that centres conduct the correct
task in each examination cycle.
Send your proposal to Steve James. Here is the 2015 proposal form
and the Approved Generic tasks for 2015 which you would select
from.
Andy Owen does a simple check on each proposal to ensure that the
proposed task arises from one of the set tasks for that year. WJEC is
not obliged to accept the marks of tasks that do not match the set
task. So it is in the interest of every centre to go through this simple
‘health check’.
Will the checking of my
proposal provide quality
assurance or any further
advice?
No. It’s a simple check – is the task different to last year and does it
arise from one of the set tasks for this year?
Why do have to keep
changing the task?
The regulations governing controlled assessment require these
changes (of all awarding organisations). They are designed to
prevent the possibility that a candidate is able to benefit from work
that may have been produced by candidates in previous cycles.
How long does the
proposal system take
before I get feedback?
The initial feedback usually takes one to two weeks. However, in
busy periods (ie June, July and September - which is when we
receive the majority of proposals) it can take much longer so please
plan ahead. We recommend sending the proposal at least 10 weeks
before you wish to start the task.
The documentation on
the WJEC website
always refers to set
tasks for award in a
You need to choose the appropriate task for your cohort. The 2014
tasks should be used with those candidates who will take their final
GCSE Geography exams in 2014 ie (for most centres) current year
11. You can do the task with them at any point during their 2 (or 3)
However, if you want further advice about the quality of your
proposal please send in copies of the draft student task sheets that
you propose to use. These documents will be sent to a controlled
assessment advisor (one of a number of experienced moderators)
who will provide further support and advice (for free).
specific year eg 2014.
What does this mean?
year GCSE course – but the work should be sent for moderation in
March 2014.
Questions about conducting controlled assessment / levels of control
Can I set any part of the
controlled assessment
task for homework?
No. Both the low and high levels of control need to be conducted in
school (or in a field study centre / library / ICT room) but not at home.
The work must be taken in and locked securely between sessions.
The teacher and candidate must both sign an authentication to say
that it is their own work – you can’t do this if some parts of the task
have been done at home!
Can I give the
candidates a detailed
writing frame?
No. You may give an outline structure (eg aims > enquiry process >
results > analysis > conclusions > evaluation) but you should not
over-structure the task (as this precludes independence and
prevents candidates reaching level 4) and you must not provide
detailed writing frames. However, candidates who qualify for extra
time may be given extra time and less able candidates may be given
appropriate support (during the low level of control phase) as long as
this support is logged and then taken into account when the work is
marked and the moderator is fully informed of the additional support
that has been given.
How much feedback /
support can I give to
candidates during the
low level phase?
Teachers can provide students with oral and written advice at a
general level only. Teachers must not provide specific advice on
how to improve drafts to meet assessment criteria. There should be
no detailed feedback on errors/omissions.
Can I comment of the
standard of the
candidate’s work during
the high level control
phase?
No. This is not an AfL exercise – it is part of the terminal assessment
of each candidate.
Is there a word limit?
No. There is however, a max time limit for each phase. Teachers
may choose to give less time but not more (except for those
candidates how qualify for extra time).
Some of my candidates
could improve their work
if I gave them extra time.
Can I give them the work
back to improve?
NO! You must not give candidates feedback (its not AfL) or extra
time (unless they qualify for it).
Questions about the fieldwork enquiry
In the context of
fieldwork techniques /
graphical techniques
what is a range?
WJEC does not quantify how many techniques, but a range is more
than 2! When applying the mark scheme you should consider the
quality of the candidate response (not the quantity of graphs). So, to
mark the representation of geographical evidence you might
consider:




Has the candidate used an appropriate technique (eg line graphs
should be used for continuous data but not for discrete data).
Are the maps / graphs accurate?
Are they complete with an appropriate scale, axis label, north
arrow, title etc?
How complex / sophisticated are the graphs / maps?
Eg a labelled scattergraph, appropriate line graph and map with
accurate located pie charts represents a better quality response than
an inaccurate bar graph, a pie chart (where the data does not
represent 100% of the data) and a line graph of discrete data, even
though both responses contain 3 pieces of graphical evidence.
Can I tell candidates
which techniques to
use? Eg use this data to
draw pie charts and that
data to draw a line
graph.
No. Candidates must have the opportunity to select the techniques
they use to analyse and represent data. They should have had
sufficient opportunities to practice data processing and presentation
with a range of data during key stage 3 and 4 in the teaching and
learning phase so that they do not need to be told how to do it in the
assessment!
How can a candidate
demonstrate
independence?
Candidate may demonstrate independence in one of a number of
ways:





By selecting a sample size or a sampling strategy;
By posing an enquiry question of their own (which they may
investigate or which they suggest as an extension to their work in
their evaluation);
By adding their own question to a questionnaire;
By adding their own bi-polar activity;
By suggesting further enquiry questions that could be
investigated if the enquiry were to be extended.
The Theme 10 fieldwork
enquiry must focus on
the impacts of tourism.
Can these impacts be
related to a proposed
(i.e. future) scheme?
In theory, yes. However, I imagine you will be conducting a
perception study ie one that relies heavily (perhaps solely) on
people’s perceptions. This means that primary data collection will be
severely limited, perhaps only to questionnaires, so you may find that
candidates are unable to contribute much to the enquiry process or
to be able to select different primary data collection methods.
If a student collects
information but doesn’t
demonstrate it in their
results can the teacher
still credit the student?
No. You can only credit what each student has demonstrated within
their report.
The rivers task is
different in 2014 and
2015. Can I use the
same river?
Yes. The focus of the task is significantly different so you can use the
same location / river for both tasks.