EXAM FEEDBACK
Lessons learned from UNIT 1
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVE 1
KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING
Principal Examiners are impressed by candidates knowledge and
understanding in some themes – with some excellent use of
examples in:
• Theme 2 Impacts of climate change
• Theme 3 Earthquake mitigation
• Theme 6 Regional inequality in a named country
Across all papers there were candidates who used appropriate
terminology accurately.
WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL?
• Knowledge of examples is more sketchy in other themes. For
example:
• Theme 1 – some Foundation tier candidates struggled to describe
the formation of a meander and use terminology accurately (such as
slip-off slope).
• Theme 4 – Higher tier candidates were comfortable with migration to
cities in developing countries where urbanisation is rapid but
struggled to find an example from a country at a different level of
development.
• Theme 5 – many candidates struggled to provide any detail about
the benefits of globalisation to a named NIC.
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVE 1
A
grade
Candidates recall, select and communicate detailed knowledge and
thorough understanding of places, environments, concepts and
locations at a range of scales. They use geographical terminology
accurately and appropriately.
Candidates recall, select and communicate knowledge and
C
grade understanding of places, environments, concepts and
locations across different scales. They use geographical
terminology appropriately.
Candidates recall, select and communicate knowledge and
F
grade some limited aspects of understanding about places,
environments and concepts at more than one scale. They
communicate their ideas using everyday language.
NAMING AN EXAMPLE IS NEVER ENOUGH
How should a candidate
demonstrate AO1 of place?
DISCUSSION POINT 1
How do we encourage students to move
beyond naming their example?
1. Discuss Candidate response 1 to 4.
• What has been done well?
• What could be improved?
2. Create a simple 3 level mark scheme that just
assesses AO1 for these questions.
While we are thinking about Ghana,
Africa is not a country!
• Botswana is one of the top 13 achievers in the world
when it comes to sustained economic growth. It has
been democratic and peaceful since its
independence. It is an African country.
• Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most
tragic economic disasters in the world. It has been
plagued by despots and war since its independence.
Millions have died since the Second Congo War
broke out in 1998. It is the poorest country in the
world. Congo DR is also an African country.
• SOURCE www.gapminder.org
DISCUSSION POINT 2
country
Cell phones
Per 100 people
GNI per
capita ppp
Access to
improved
water %
Botswana
?
14560
96
Congo DR
23
?
45 / 55 / 65
Ghana
84
?
86
Kenya
64
1720
49 / 59 /69
Malawi
15 / 25 / 35
870
83
106 / 116 / 126
10790
?
South Africa
DID YOU GET IT RIGHT?
country
Cell phones
Per 100
people
GNI per capita Access to
ppp
improved
water %
Botswana
143
14560
96
Congo DR
23
350
45
Ghana
84
1820
86
Kenya
64
1720
59
Malawi
25
870
83
South Africa
126
10790
91
AO1 AND COUNTRIES AT
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT
Higher tier
• Three examples were
required in the Higher tier
paper.
• The Theme 4 question
created most problems.
Theme 2 Describe the possible
effects of climate change on the
Netherlands and on one other
country at a different level of
development.
Theme 3 Explain why the effects of
earthquakes may vary in countries at
different levels of development.
Theme 4 Explain how different
factors have encouraged migration to
cities within countries at different
levels of development.
RE-URBANISATION
Theme 4 Migration
Source: http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/HTMLDocs/dvc25/
WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO
INSTEAD OF MEDC / LEDC?
DISCUSSION POINT 3
agree
1
It’s best to stick to LEDC / MEDC.
2
The specification requires a study of a country in sub-Saharan
Africa, South Asia and Europe.
3
I have to study India or China.
4
I can reduce the number of case studies by teaching India as its
an NIC and its in South Asia.
5
Regional inequality has to be studied in an LEDC.
6
The specification has about the right number of place studies.
7
The new specification should list specific countries
disagree
Using the UN definitions
Least Developed Countries
Landlocked developing countries
Small Island Developing States (SIDs)
NIC: DOES IT HAVE TO BE INDIA OR CHINA?
• The question asks for
knowledge of benefits
of globalisation to
people in any NIC “such
as India and China”.
• Centres may use
appropriate resources
to teach about any NIC.
WHICH NIC CAN I TEACH?
The usual suspects:
Brazil
Russia
India
China
Mexico
South Africa
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVE 2
A
grade
They apply appropriate knowledge and understanding of a wide range of
geographical concepts, processes and patterns in a variety of both familiar
and unfamiliar physical and human contexts. They recognise and
understand complex relationships between people and the environment,
identifying and evaluating current problems and issues, and making
perceptive and informed geographical decisions. They understand how
these can contribute to a future that is sustainable.
C
grade
They apply their knowledge and understanding of geographical concepts,
processes and patterns in a variety of both familiar and unfamiliar physical
and human contexts. They understand relationships between people and
the environment, identifying and explaining different problems and issues
and making geographical decisions that are supported by reasons,
including sustainable approaches.
F
grade
They apply their understanding of some simple physical and human
processes and patterns in different contexts. They recognise simple
relationships between people and the environment. They identify problems
and issues and make decisions informed by simple reasons and evidence.
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVE 2
APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING
The ability of Foundation tier
candidates to apply their knowledge
and understanding to unfamiliar
contexts and achieve AO2 marks is
improving at the foundation level and
this was evident in questions 5 (a) and
5 (b).
WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL?
• It is reasonable to expect a Foundation candidate at the C grade to
be able to consider different viewpoints but a great many responses
in question 1 (c) did little more than repeat the content of the
resource. Only a small minority of very good candidates referred to
the issue of increased building on floodplains due to housing
demand or the impact of climate change which is making extreme
rainfall events more common.
• Question 5 (c) also tended to be answered in very general terms
which described how countries have increased their levels of
development, referring to little more than increased jobs and higher
incomes achieved through globalisation and there was generally
very little reference to specific detail on named countries such as
India and China.
DISCUSSION POINT 4
How do we encourage students to apply
their understanding of processes to
unfamiliar contexts?
1. Discuss Candidate response 5 to 8.
• What has been done well?
• What could be improved?
2. Create a simple 3 level mark scheme that just
assesses AO2 for these questions.
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
Supporting teaching and learning
wjec.co.uk/geography
Free subject specific resources available for all to download from our website
resources.wjec.co.uk
Free digital resources to support the teaching and learning of a broad range of subjects
oer.wjec.co.uk
Our free Online Exam Review allows teachers to analyse item level data, critically
assess sample question papers and receive examiner feedback
wjec.co.uk/shop
A vast range of educational resources, specifications, past papers and mark schemes to
support the teaching and learning of subjects offered by WJEC
Any Questions?
andrew.owen@wjec.co.uk