10 - 11 October 2010
For two days only the sun shone on the sand dunes of Studland in Dorset as the upper sixth geographers descended to collect their data for their Geographical Skills paper. The latter sounds a little bit grim but who could complain when we had to visit such a beautiful environment?
This is the second time the department has run this field trip following the introduction of the new A2 specification a few years ago. Changes in the exam regulations have resulted in the demise of the traditional A level project which used to be submitted for assessment. Now fieldwork still takes place and a write up is undertaken, but candidates have to sit a written examination requiring them to evaluate their project as a whole – this is a far more challenging assessment. In effect, they have to complete a project but it remains ‘in scaffolding’: they need to know how to dissect, reconstruct and discuss different components of the fieldwork experience.
I am grateful to PDBG, DJW and AJM for accompanying this short residential trip at such a busy time of the term. The hard work is now just beginning for the sixth formers as they grapple with all the data they collected!
ICF
