Introduction

As anticipated the exam Boards such as Edexcel and AQA have published their “advance information” changes to assessment content for the 2022 exams including GCSE. If you recall, the purpose is to offset the difficulties pupils have endured due to the Covid disruptions. The indication is this is just for 2022.

I myself would have kept the content pretty much the same but made the questions easier by making them more on-syllabus, and less obtuse and wordy; but anyway we now have the Boards’ pretty specific topic list of what will or won’t be assessed, and I have taken a quick look at my specialities for Edexcel Maths and AQA Triple and Combined Science (see also web links at the end of the article which cover all subjects). I am sure teachers will be explaining these to pupils and parents alike, but here is my immediate take, initially on Higher.

Towards the end of this document, I also include a little on grade boundaries, formulae sheets and Mock exams and finish with some overall conclusions and take-aways. Also I have included an update on topic-targeted mocks I’ve created.

But let’s start with what is in (the “main focus areas”) and what is out.

Maths Edexcel

For Higher Pearson Edexcel Maths, the amount of content reduction is very low, so most topics are still in there – about 90 topics are listed as “main focus areas” i.e. are “in”. It looks like a few difficult ones like Quadratic Sequence, Completing the Square, Congruence, Volume of cone and sphere, Proofs, and Iteration are excluded from assessment now.

Sometimes there is some ambiguity: compound interest is mentioned in the formula sheet but not in the list of included assessed topics so perhaps will be needed for growth, decay, depreciation; while for Angles the easier parallel line topic seems excluded while the more difficult polygon and circle theorem topics are included.  

Mostly the topic list is precise enough to revise from but not so specific so as to tell you the question – this is as it should be.  But sometimes the description is so specific that you can almost anticipate the question – such as capture recapture, and equation of a tangent to a circle.  

Overall the Maths changes are fair. About 90% of topics remain included. Any exclusions are spread fairly evenly across the main headings of Algebra, Geometry etc.

Ideally (like science below) a list of exclusions (as well as inclusions) would have been stated by Pearson, but hopefully my pointers above will help and no doubt teachers will firm up on these in due course. The implied exclusions will reduce revision time slightly, but note the preamble does ask teachers to teach the full content anyway.  

Science AQA

For AQA science the picture is different from Edexcel Maths; from modest exclusions for Chemistry to almost the opposite for Biology i.e. very few Biology inclusions (Bizarre, I know!). Let me explain.

First Triple. For Chemistry the content at first sight seems to remain largely untouched. There are only two minor “not to be assessed” exclusions listed – nanoparticles and (strangely considering their importance) greenhouse gases.

There are a large number of topic headings listed as “main focus areas of assessment” such as Periodic Table (section 4.1.2). So far so good.

But then you think, what about 4.1.1?   This is the all-important atomic and electronic structure section – which helps you understand 4.1.2 Periodic table – yet is not listed in the inclusions. Similarly, section 4.8 is not mentioned at all – Chemical analyses such as Chromatography and Flame tests – and yet the core Practical involving Flame tests IS included.

(And although I have not looked at Foundation in detail, strangely there are MORE listed topics in Foundation than Higher; so while atomic structure is not listed in Higher, it is included in Foundation. My take on that is this: in Higher there won’t be a specific question on, for example, atomic structure; but pupils would be advised to learn it anyway because it informs so many other parts of the syllabus from Periodic table onwards. I wonder if the Examiners have thought the communication of this through! I think maybe teachers will agree with me and err on the side of caution and continue to teach fundamental topics like this anyway)

I think there is some clarification needed on what needs to be revised. In the preamble to the lists (for all Sciences) the Board indicates that topics not specifically listed as “in assessment” may still be included in “low tariff or linked questions” which confirms my view that pupils should still revise most of the syllabus to be on the safe side.  

On balance I think the list of Chemistry “in topics” does indeed help and is sometimes very specific , like section 4.10.4 (Haber process/NPK fertilisers – so there’s almost certainly a question on this- and it links to another inclusion on Reversible reactions) ; although sometimes less specific (like 4.4.3 Electrolysis). I think they are trying to pinpoint the particular questions likely to be asked.  For all the sciences the devil may be in the detail: the specific numbered subsections may sometimes give the game away.  Myself and teachers will no doubt be trying to second guess these questions!

Note that for Chemistry and all Sciences the Board emphasise that the type of question will not change and the general scientific methods including maths skills and practical experiment interpretation are still needed. The specific core practical list (a bit reduced ) is well pinpointed and I strongly recommend pupils revise the short videos available on these; high chance of specific questions on these practicals.

 For Physics the list of inclusions is narrowed down considerably to essentially Particle Model, Energy, Forces, Momentum, Pressure, Waves and Space.

And unlike Chemistry above, the list of “exclusions from assessment”  is very long and specific. So out go most of Electricity, most or all of Radioactivity and Atomic Structure, and Magnetism altogether. And yet there is some ambiguity to resolve. Section 4.2.4 energy transfer is included and this includes Power, Current and Voltage i.e. electrics; and yet the basics of that, namely amps, potential and circuits from 4.2.1 to 4.2.3 are specifically excluded.

Some of these exclusions are topics which have been a staple for pupils at school since Year 7 and before and it seems actually unfair on pupils to exclude the basics of electricity and magnetism which for some would have been easier than let’s say Space. I suppose you can’t have it both ways: since broad education is meant to be more important per se than the exams themselves, in a sense it does not matter if they are examined on a topic. On the other hand, to “waste” five years work with just a few month’s notice may annoy many pupils, who having already finished the topic by now and would be quite happy to be examined upon them.  

For Biology triple, like Physics there are considerable reductions; the inclusions are narrowed down to Cell Structure, tissues, organ systems, diseases, antibodies, nervous systems, hormones, reproduction, parts of ecosystem.

There are a long list of exclusions, for instance the whole of staples like Evolution won’t be assessed. And again there are ambiguities: nothing from the large section on Section 4 Bioenergetics is included; and yet only a small part (4.4.2.2 Taking Exercise) is specifically excluded. Bioenergetics describes the core biology fundamentals of Photosynthesis and Respiration and pupils have learned these no doubt from year 7 and they have featured in almost every past paper. To not test pupils on this seems perverse.  But since very little has been specifically excluded from section 4, should pupils after all revise it anyway? My take is that there won’t be a specific question on section 4 Bioenergetics, but it would be prudent to still revise as it infuses the remainder of the syllabus and there may be a “linked” or low tariff” question on this core topic.

Similarly, 4.5.2 Nervous System is a main focus area, but from it 4.5.1 (structure function), 4.5.2 (brain) and 4.5.3 (eye) are excluded. This is useful as it leaves only 4.5.4 (temperature), implying a specific question. But it would be unwise to ignore the introductory 4.5.1 as it informs 4.5.4.

The list of required Biology practicals, as for other sciences, is reduced but still very specific. So the staple Quadrat and Mass of Potato chips practicals are included as ever and the fact they have survived points very clearly to a question this year (as almost every year) and their video should be watched, understood and learned.

In Combined Science (Higher) the picture is similar as for Triple;

Combined Chemistry lists several very specific inclusions, similar Included content to Triple Chemistry,  and almost zero exclusions mentioned.  

For Combined Physics a focus on Energy and particles as with Triple, but this time including Radiation and Motor Effect and EM Waves (so Combined has more extensive content than Triple!) And again ambiguity: series and parallel circuits are excluded as an assessment topic, yet the required practical on these is Included. Similarly 6.7.2 the Motor Effect – which has its roots in magnetic fields –   is included, yet 6.7.1 the basics of magnetism is excluded.

For Combined Biology, a very short specific list of inclusions and very long list of exclusions. The list of inclusions is slightly different to Triple, for instance Photosynthesis is included.

Discussion on science lists.

There is some ambiguity to be resolved, by the AQA Board or perhaps by teachers. If something is neither included in assessment, nor specifically excluded from assessment, should it still be revised, to be safe, in case “linked or low tariff” questions arise? I think in some cases a topic can be eliminated altogether, but in others it would pay to revise just in case; so some detailed analysis will be required to make that call. If the Exam Boards’ “exclusion lists” are taken too literally, some precious revision may be missed which in fact may contribute to “linked” questions.

For English, if a set book is excluded that presumably can safely be put aside. But for chemistry, if “atomic structure” is not to be assessed, then it would be a mistake to simply not revise it, because it informs so much of the surviving other topics.  

Grade Boundaries
The Boards have indicated that boundaries will be set somewhere between normal, and the last two years.

Mock exams
Many schools have already penciled in exams for after half term in late February 2022. The dilemma for teachers is, shall we complete the syllabus testing as normal to encourage a full learning experience; or shall we adjust them to exclude the “not being assessed” topics, in order to avoid wasted revision time? No doubt teachers will be crawling through the fine detail of today’s lists, just like I have done above!

Formula sheets
For Physics, as before the formulae are extensive. For Maths, intriguingly, some of the few formulae which were given last time are not this time (for spheres and cones) confirming their probable absence from assessment. While formulae like quadratic formulae and sin and cosine rule are included now, indicating their probable inclusion in assessment.

    
In conclusion

The Boards have rightly kept their promise to publish by February 7^th

The timing of the announcement seems about right; earlier, and some topics would not have been taught at all; later and some revision time would have been wasted.

The Exam Boards in their announcements and preambles have stressed they still want as much of the content to be taught and revised as possible. But with their list of exclusions, inevitably the precious, finite teaching and revision time will not be devoted to topics on the “not to be assessed”  lists.  This is useful , as long as care is taken when dropping topics.  

Maths is relatively untouched compared to the sciences and revision should still cover around 90% of topics. The basics are all still there and the exclusions are often niche standalones.  

Chemistry has very few specific exclusions, and a broad list of main inclusions, but gaps in this list indicate some additional topics will not be assessed.

Physics and Biology have long lists of exclusions and short lists of inclusions. The topics have been considerably reduced.  In my opinion reduced too much – some fundamentals have been eliminated.    

But for the Sciences the sub-section numbers listed from the specification which do survive as “included” can often give very specific pointers to the content of the question

A key phrase in the Sciences preamble is “Topics not explicitly given in any (main focus) list may (still nevertheless) appear in low tariff questions or via ‘linked’ questions, (but) topics not assessed (at all) either directly or through ‘linked’ content have been listed as “not to be assessed”.

Hence there is some ambiguity to be resolved in Science in terms of what topics to revise – there are three categories: first, about 70% are essential to revise; and then (15%) topics not listed as key focus areas, yet are fundamentals so may crop up in linked or low tariff questions, and so should probably be revised anyway; and finally (15%) those definitely excluded from assessment – only these can be truly de-prioritised.   

The type of science question is not altered i.e. could still include unusual applications, maths calculations, and practicals: the core practicals listed are very specific and may indicate precise questions – so have high revision priority.

 
I think the above lists will be communicated and ambiguities resolved for pupils in the coming weeks. If any parent or pupils have questions please don’t hesitate to ask your teachers, or myself as I believe I can help.  

Appendices:

Pearson Edexcel web link to changes in 2022 assessment

AQA web link to changes in 2022 assessment

Update March 7th 2022

I have created Mock exams featuring two or more questions on every one of the Paper 1 , 2 and 3 Higher and Foundation maths Pearson Edexcel inclusion lists. Their specific topic list for each paper is very useful, for instance: in Higher Maths the highly niche topic of Capture Recapture appears only in paper 2 and likewise Frequency Polygon only Paper 3, and a quick refresh just before those exam dates would pay dividends.

I also created topic targeted Mocks for AQA Triple and, separately Combined science, and together with Maths these proved very useful to pupils in their actual Mocks especially as I added my own explanatory notes over and above the sometimes rather bare official mark schemes. I also managed to get some of the very latest exam Board questions in too.

I have also begun to research the 2022 topic lists for the specialist qualifications like Further Maths, iGCSE, and OCR FSMQ and also the Edexcel Sciences.

What to expect in 11 plus entry exams

I have just completed some Maths tutoring for two excellent students hoping to join a grammar or independent school in South West London.  Their approach was exemplary, their Maths was already well in advance of Year 6, and they wanted to get even better, being prepared to work very hard in lessons and at home. One full practice paper was not enough for homework, they coped with two a week.  Their parents hoped for a free or reduced fees place, but if not I have no doubt they would try to find a way to sacrifice to pay fees.

With the recent news about possible expansion of grammar schools, it made me think about what would happen if my two students did, or didn’t, make the grammar schools, and also how the various entry exams compared to each other, and to traditional year 6 SATs standards.  In other words, what should pupils expect in their exam?  Let’s start with this.

The entrance exam

My focus was upon my local South West London schools, 10 fee paying private independent schools and 8 free, state, selective grammar schools.  I drew broad conclusions about the latest exam processes, likely to be reasonably applicable outside London too. The first thing to say is that in these 18 Schools, it is very difficult to find free sample papers or even sample questions on their websites.  This is to avoid advantaged children “buying” their entrance through expensive “teaching to the test” tuition.  However, for some of the Surrey schools typical common entrance papers can be purchased, some schools just outside this area do publish sample papers, and of course national publishers like CGP and Bond make practice papers available.

So you can piece together what the typical test will look like.  Maths rather than English is my speciality so here are some of features of the typical Maths entrance paper.

The number of questions will be between 25 and 50, students have 45 minutes to 75 minutes to complete, so at 1.5 to 2 minutes each these are short sharp questions.  But the complexity varies significantly from beginning to end, so you should expect to spend 30 seconds on the easy ones and perhaps 3 minutes on the difficult ones. The ability to work fast is almost as important as the ability to answer the question.  The paper typically divides, in order of questions, into what I’ll call the four quartiles of difficulty.   Remember that the higher the reputation of the school, the higher the demand for places, the higher proportion of questions in quartiles 3 and 4, as follows:

1^st quartile  – simple KS2 topics
Number : Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (always without calculator)
Fractions, percent and decimals, number lines
2^nd quartile – tricky KS2 topics
Number and measurement: clock times, square and prime numbers, ratios, units of measure
Algebra: graph coordinates, sequences, simple algebra expressions,
Geometry:, Angles along straight lines, at a point and in triangles, areas and perimeters of regular shapes, recognise 2D and 3D shapes, simple translation and reflections.
Data : Mean (average),Tables, Pictograms, Bar Charts, Pie Charts, Line graphs
Problems: Inverse Logic problems such as “what number did I start with”
3^rd quartile – still KS2 but highly developed problems
Number:  Factor pairs, place list of fractions and decimals in ascending order
Algebra: Solving linear equations, Create equations from areas and perimeters, including odd shapes;  substitution of numbers in equations
Geometry: Combination of angles rules in one problem, Nets, angles round a clock-face circle Rotations, Symmetry, Mirror (e.g. what would “WINTER SALE” be on a window’s other side
Problems: Speed x times = distance problems, Number reasoning, Railway timetables, Time-zones

4^th quartile – Beyond KS2 to KS3 and KS4 GCSE, and Puzzles
Number : Exchange rate conversions, Fibonacci sequence, Prime factor trees, Ratio problems such as cake recipe; HCF and LCM; powers.
Algebra: simultaneous equations created from e.g. prices of burgers and soft drinks, Multiply double brackets using grid or FOIL
Geometry Parallel line angles, enlargements and scale factors, 3-D cuboids
Data: Venn diagrams, Probability, Mode, Range and Median
Problems: Sudoku-like magic number puzzles, Shapes representing operations, number machines Shortest route problems such as through the streets of New York; full page multi-paragraph problems featuring combination of numeric and verbal reason logic culminating in for example, which of five children got a present, which of five animal lives on which island?
This last, 4^th quartile frequently goes well beyond KS2 in two respects. Firstly, what I’ll call “puzzles” – which ironically will never resurface in secondary exams. Secondly, school syllabus content stretching well into KS3 Year 8 and 9 even in rare cases up to KS4 GCSE level (yes!). This last quartile contains the differentiator questions, the ones you have to be able to do to be really confident of gaining entry. When tutoring an 11 plus pupil followed by a GCSE pupil I sometimes find myself using the same sample questions.

Most of the school websites say, to be politically correct, that the questions should be suitable for any KS2 student (only one admitted that some questions may stretch to KS3). Parents should not be fooled. With demand outstripping supply by 4 or more to 1, the higher reputation schools do throw in the puzzles and year 7-11 level questions to identify the brightest pupils.

How many exams?

The table below shows, for the 8 grammar schools sampled in SW London, most have 2 stages, although the Sutton set start with the common SET test. The 10 independents all have just one stage except St Pauls, which starts with the common ISBE test, and most have an interview to confirm selection. Most schools feature Maths, English and either a separate verbal reasoning test or similar questions within English. What is noticeable is that Non Verbal Reasoning is becoming quite rare now (thank goodness – awfully difficult to teach!)

Grammars – the pros and cons.

Through the lens of my two students, if they started Year 7 even in the best of the local state schools, they would be so far ahead that they would, to be honest, be bored and held back. Like many bright children they need the challenge. The supply of free grammar schools is limited. At many of our local grammars the ratio of applicants to places is 4 to 1 and at some even higher, where queues around the block form at the start of exam day. (Some now phase exams through the day to avoid this).  In business, if supply is limited and demand is high, you increase prices or create more capacity – in this case by creating more grammar schools, because prices are fixed at zero.

However the downside is of course that if the brightest pupils are creamed off from state schools, the overall standard must surely fall. This is detrimental to the remaining pupils, who lose the chance to learn from the approach and abilities of high achieving pupils, and dispiriting for teachers who enjoy challenging them and getting a positive can-do response. Some teachers would surely jump ship. Some Headteachers have said this would recreate “secondary moderns”.

One compromise – which one of our local state schools already employs – is to offer a limited number of exam-selective places, while mainly offering free places for local pupils.  The question then is, do you sprinkle the selected pupils among the classes, or “set” from the start.  The problem with the first approach is that schools are constrained by the national curriculum which prescribes certain content for certain years, so the brighter pupils would be constrained by the pace of the slowest.  The alternative is to “Set” from year 7 and effectively teach the top set Year 8 or 9 level content from age 11, and take all GCSE’s  (not just Maths) a year early.  This “grammar stream” approach is advocated by former UCAS Chief Executive Mary Curnock Cook Or go further (as my old school used to do) and identify the brightest year 7 pupils and to remove them at year end from Year 8 and place them straight into Year 9 (we were called “removes”).

Is tutoring needed?
As noted above, the questions definitely stretch beyond standard KS2 (whatever schools say). The question is, how do you get access to, and practice these.  In theory, purchase of Bond or CGP practice books can do the trick, but the risk is that the pupil will miss the personal explanation and without homework being set, may not practice enough, and even these excellent publications don’t include the outrageously tricky questions which do crop up.  Note also that while common entrance papers like SET the Selective Eligibility Test can be purchased, frequently these are only for Stage 1 permission to sit the really challenging Stage 2 papers which are not formally available. So structured learning, and exam tips are needed over and above school provision. Parents might provide this but many would struggle with the vital end of paper questions. Extra tutoring is your insurance policy (but not a guarantee) and this can come in several forms, including private one to one,  or exam centre cramming.     

What is tutoring providing?

What you are trying to do is this: First make sure the basics of KS2 are in place. Second, introduce the pupil to a selection of KS3 topics which may crop up. Third, help the pupil work at speed. Fourth, teach exam techniques. Finally set a sufficient quantity and quality of challenging tasks from which gradual improvement instils confidence – the “more I practice the luckier I get”.  What is difficult to teach is the natural mathematical abilities such as puzzle solving and spatial awareness, and my guess is that is why such puzzles are included – there may be disadvantaged pupils who cannot afford tutoring yet have that innate mathematical ability which money can’t buy.

In conclusion

The 11 plus is highly challenging. A good KS2 performance – an 11 plus “pass” – will probably not be enough to get through. There are many pupils and parents willing to take up that challenge, to achieve that extra level of excellence. Schools, the State and Tutors all have a part to play in meeting that demand.

News that Chinease Maths techniques are to be introduced to English schools needs some explanation and examination.

Mastery

Initially to be piloted in around half of our primary schools, the technique involves learning techniques more by rote,  asking one child to answer a question, then asking the remainder of children to repeat the answer. The class does not move on until all the class has “got it”. The brighter children avoid being held back because they have a role in leading the other children with the first answer.   There are some similarities with Kumon, namely keep practising by repetition until “mastery” of a topic is achieved to an advanced level, but differences too: Chinese Maths emphasises the role of the respected teacher at the front of class, Kumon relies more on self learning through worksheets.

Chinsese children themselves are believed to be 2-3 years ahead by the time they move to Year 11; so 16 year olds in China are already at the same level of maths as an 18 year old A level student in the UK.

There is a view that culturally some British pupils are not ready for this and our cultural diversity and child centred participation doesn’t sit easily with chanting and learning by rote which is common and part of the educational ethos in China. The benefits are not at all questioned.

Chinese Maths versus English real world approach

More important I believe is this. The direction in Maths and Science in England is to introduce more “real world” relevance to exam questions, not just at GCSE KS4 but also at earlier KS3 and KS2 as well.

So while introducing a “back to basics” learning approach in Maths is very good, not least because we are slipping down the international educational league tables, I wonder if joined up thinking is taking place in Government in terms of the following two factors:

If teaching methods move in the direction of focusing upon  purely numerical excellence, and yet examiners insist on setting real world applied questions where the maths technique is merely a small means to an end, do we risk the recent Biology GCSE “drunken rat” exam problem ? By this I mean that the children aim to learn the syllabus and technical methods to the best of their ability, and they put a lot of effort into mastering the knowledge and technique required in the syllabus, but meanwhile the examiners smother the questions in “real-world” unfathomable words and situations.  So the child learns the techniques but can’t do the exam questions because they haven’t been schooled in the methods of deciphering them, or applying the technical knwledge they have acquired.

An example in Maths itself is the 2015 GCSE question that went viral. The question involved two techniques rarely seen together: algebra, and probability. One can imagine pupils achieving high levels in these two topics individually using Chinese techniques of practising lots of examples, but being unbable to piece together the required jigsaw which requires a different sort of skill altogether.

Mile long and centimeter deep

One other phrase associated with Chinese Maths is interesting: their criticism of the British Maths syallabus is that it is a “mile long but a centimetre deep”.   There is something in this.  For GCSE Maths there are five basic topics such as Number and Algebra but within those there are many sub-topics making around 80 in all. One wonders if all of these are necessary, for instance frequency density histograms are beloved by specification setters but in practice are never used by businesses. Could some topics be left out allowing time for in-depth understanding of the core?

But we are where we are: my philosophy as a tutor is to “teach to the test”, whether GCSE exams or earlier end-term tests. Because that’s what parents want. And the last thing a child wants is to open an exam paper and find there are topics they don’t even recognise. So you have to teach the whole syallabus, not just the mathematic principles but the ability to understand and answer increasingly inscrutable questions.

Measuring success

In summary there will almost certainly be benefits and we need somehow to catch up on global competitors. An intangible benefit may be a cultural change, to make Maths excellence expected rather than optional. But ultimately, the acid test is this: will the programme lead to better GCSE results, either higher marks, or the same marks at a younger age? This may depend on whether the new techniques are compatible with the direction of Maths exam question designers. Sound learning of fundamentals is essential and surely must be improved – so we have to start somewhere; but it may be only the first base-camp stage in achieving the summit of maths mastery. We may not be able to judge success for half a decade.

Big data is a term used increasingly to describe the use of large amounts of data gathered electronically to determine insights otherwise lost in the detail. It is often characterised as the 3 V’s, Volume ( e.g. terrabytes); Variety (e.g. social media insights as well as surveys) and Velocity (fast data transfer and processing). A famous early example was use of location-specific Google searches on flu medicine to predict and track the spread of a flu virus through America quicker than conventional methids.

How can this principle help revision? Well, a subset of Big Data is simply “more data than usual” – big data light to coin a phrase – and I have done this with Maths past papers. Not just answers and methods are available on line for all past papers – that is well known – but also examiners’ comments are available question by question.

Initially I have looked in detail at 4 past papers, 100 questions, and captured the comments from each, 130 in all, for which the examiners highlighted common causes of lost marks from tens of thousands of entries. Then I grouped them and tallied them GCSE style in a frequency table and chart as seen left. This sheds light on general areas for revision, with (lack of) “basic maths skills” ferquently bemoaned by examiners, as well as subtle tips such as “read the question very carefully and make sure you show working”.

Then, further I picked out twenty very specific examples of errors that seemed to occur – this time syallabus technical content rather than functional categories above – and wrote and illustrated a list of “20 things examiners do and don’t like to see”.  A typical one is shown. I recently took some examiner marking training and I can assure you this is true. If a question asks you to “express a number as a product of its prime factors”  then merely listing them, with commas, will lose you a mark, if the “times” sign is missed out. Even if the numbers are riight as above.

I have put these and other tips together into an Easter/Summer Term special lesson covering:
– reminder of key basic maths skills, especially the ones that get overlooked
– exam technique :  start, during and end of exam
– problem solving techniques for difficult, wordy, end of paper high mark questions
– active revision methods
– the twenty things examiners do and don’t want to see.

With half time biscuits covering the Jack Black “school of rock” Math video.

Another phrase used in the Big Data field is “wisdom of the crowds”.  This is being applied superbly by the excellent on-line Maths tutor “MrBartonMaths” (he is also a real teacher). One of the blog pages he runs is “Diagnostic Questions – Guess the Misconception” where students are invited on-line to answer a multiple choice question and give their reason (a typical weekly question is shown). Typically around a thousand students vote (hence the “crowd”) and reveal what errors are often being made (in the example A is correct of course, C was the most common error). The misconceptions are both the students’ errors, and tutors’ sometimes incorrect expectations of what errors might be most frequent.

A lot of data is available out there on-line – the key is to process and present it in the best way to understand and hence help students.