Coimisiún na Scrúduithe Stáit State Examinations Commission LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED 2005 GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENT TASK

Transcription

1 Coimisiún na Scrúduithe Stáit State Examinations Commission LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED 2005 GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENT TASK CHIEF EXAMINER S REPORT Page 1 of 13

2 CONTENTS 1. Introduction General Arrangements in Schools/Centres 3 2. Performance of Candidates 4 3. Analysis of Candidate Performance Range of Tasks Presented Examples of Good Practice Common Areas of Weakness in Tasks 6 4. Recommendations For Schools and Centres For Teachers For Candidates 9 Appendix 1 Outline of General Education Task 10 Appendix 2 Marking Criteria 12 Appendix 3 Range of Tasks Presented 13 Page 2 of 13

3 1. Introduction The General Education Task must be based in the General Education element of the Programme. An outline of this Task may be found in Appendix 1 to this Report. This Task was assessed between January 31 and February 4, General Arrangements in Schools/Centres The arrangements in schools were generally reported to be excellent. Usually, the room provided was suitable and a running order was available. Examiners experienced excellent cooperation from Principals and Co-ordinators. Where problems did arise, the most common were: Lack of a designated school/centre representative to meet the examiner Interview room too small or lacking a glass panelled door/window In some cases, centres are not able to provide the examiner with an exact number of candidates presenting on first telephone contact Form P2 not completed High levels of ambient noise Some schools/centres continue to organise work experience or other activities during assessment week. Page 3 of 13

4 2. Performance of Candidates 4320 candidates presented for assessment of this Task in The final, published breakdown of credits awarded may be seen in this table along with that for the years 2002 to 2004: Year Credits % % % Nr % Page 4 of 13

5 3. Analysis of Candidate Performance 3.1 Range of Tasks Presented The range and variety of tasks presented continues to grow and all assessment sheets LCA 30, 31 and 32 were used. In general, examiners felt that the standard of task presentation continues to improve. As in previous years, there were many investigative and event-based tasks. A listing of the range of Tasks presented may be found in Appendix Examples of Good Practice Examiners commented favourably on the continued high level of skills in use of Information and Communications Technologies evident in candidates work; this is especially true in Youthreach centres. The range and standard of skills overall was impressive including research, letter-writing, telephone usage and ability to perform at interview. Standards of skills in general continue to improve. Tasks of the highest calibre had a number of qualities: i. They set at least one clear, focused and achievable aim or objective ii. The topic had been selected personally by the candidate and was thus identified with clearly iii. In group tasks, the number of individuals was kept to a minimum and each had a clearly-defined personal role Page 5 of 13

6 iv. Research methods were planned and appropriate. Internet use was tightly focused and information obtained was relevant v. Tasks in general were neat and well presented vi. Diary-keeping was a feature of many tasks vii. Questionnaires were relevant and well-focused in the main viii. Many candidates have difficulty in analysing their own work, though examiners reported that this situation is improving overall. 3.3 Common Areas of Weakness in Tasks In a number of group tasks, candidates had not established individual objectives Research was often limited. Uncritical printouts from the Web were frequent When staging an event, there is often an incomplete description of individual roles. Vital evidence eg. Results often has to be teased out at the interview Many tasks are too teacher-driven and as a result lack any touch of individuality or personal engagement Research methods were sometimes not adequately explained and discussed Page 6 of 13

7 Self-evaluation was in some instances very weak or even absent Conclusions were sometimes absent or poorly presented Cross-curricular integration was often weak. Lists of Irish or French words were often simply put in, with no clear connection to the task The course/subject in which the task is anchored is often not clear. Page 7 of 13

8 4 Recommendations 4.1 For Schools or Centres A person should be designated to liaise with the examiner during her/his time in the school or centre The interview room should have adequate heating, lighting, space for up to three persons and if possible a window or glass panelled-door Completed Forms P2 and/or P20 should be available to the Examiner upon arrival together with an established running-order of candidates for interview All candidates should be prepared and ready for the initial group meeting with the Examiner All tasks and accompanying documentation should be ready for the Examiner upon her/his arrival. All feasible steps should be taken to minimise ambient noise levels during the assessment process No work experience placements or any other activities should be organised during the assessment period Page 8 of 13

9 4.2 For Teachers The teacher anchoring the General Education task should ensure that she/he is thoroughly familiar with all relevant documentation from the State Examinations Commission [requirements/regulations, marking criteria, etc]. She/he should ensure also that all candidates are made aware of the above. Insofar as it is practicable, candidates should be encouraged to select their own topic for the task. In a group task situation, each individual candidate should have a clear understanding and appreciation of her/his personal role Use of the internet for research purposes should be planned and focused In tasks involving the making of a product, a clear and comprehensive report is an essential element of the task. Examiners reported once again a growing difficulty for candidates presenting for interview who have an inadequate standard of spoken English. 4.3 For Candidates You should select for your task an issue or topic which interests you Familiarise yourself with the requirements and marking criteria for the task and ensure that you follow them all in your work Adopt a planned approach throughout the work Page 9 of 13

10 Appendix 1 Outline of General Education Task 1. Nature of the Task This task must be based in the General Education element of the Programme and display evidence of cross-curricular applications from courses within this and/or other elements. 2. Purpose of the Task The primary purpose of this task is to underpin a key educational principle of the programme namely integration. It is designed in order to enable the student to develop a stronger awareness of the beneficial and coherent links that exist between the concepts, skills, competencies, experiences, knowledge and understanding that they have developed or acquired from the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. 3. Choosing the Topic Students should be encouraged to select a topic which is relevant, manageable and in which they have an interest. 4. The Portfolio The portfolio constitutes a record of the experience of completing the General Education Task. It may include written, audio or video elements. As a guide, the written element should be no more that 1500 words in length, while any audio and/or video element should not exceed 5 minutes in duration. If the portfolio comprises written and audio or video elements, the number of Page 10 of 13

11 written words and the duration of audio or video must be appropriately balanced, e.g. 750 words and 2.5 minutes. 5. Assessment Each candidate must produce authentic evidence of having completed this task. This may be in the form of a finished artefact/product, or a record/log, which may include photographic or other evidence. An individual Report must be submitted. Each candidate must present for individual interview. This will involve a discussion of completing the task and will be of a minimum of five minutes duration of the twenty minutes allocated to assessing each student s task. Page 11 of 13

12 Appendix 2 Marking Criteria Three sets of marking criteria are available to examiners, as appropriate to the task presented. The relevant assessment forms are LCA 30, LCA 31 and LCA 32. Copies of these assessment forms may be obtained from the State Examinations Commission website at Page 12 of 13

13 Appendix 3 Range of Tasks Presented Investigation of the GAA Sporting tournaments for junior classes An investigation into kick-boxing Renovation of Outdoor Basketball Courts Learning to canoe Learning to jive Arts exhibition in school library Batik Producing mosaics Organising a class outing eg trip to an outdoor pursuits centre Organising a Christmas event for elderly local residents Organising a Christmas party for local primary school pupils Making Christmas cards / wind chimes / tree-stands A Greek evening French cultural coffee morning SVP coffee morning Animal care My Life on CD Local history studies A Window Display for the Wexford Opera Festival competition School decoration including the LCA classroom Producing a school newsletter Exhibition and coffee morning for school staff Study of workplace accidents Jump for Joy event in aid of Crumlin Childrens Hospital Study of Irish in the locality Turas chuig an Gaeltacht Individuality and Identity Self-portraits Drugs Smoking Page 13 of 13