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It focuses on interpreting questions accurately, exam technique, and precise scientific language, including correct use of terminology and chemical formulae. It also addresses unfamiliar context (AO2), required practicals, working scientifically skills, maths in science (units, scales, significant figures, graphs), and guidance for achieving higher grades with resilience and consistent performance.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/gcse-science-key-messages-to-support-development/618967/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/gcse-science-key-messages-to-support-development/618967.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Logic","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation","2026-10-29","2026-10-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How can teachers help students tackle questions that use unfamiliar context (AO2)?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Help students identify which part of the specification the question targets and build secure understanding of the science rather than reliance on recall. Encourage students to explain science verbally to peers and use classroom exercises that prompt them to think for themselves.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What are the key challenges in required practicals noted in the session?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Common issues include incomplete understanding of the science underlying the practical, not knowing why each step is carried out, and unclear reasons for specific measurements and equipment. Students also struggle with vague terms such as “amount,” “fair,” and “results.”",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Which maths skills in science require extra focus according to the guidance?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Students need confidence with unit conversions, prefixes and powers of ten, percentages, significant figures, interpreting diagram scales and magnification, and handling anomalous results. The session also emphasizes correct graph techniques, reading axes scales for conversions, and understanding calculator notation relevant to significant figures.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},618967,1792502131,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1099513958762,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1000023916a998db790?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1784791008015729253","GCSE Science: Key messages to support development\nElise Reece\nSpring 2019\nWelcome\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n2\nOutline for the session\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\nThis session will explore some of the challenges teachers and pupils have faced while implementing the new GCSE courses. Some possible actions and resources will be discussed and delegates are asked to share any good practice they have used to address the challenges.\n3\nAreas of development: Tackling the questions\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\nReading and understanding the question\nExam technique\nUnderstanding command words – describe, explain compare, evaluate\n4\nPrecise use of language\nAvoid the word ‘amount’- use volume, mass and amount in moles, as appropriate\nIf using chemical formulae instead of words they need to be correct; H2O is incorrect\nSubject specific vocabulary for working scientifically\nUse of scientific terminology precisely eg energy, genes and characteristics, evaporation or gas escaping electrons and ions, charge and current, reference to bonds breaking unless applied to intermolecular bonds, temperature and heat\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n5\nUnfamiliar context: One part of AO2\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n6\nHow do you make students more confident at tackling these types of questions?\nbeing able to identify from the question what area of the specification the question is about\nhaving a secure understanding rather than recall of the science\nopportunities to verbally explain the science to their peers\nexercises in class to think for themselves.\nBrainstorm in departments examples of unfamiliar context your topic areas could cover to use in class.\nAreas of challenge: Required practicals\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\nLack understanding about the science underlying the practical's - model of osmosis cell and transects chemicals that make a salt and electrolysis acceleration and density\nDidn’t fully understand why they had carried out each step in the practical\nUnclear why they had taken specific measurements and the equipment needed to do this\nUse of vague terms such as ‘amount’, ‘fair’, ‘results’\n7\nAreas of challenge: Required practicals\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\nAreas of working scientifically in the context of the required practicals:\nrepeatable or its significance\nidentify control variables and other variables term ‘fair’ is always inadequate unless suitably qualified types of errors\nhow to improve accuracy - improves inaccuracy is \t\t insufficient for a type of experimental error, human error is insufficient.\n8\nReflection on practical work\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\nMethod - students understand why they are carrying out steps.\nRegular reinforcement of the key W/S terms:\nrepeatable and reproducible\naccurate, valid and precise\na control and control variables, dependent and independent variables.\nNeed to discuss improvements and types of errors for that specific practical.\nPracticals set in an ‘unfamiliar context’ − what is the underlying science.\nHow much time is allocated to required practicals?\n9\nAreas of challenge: Maths in Science\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\nUnit conversions eg g to kg, dm3 to cm3 were not well known\nUse of prefixes and powers of ten for order of magnitude\nPercentages eg percentage change was challenging\nSignificant figures\n10\nAreas of challenge: Maths in Science\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\nLook at scales and magnification used in diagrams\nLook for numbers in the diagrams that are needed in the calculations\nErrors with how to work with anomalous results\nStudents need to understand what a repeating symbol means on a calculator and what a pair means, eg:\t\t    and the significance of them when doing sig figs\n11\nAreas of challenge: Maths in Science\nCopyright © AQ","cbCaiaQnOGfYQXgU","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaQnOGfYQXgU","pptx",2768931,18,"English","# Welcome\n# Outline for the session\n# Areas of development: Tackling the questions\n## Reading and understanding the question\n## Exam technique\n## Understanding command words\n# Precise use of language\n# Unfamiliar context: One part of AO2\n# How do you make students more confident at tackling these types of questions?\n# Areas of challenge: Required practicals\n## Areas of working scientifically in the context of the required practicals\n# Reflection on practical work\n# Areas of challenge: Maths in Science\n## Guidance graphs\n# Reflection maths in science\n# Accessing the higher grades\n# How did we do?\n# Get in touch","[{\"question\":\"How can teachers help students tackle questions that use unfamiliar context (AO2)?\",\"answer\":\"Help students identify which part of the specification the question targets and build secure understanding of the science rather than reliance on recall. Encourage students to explain science verbally to peers and use classroom exercises that prompt them to think for themselves.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the key challenges in required practicals noted in the session?\",\"answer\":\"Common issues include incomplete understanding of the science underlying the practical, not knowing why each step is carried out, and unclear reasons for specific measurements and equipment. Students also struggle with vague terms such as “amount,” “fair,” and “results.”\"},{\"question\":\"Which maths skills in science require extra focus according to the guidance?\",\"answer\":\"Students need confidence with unit conversions, prefixes and powers of ten, percentages, significant figures, interpreting diagram scales and magnification, and handling anomalous results. The session also emphasizes correct graph techniques, reading axes scales for conversions, and understanding calculator notation relevant to significant figures.\"}]","GCSE Science - Key messages to support development | PPTX",1792462109,45]