[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-623444-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-623444-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","gcse-science-virtual-communities-autumn-2021-welcome","GCSE science - Virtual communities - Autumn 2021 - Welcome","","Virtual communities Autumn 2021 welcome session outlines how to support GCSE science students in applying practical skills within unfamiliar exam contexts. It reviews prior evidence of student difficulty with practical investigations and stresses that practical marks requirements can remain challenging. The meeting focuses on progressing from “hands-on” to “minds-on” using Working scientifically criteria, identifying which criteria elements are physical versus conceptual, and proposing approaches to build confidence through varied experimental methods and generic exam-style questioning.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/gcse-science-virtual-communities-autumn-2021-welcome/623444/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/gcse-science-virtual-communities-autumn-2021-welcome/623444.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"dabgoudw","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-20",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why do students struggle with some GCSE practical questions?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Reports from 2018, 2019, and the limited 2020 series show students often struggle when practical investigation contexts are unfamiliar, even though the exam paper format is not changing for 2021 or 2022.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What does “hands-on” mean in practical investigations?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"“Hands-on” involves following a method correctly, manipulating apparatus safely and correctly, making and recording observations and results, and presenting data in an appropriate format.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What does the session recommend to help students reach “minds-on”?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It recommends using the Working scientifically criteria to develop students’ understanding of why methods and variables are used, sampling, sources of error, and how to choose appropriate methods so they can apply science to unfamiliar contexts.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},623444,1792502129,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,95,100,105,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":117,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":103,"preview_page_count":4},3985747860484,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","GCSE science:  \nVirtual communities  \nAutumn 2021   \nWelcome  \n2 Copyright © 2021 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.  \nToday’s agenda  \n• Supporting students in their application of practical skills in unfamiliar contexts.  \n• Updates and notices from the Relationship Manager.  \n• Materials you should have access to:  \no slides and Resources booklet  \no facilitation pack (this will be available after the session) .  \n3  \nCopyright © 2021 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.  \nReports from 2018, 2019 and the limited 2020 exam series showed that students often struggle with questions addressing practical investigations – especially when the context of the investigation is unfamiliar.  \nExam paper format and make up is not changing for 2021 or 2022 (further than that we can’t say), so the requirement for at least 15% of marks for practical (most of which in unfamiliar contexts) could be even more of an issue for students taking exams next year (and possibly 2023 and 2024) .  \nWhat can we do, with the limitations there have been and still are on opportunities for learning from varied practical work, to help students progress to confidence in dealing with such questions, and gain/regain/hone these skills?  \nFocus of today’s meeting  \n• What we mean by progressing from‘hands-on’ to ‘minds-on’ using the Working scientifically criteria.  \n• Helping widen student experience with the limited time you have:  \no experimental methods from GCSE exam papers  \no developing a framework to help students interrogate unfamiliar methods and investigations in exam questions to progress to ‘minds-on’.  \n4  \nCopyright © 2021 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.  \nWe’ll be looking at ideas you may have heard about if you attended this autumn’s CPD on student progression: hands‐on and minds‐on. It’s one of the approaches in Project Calibrate, which I’ll introduce later in the meeting.  \nWe’ll look at key aspects of the Working scientifically criteria that AQA assess in the practical‐based exam questions. Only part of these criteria cover the physical aspects of carrying out practical work.  \nAlthough students are back in school there still may not be time to do as much practical work as you would like.  \nThis meeting focuses on the variety of experimental methods and scenarios in the GCSE exam papers, which you could use to develop a develop a framework of generic questions to help students progress from ‘hands‐on’ to ‘minds‐on’ and give them confidence in tackling the unfamiliar practical situations presented to them in exams.  \nWhat do we mean by ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’?  \n• What do you understand by the phrases ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’ as aspects of practical investigations?  \n• Use the Working scientifically criteria to help (Resources booklet pages 4–5) .  \n5  \nCopyright © 2021 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.  \nFirst as a group, discuss what the phrases ‘hands‐on’ and‘minds‐on’ mean to you.  \nLooking at the Working scientifically 2 and 3 criteria from pages 4‐5 in the Resources booklet, discuss with colleagues which aspects of the criteria could be‘hands‐on’ and which‘minds‐on’  \nDifferences between ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’  \n• A student who has had the opportunity for ‘hands-on’ can:  \no follow a method correctly  \no manipulate apparatus correctly and safely  \no make and record observations and results  \no present data in an appropriate format.  \n• A student who has had the opportunity for ‘minds-on’ can also:  \no understand the reasons for using a particular method  \no understand what variables need to be manipulated, if any  \no understand why variables are being (or not being) manipulated  \no understand about sampling  \no understand about sources of error and how to minimise them  \no use their understanding to choose appropriate methods for different situations.  \n• That is, they can think like a scientist as well as carry out procedures.  \n6  \nCopyright © 2021 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.  ","cbCaivNdYtyQh2PR","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivNdYtyQh2PR","pdf",1230838,"English","# Today’s agenda\n# Focus of today’s meeting\n# What do we mean by ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’?\n## Differences between ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’\n## Advantages of using a ‘minds-on’ approach","[{\"question\":\"Why do students struggle with some GCSE practical questions?\",\"answer\":\"Reports from 2018, 2019, and the limited 2020 series show students often struggle when practical investigation contexts are unfamiliar, even though the exam paper format is not changing for 2021 or 2022.\"},{\"question\":\"What does “hands-on” mean in practical investigations?\",\"answer\":\"“Hands-on” involves following a method correctly, manipulating apparatus safely and correctly, making and recording observations and results, and presenting data in an appropriate format.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the session recommend to help students reach “minds-on”?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends using the Working scientifically criteria to develop students’ understanding of why methods and variables are used, sampling, sources of error, and how to choose appropriate methods so they can apply science to unfamiliar contexts.\"}]","GCSE science - Virtual communities - Autumn 2021 - Welcome | PDF",1792468441]