For the last year I have been the EPQ Coordinator for 3 students studying for their AS. The EPQ, for those who don't know, is a qualification whose main purpose is to help students develop independent learning skills and study a subject that they enjoy or want to pursue in real depth.
The students develop time managements skills, research skills, the ability to synthesise and analyse the information they find, and reflect on the what they have learnt, where they have gone wrong and what they would do differently.
My students all did the dissertation. They all want to go to university and felt that this would be a good opportunity to develop the skills they would need there.
As much as it has been a learning curve for them - it has also been one for me.
For the first time I was solely responsible for ensuring that they were learning the skills necessary to complete the EPQ to the best of their abilities. I was the one advising, supporting, encouraging and now marking their work for submission to the exam board.
I had been involved in the EPQ in a previous post but only to deliver the research element to all the students. I never actually saw the end product. Seeing everything from start to finish has been an eye-opener and a worry! I must have done something right though because I have just started the whole process again with a new cohort and the number has doubled to 6!
We have started with the research element as that is the one I feel most comfortable with. We have looked at e-resources, catalogues, subject gateways (what happened to Pinakes! Hear hair being torn out during lesson when realisation that the site that was there a month ago had gone!), and a multitude of other resources. Each students has a mini-project to do by the end of term, of a 1000 words on various subjects of my choice.
I have decided to use my blog as an attempt to reflect on the EPQ - from my side. The students have to keep a log - so should I. Watch this space as I try to convey the horrors that is an ethics lesson, develop thinking skills, teach the finer points of literature reviews and much more. I would be grateful for any feedback or support that may be out there.
Will be interesting to follow your progress, I've had a lot more contact with year 9 students undertaking the HPQ (ie: EPQ Level 2) and last year had 34 of them doing it; the paperwork was a nightmare! This year I have a smaller cohort of 16 and also 5 EPQ students in year 12 that I will be delivering the taught element to. I see that you have set them "homework" ... I've never done this with my students, at least not anything that isn't directly related to their topics. What is your reasoning behind this?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! I found it was a useful way to take stock of each student as I don't know any of them and the school leaves me alone with this. I felt that it helped me to identify students strengths and weaknesses. It also helped them to get an idea of what undertaking a dissertation is like but also have a go at a mini activity log and a project proposal with time scales. They get a dry run. I found last year that one student took the decision to drop out at this stage as he realised that he was going to struggle with doing the full AS.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to find out about the hpq at some point as one department's thinking of doing this with a group anhave asked for my input on that.......
I am thinking of implementing an embedded course within the subjects that do EPQ next year. It will be a lot of work, but definitely worth establishing a research skills tradition within the school. I therefore also will be very interested to learn about your progeress and experience. Thank you!
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