Forums
/ Subjects / Business studies

Edexcel GCSE Business Studies

Last post 05/02/12 at 15:42 by l0vaduck, 10 replies
Post started by gabs1973 on 06/01/12 at 21:00

Rate this topic

All Topics
Select colour:
  • gabs1973 avatar
    Offline
    1
    Posted by: gabs1973 06/01/2012 at 21:00
    Reply
    Joined on 08/06/2004
    Posts 5

    Hi - Can anyone help. We currently offer BTEC Business Studies and are having to change to GCSE due to the recent changes. I will be offering GCSE Business Studies - Edexcel. I am also considering offering BTEC Business Studies for the lower level students although this will be a huge amount of work starting 2 new courses at the same time. BTEC syllabus is changing considerably.  My question is does anyone currently do Edexcel GCSE Business Studies and how do yoiur lower level students get on with it?  Any advice greatly appreciated. Thankyou!
  • glynmanton avatar
    Offline
    2
    Posted by: glynmanton 10/01/2012 at 22:23
    Reply
    Joined on 23/04/2007
    Posts 140
    Great course for students lower levels can engage with y10 exam this CA is VERY tough for FFT d.e,f grades - (old foundation type students) Worth looking at OCR as they run CA with case study
  • cb700 avatar
    Offline
    3
    Posted by: cb700 11/01/2012 at 21:42
    Reply
    Joined on 16/11/2005
    Posts 150
    I think it is quite a tough gcse too. My d and e students find the y11 exam with longer ended questions a challenge.
  • l0vaduck avatar
    Offline
    4
    Posted by: l0vaduck 20/01/2012 at 21:34
    Reply
    Joined on 18/09/2004
    Posts 755
    I agree with the above. Last year's unit 3 was a nightmare just in terms of terminology. When I went to the introductory training we were led to believe that they were reinvigorating the course by relying less heavily on dry subjects and terminology and much more on understanding concepts. I have found the reverse to be true, particularly in terminology, where in unit 1 for example there is always a 5 mark question based purely on definitions. In unit 3 they talke about "favourable credit terms" for example - surely not high in the readability stakes. The controlled assessment is very very difficult to score highly on if you're not a higher order thinker - students who would in the past have scraped a C in coursework only achieved Es and Fs in controlled assessment.
  • stingfan1000 avatar
    Offline
    5
    Posted by: stingfan1000 01/02/2012 at 23:42
    Reply
    Joined on 16/04/2010
    Posts 6
    Well, for an alternative view - we really like it.  We have mixed ability classes and do the Unit 1 multiple choice test at the end of Year 10.  90% of our students achieved A*-C on this, and we found this was a great motivator for the weaker students who have effectively 'banked' 25% of their GCSE.  The Controlled Assessment we really like as well - 5 investigative questions - they choose one.  I like this because it a) gives them a structure and b) they can choose an area they particularly enjoyed/liked. The key thing is we don't direct them in choice - up to them - and this motivated them in terms of ownership, which incidentally is what the exam board like!  They do it - not the teacher!  The kids really enjoyed their investigation, and we just 'facilitated'.  We get them to do a practice one in the summer term to get a feel for what they have to do - and mark it.  Then they do the real one from End Sept to beginning Dec...homework based around research.  We follow 'the rules' to the book - they can only use what they bring from their homework research, computers are locked and accessed only in lesson time (for their CA area), and if they don't work/do the research - then that's their problem.... and we emphasised this. It seemed to work - as most 'got motivated' to deliver - otherwise they ended up sitting there for the lesson staring at a blank screen, while everybody else beavered away! The end result was a range of grades which matched the ability levels we had - and was justified in our dept report - but most achieved their target grade or were motivated enough to go beyond it through ownership. We were worried about the Unit 3 exam, but found that the CA investigation helped them a lot in terms of the longer questions requiring analyis/evaluation/judgement.  51% got a A on the paper. Overall 72% A*-C which was above our predicted, and 26% A's. Exam board feedback on our CA was excellent, so we seem to be 'doing it right' (so far!) We also purchased 2 books (for dept use) from Edexcel which is a 'Support' book to help the weaker students with the Unit 3 exam - identifying what the examiner is looking for and the types of questions (set as homework), and an Extension book for the high flyers (used for homework) - seems to work.  I think the key thing is ownership of the CA - it becomes their project/research - and so they enjoy it more. Hope that helps.
  • going grey quickly avatar
    Offline
    6
    Posted by: going grey quickly 02/02/2012 at 08:09
    Reply
    Joined on 07/05/2008
    Posts 138

    From what I have read though about the changes for 2014 doesn't it mean that all exams have got to be taken at the end of year 11 instead of sitting unit 1 in year 10?
  • stingfan1000 avatar
    Offline
    7
    Posted by: stingfan1000 02/02/2012 at 10:11
    Reply
    Joined on 16/04/2010
    Posts 6

    Yes - the linear route - however, the Unit 1 exam is relatively 'easy' and straightforward- and by the time they get to the end of Y11 it should seem like very basic theory for the majority...

  • going grey quickly avatar
    Offline
    8
    Posted by: going grey quickly 02/02/2012 at 13:44
    Reply
    Joined on 07/05/2008
    Posts 138

    thanks - I would prefer to stick with BTEC but need to stay aware of what is going on with the GCSE incase SLT decide that is what I have got to offer!
  • Totally80s avatar
    Offline
    9
    Posted by: Totally80s 02/02/2012 at 22:35
    Reply
    Joined on 14/02/2007
    Posts 58

    stingfan1000:
    We get them to do a practice one in the summer term to get a feel for what they have to do - and mark it.  Then they do the real one from End Sept to beginning Dec...homework based around research.  We follow 'the rules' to the book - they can only use what they bring from their homework research, computers are locked and accessed only in lesson time (for their CA area), and if they don't work/do the research - then that's their problem.... and we emphasised this.
     

     

    Hmm... Edexcel CA is 6 hours research & 3 hours write-up. Homework research from end Sept to Dec...surely this is a lot more that the prescribed 6 hours?
  • bizent avatar
    Offline
    10
    Posted by: bizent 03/02/2012 at 16:54
    Reply
    Joined on 30/09/2005
    Posts 2,702
    Totally80s:

    stingfan1000:
    We get them to do a practice one in the summer term to get a feel for what they have to do - and mark it.  Then they do the real one from End Sept to beginning Dec...homework based around research.  We follow 'the rules' to the book - they can only use what they bring from their homework research, computers are locked and accessed only in lesson time (for their CA area), and if they don't work/do the research - then that's their problem.... and we emphasised this.
     

     

    Hmm... Edexcel CA is 6 hours research & 3 hours write-up. Homework research from end Sept to Dec...surely this is a lot more that the prescribed 6 hours?

    Out of curiosity...has anyone been "checked up on" when doing the CA? In terms of sticking to th time etc ?
Back to top

Sign up – it’s free!

  • Don’t miss out on the latest jobs
  • Connect and share with friends
  • Download thousands of resources
  • Chat in the forums