1. In-Service Teacher Training
Assessment in IGCSE Business Studies 0450
Session 1: Introduction to the Syllabus

2. Welcome Introductions Background Aim of training
1. It is important that you introduce yourself and outline your experience. The delegates should then introduce themselves and outline their experience. (It is often a good idea to get the delegates to write this information down as it is unlikely you will remember it - unless you already know the delegates, in which case you may wish to skip this slide.)
2. Explain the background to the training, such as:
who requested it;
where the training is from (a pack acquired from CIE for self
delivery, adapted for your own needs);
why they are taking part.
3. Explain that the aim of the training is to give teachers a greater understanding of the assessment process so that they will feel in a better position to prepare their students for the examination. By improving teachers’ understanding of the process they will be able to guide and prepare students to help ensure that candidate performance is maximised.

3. Session 1 looks at: the structure of the syllabus
assessment objectives
the difference between formative and summative assessment
Teachers should feel confident that they are fully familiar with the requirements of the syllabus before they start teaching the course. The skills to be tested are outlined in the assessment objectives. Also the difference between formative assessment carried out to inform the learning process and summative assessment to assess the stage reached by the student is also to be considered.

4. Structure of the syllabus
Syllabus aims
Assessment objectives
Assessment structure
Curriculum content
Grade descriptions
Go through the different sections of the syllabus carefully to be sure it is understood.
Aims set out what should be developed during the course.
Assessment objectives set out what is to be tested.
Assessment structure outlines the form the examination process will take.
Curriculum content sets out what is to be taught during the course.
Grade descriptions set out the standard required for grades A, C and F.

5. Assessment objectives (1)
Knowledge and understanding
Application
Discuss each of these Assessment Objectives in detail.
A. Knowledge and understanding
… means the candidate will know terms, concepts, facts and conventions related to the Business Studies syllabus. The candidate will be able to describe them accurately. Understanding of these facts, concepts, etc. will be demonstrated in answer to questions; the candidate will clearly show that they have not just learned definitions but really understand what the concepts mean by using them appropriately or describing them in detail. They will also show that they know and understand theories and techniques used in business studies and again will demonstrate this by describing them or explaining them in answer to questions.
B. Application
Candidates will be able to apply this knowledge to particular business problems or issues. They will recognise which terms, concepts, facts or conventions apply to a particular business problem or situation and answer the question from the point of view of the business itself. The candidate will have an understanding of how the problem, issues, etc. relate to the particular business given in a scenario.

6. Assessment objectives (2)
Analysis
Evaluation
C. Analysis
Candidates should be able to select, order, analyse, and interpret information. This should be in written (text), numerical and graphical forms. The candidate could therefore be given a newspaper article or a description of a business, a table of figures or financial information, or a graph or chart. From the information provided they would be expected to interpret what it is telling you about, for example, the business. Appropriate techniques should be used, for example, data in a table could be graphed and then commented upon as to what it shows.
D. Evaluation
… is where arguments are developed with justification, explanations outlined with the reasons given, and students show that they know the consequences for something and understand the implications of a course of action. Where different sides of an argument are outlined then conclusions are drawn. Decisions are taken with justifications, recommendations may be made based on an outline of a business problem or issue, or judgements made with reasons given.

7. Examiners’ objectives
To be consistent
To be fair
To work in the interests of candidates
It is worth emphasising that Examiners are trying to be fair in their assessment of the ability of candidates and are not trying to ‘catch them out’.
Examiners aim to:
be consistent across all the candidates in a session and across sessions;
be fair: there are no ‘Examiners’ tricks’;
work in the interests of candidates; for example, where possible they give answers the benefit of the doubt.

8. IGCSE Business Studies (without coursework)
Specification grid (from Syllabus)
Assessment objective
A Knowledge and understanding
B Application
C Analysis
D Evaluation
Total marks
Weighting
Paper Paper 2
30 20
20 30
50% 50%

9. IGCSE Business Studies (without coursework) Scheme of Assessment
Weighting of papers Weighting
Paper (1 hour 45 minutes) 50%
Short answer questions and
structured/data response questions.
Paper (1 hour 45 minutes) %
Business problem or situation with questions arising from it.

10. Formative assessment (1)
What is it?
Why do you need it?
What is it?
Formative assessment is the assessment of students as the course progresses.
Why do you need it?
Start by discussing why it is necessary to carry out formative assessment. Reasons include:
1. To check knowledge and understanding of topics covered;
2. To diagnose if there are gaps in students’ understanding;
3. To assess how the students’ skills are developing and where there
are weaknesses;
4. To evaluate the effectiveness of your teaching methods and
amend as necessary;
5. To identify the spread of ability of your students and to amend
lessons to address their individual needs;
6. To make use of self and peer assessment as and where appropriate;
7. To build towards formal reporting required by the school.

11. Formative assessment (2)
How do you know if your students understand what you are teaching?
How do you assess students’ progress?
How do you know if your students understand your teaching?
Continue by discussing that a lesson structure should have an aim clearly set out at the start of the lesson. To know if you and your students have achieved that aim then you must have some sort of assessment built into the lesson plan. It can be as informal as a question and answer session.
How do you assess students’ progress?
Ask the delegates to write all the other forms of assessment they use. Discuss their effectiveness in terms of identifying if they fulfil all the needs of formative assessment as outlined above.
[The assessments that are likely to be considered are: question/answer, observation, marking of homework, short tests (multiple choice/short answer/longer answer), self and peer assessment of presentations, group work or role play. ]
ACTIVITY 1.10
Where self -and peer- assessment of presentations are used, some sort of feedback form will need to be developed. This could be an additional activity for this part of the session. An example is provided (Handout 1.10), together with a Presentation Summary Help Sheet for students.

12. Giving feedback to students (1)
Importance of feedback
Feedback methods and meanings
Importance of feedback
After assessing students’ progress it is important to feed back so that students know how they are progressing and can try to improve.
Feedback methods and meanings
ACTIVITY 1.11 Ask delegates to suggest different feedback methods. Draw a grid on the board for delegates to copy down, or use Handout 1.11, so that advantages and disadvantages can be recorded for each of the feedback methods suggested, such as marks, grades, comments. After delegates have put down their own thoughts collate all comments onto the board and discuss together.
Issues to consider include:
Relative meaning of marks - e.g. for a difficult piece of work which is testing analysis and evaluation it may be good for a student to achieve 8/10. However, for a simple piece of work testing knowledge and simple recall then 8/10 may not be so good. Think about what 8/10 actually tells you, or grade B, or ‘Well done’.
Grade consistency - e.g. when you grade a piece of work, is it equivalent to the grade the student may achieve in the external examination?
[NOTES CONTINUE ON NEXT PAGE]

13. Giving feedback to students (2)
Importance of feedback
Feedback methods and meanings
Feedback methods and meanings contd.
Issues to consider:
Written comments on work can be motivating or demotivating. Discuss with the delegates what they think about written comments and how to get a balance between motivating students and giving constructive criticism.
Whether the feedback method meets the objectives for all abilities of students. Consider in particular the student who is less able or less motivated and would consistently get low marks if marks were used all the time.
Whether the feedback method adequately feeds back to students which of the different assessment objectives are developing well and which need to be developed further?
ACTIVITY 1.12
Finally after all the discussion with the group, either individually or in groups, delegates should draw up a marking/feedback guide for the department.

14. Closing comments Closing comments
Discuss with delegates that they should now be familiar with the syllabus and have started to consider how they will use this knowledge to enhance their teaching and assessment methods. Emphasise that teaching methods should develop the skills as outlined by the assessment objectives. E.g. teaching methods should develop the skills of application and formative assessment methods should assess the extent to which this skill has been developed.