1. Qualifications Update:
Geography

2. Developing qualifications
Progression
More open and flexible requirements
Assessment which supports learning
Refreshed and relevant contexts for learning
Personalisation and choice
Robust and credible

3. Relationship between CfE and SCQF Levels
Continues to 12 ≈
SCQF
Levels 4 4
CfE
Levels 3 3 2 2 1 1
early
years

4. National 5 Specimen Question Paper Key points
Processing and gathering techniques taken out of Standard Grade question paper and into the assignment
Geography skills may be sampled in any section of the question paper
Added Value is captured in an assignment at National 4 in the Added Value Unit and by a question paper and a Coursework assignment at National 5
These provides opportunities for personalisation and choice as well as challenge and application

5. National 5 Specimen Question Paper Key points
Taking the best of Standard Grade and Intermediate 2…
Some topics will be new to both Standard Grade and Intermediate 2, such as climate change
Weather systems and synoptic charts will be new to centres used to delivering Intermediate 2
Topics such as limestone and coastal scenery, and environmental hazards and health, will be new to centres used to delivering Standard Grade
In the Physical Environments section of the question paper, learners will always have the choice of answering either questions on upland glaciated landscapes and coasts or on limestone scenery and river valleys
In some years there may be two different Ordnance Survey map extracts on which questions may be based

6. Unit Structure National 3 National 4 National 5
Geography: Physical Environments
Geography: Human Environments
Geography: Global Issues
Added Value Unit: Assignment

7. New Quality Assurance arrangements
Will cover new National 1 to National 5 from 2013/14
New arrangements will promote shared understanding of national standards through a collaborative and partnership approach
New ‘Nominee’ role - provides a pool of nationally trained experts
Increased verification in the first 3 years, then an approach based on information gathered
Verification in Nov/Dec, Feb and Apr/May - allows for early identification of issues and support/guidance to be given

8. Unit Assessment Support Packs - key messages
Are available on the SQA Secure Website, are confidential documents and should be treated as such and held securely
Use one of three approaches to generating evidence:
Unit by Unit approach
Combined approach
Portfolio approach
 Assessors may use the assessments provided in UASPs
as they are
to adapt
to develop your own assessments
They will be made available in Word format for this purpose
Unit Assessment Support packages replace NABs. They are example assessments – a blueprint / springboard which you can use as they are and/ or adapt to your learners and contexts studied. They build on excellent assessment practice in the broad general education and illustrate valid and reliable assessments which use a variety of ways of gathering evidence…remember that whatever the way of gathering evidence, the assessment standards remain unchanged and must be met…
Package 1 is a Unit by Unit approach, package 2 will illustrate a combined approach and package 3 a portfolio approach to assessing and gathering evidence.
Unit Assessment Support – the first packages were published on an SQA secure electronic website at the end of October 2012.
Packs 2 and 3 will be published in February 2013 and April 2013 respectively. These are confidential documents and should be treated as such and held in a secure environment.
Teachers and lecturers may use the assessments provided in Unit Assessment Support Packs as they are, adapt/modify them, and/or use them to develop their own assessments. They have been made available in Word format for this purpose.
Centres may also develop their own Unit assessments and have them prior verified.
N5 Specimen Question Papers will be published on the main SQA website in February 2013 and N5 Specimen Coursework will be published in April 2013.
N4 Added Value Assessment Support will be published on the main website ? in April 2013.

9. Unit Assessment Support Packs - key messages
Valid from August 2013
encourage professional judgement
allow assessors to chose appropriate contexts and forms of evidence
support, motivate and challenge learners
 Each pack provides details of
a broad based task
type of evidence to be gathered
how this is to be judged against assessment standards an example of a Candidate Assessment and how it should be assessed
Most important aspect for SQA is that standards are met and that all evidence is authentically the candidate’s own work

10. Unit Assessment Support Packs - key messages
Assessment approaches should support and be consistent with learning and teaching approaches and the needs of individual candidates
Assessment judgements are made on a pass fail basis
Contexts may be changed to suit or be made more relevant to candidates, but must of the same level of demand and difficulty
Where assessment is by observation or oral questioning, evidence should include assessor comments that show clearly the basis on which assessment judgments have been made
UAS packs also include examples of recording documentation: assessors may adapt these to suit local needs and approaches

11. Assessment Support Schedule 2012/13
Oct 12 to Mar 13
N3 to N5 Unit Assessment Support (Package 1)
Feb 13
N3 to N5 Unit Assessment Support (Package 2)
N5 Specimen Question Paper
Apr 13
N3 to N5 Unit Assessment Support (Package 3)
N5 Specimen Coursework
N4 Added Value Assessment Support

12. Geography Unit Assessment National 3 to National 5

13. Unit assessment
Flexible and open Assessment Standards and Evidence Requirements in Units
Greater range of techniques and methodologies for assessment – encouraged through Unit assessment support packages
Assessments can be designed to provide evidence across more than one outcome or Unit – combined assessments
More opportunities to gather naturally occurring evidence – assessment as part of learning and teaching

14. Unit Assessment Support packages – purpose
Assessment support packages will be provided which you can use to:
Assess your candidates
Adapt for your own assessment programmes
Help you develop your own assessments

15. Unit Assessment Support packages – key features
Valid from August 2013
Designed to encourage professional judgement
Provide broad-based tasks – allow assessors to choose appropriate context and forms of evidence
Show range of approaches to generating assessment evidence
Give information on the type of evidence which could be gathered and how this is to be judged against Assessment Standards

16. Unit assessment support packages - approaches
Unit by Unit approach – discrete assessment tasks for each Unit
Package 2
Combined approach – groups Outcomes and Assessment Standards from different Units
Package 3
Portfolio approach – gathering evidence assessment standard by assessment standard

17. Assessment Package 1 Physical Environments Human Environments
Global Issues
You can use the illustrative examples provided and adapt these to suit the contexts that your learners have studied or the kind of approach that would suit them best N3
Responses to questions
Mapping skills
Rivers and valleys
Visual product
Research skills
UK and Brazil: population and land use
Oral presentation
Use of numerical and graphical information
Climate change N4
Glaciated uplands
Population and land use
Health: Cholera N5
Coastal landscapes
UK and India: population, traffic and land use
Environmental hazards: earthquakes and volcanoes

18. Assessment Package 1
Although a range of approaches to gathering evidence for Unit assessment have been illustrated:
the standard applied is the same irrespective of the approach taken
it is the geographical skills, knowledge and understanding which are being assessed – do not inflate the demands of the Unit
there should be consistency in conditions across different techniques
all approaches should be manageable for learners and centres

19. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Overview of assessment
States purpose of assessment
Gives description of assessment task
Indicates flexibility of task and opportunities for adaptation
Suggests prior learning
Suggests approaches to generating evidence

20. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Assessment conditions
Candidates should have sufficient time to complete the task
Level of teacher/lecturer support should be appropriate for level but evidence must be the candidate's own work
When group work is used –evidence of individual achievement is required

21. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Evidence to be gathered
Sufficient for QA purposes but not burdensome
Practical approaches to retaining evidence e.g. candidate responses/product, assessor checklists, supplementary material

22. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Teacher prompts and questioning may be used to:
Confirm evidence is candidate’s own work
For clarification/confirmation of standard being met
To supplement oral/visual/written presentation if necessary

23. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Judging evidence
Standards need to be consistently applied, irrespective of the approach taken to generating evidence
General principles and specific exemplification given
Candidates may provide evidence of meeting the standard outwith the specific prompt – this should be credited

24. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Reassessment
SQA policy continues to apply
Only need to reassess specific Outcomes or assessment standards not yet met

25. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Recording documentation
Exemplars given
Centres should adapt, as required to meet their own needs

26. Key points from Unit Assessment Support packs
Assessment for candidates - task
Illustrative only
Centres encouraged to adapt to their own contexts

27. Workshop 1 Task 1 Use the materials provided:
Physical Environments: National 3, 4 and 5
Human Environments: National 4
Global Issues: National 5
In small groups of 2-3, discuss
The assessment tasks illustrated
Approaches to generating evidence
Making judgements
How could you use, adapt or model the Unit Assessment materials to support you in your own centres?

28. Geography Added Value Assessments: - National 5 Course Assessment - National 4 Added Value Unit

29. Adding Value – National 4, National 5
Each Course at National 4 and National 5 includes assessment of Added Value
For National 4, the added value is in an Added Value Unit - not graded
For National 5, the added value is in the Course Assessment - graded A - D (as at present)
Question Paper
Assignment

30. Added Value Makes the Course more than the sum of its parts
Builds on current Course assessment and Group Award approaches
Defined as breadth, challenge and/or application as outlined in Building the Curriculum 5
May involve accumulation, assimilation, integration and/or application of skills, knowledge and understanding
Uses one or two of 7 defined assessment methods
Added value – In new National 4 Courses, the Added Value Unit selects from one or more of the other Units in the Course. In National 5 Courses, added value assessment samples across the other Units in the Course – it must not duplicate the assessment of the other Units in the Course but “adds” to this. Added value therefore, is the difference between achieving the Units in a Course and the Course itself.
Added value – assessment of added value builds on current practice in National Courses and also approaches used in Group Awards such as HNCs/HNDs. Also Baccalaureates.
Definition of added value - added value is defined as breadth, challenge and/or application. It may provide the challenge of more complexity and/or the application of skills in less familiar contexts. Its use may vary from Course to Course.
Added value may involve - eg accumulation, assimilation, integration and/or application of skills , knowledge and understanding drawn from the other Units in the Course on a sample basis (National 5 Courses) or selected from one or more of the other Units in the Course (National 4 Courses)
Agreed assessment methods - added value assessment is based on one (or sometimes two) of the seven agreed assessment listed earlier - or list here?

31. Controlled Assessment
Where the assessment method is not a question paper, SQA has introduced the concept of controlled assessment to ensure fairness and reliability
3 stages of assessment: Setting, Conducting, Marking the assessment
Each will have a defined level of control: SQA-led activity, Shared responsibility between SQA and centres, Centre-led
Subject-specific decisions, but mostly SQA-led activity in initial years

32. National 5 – Course Assessment
Two components
Question Paper (75%)
Assignment (25%)
Broad parity between skills and knowledge and understanding across the whole course assessment
Externally assessed
Graded A-D

33. National 5 – Question Paper
Draws on topics, approaches and formats familiar from Standard Grade Credit and Intermediate 2
Out of 60 marks
Greater emphasis on knowledge and understanding than skills (34 marks: 16 marks)
Range of marks – 3, 4, 5 & 6
Three sections each worth approximately 20 marks: Physical Environments; Human Environments; Global Issues
Section C has six options
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

34. National 5 – Question Paper
Knowledge and Understanding Questions
New topics such as climate change
Weather systems and synoptic charts (not currently part of Intermediate 2)
Limestone and coastal scenery and environmental hazards and health (not currently part of Standard Grade)
In Physical Environments section, candidates will always have the choice of either glaciated uplands or coastal landscapes and upland limestone or rivers and valleys
In some years there may be two different OS map extracts
More choice for candidates

35. National 5 – Question Paper
Skills questions
Processing and gathering techniques taken out of Standard grade paper and assessed in assignment
Geography skills may be assessed in any section of the paper and this will change from year to year
Mapping skills
Use of numerical and graphical information

36. National 5 – Assignment
Opportunity for learner personalisation and choice
Out of 20 marks
Externally assessed
Controlled assessment in up to 1 hour
Greater emphasis on skills than knowledge and understanding (14 marks: 6 marks)

37. National 5 – Assignment Template for ‘write-up’ of Assignment Report
Use of specified resources in assessment
Brief available on-line – does not change from year to year
Generic marking instructions available on-line

40. National 4 Added Value Unit Assignment
Opportunity for learner personalisation and choice
Flexibility in how the learner presents findings
Internally assessed by centres and externally quality assured by SQA
Conducted under some supervision and control

41. National 4 Added Value Unit Assignment
Support materials produced by SQA to provide advice and guidance on:
the degree of support which may be provided
assessment conditions
nature and amount of evidence to be retained for quality assurance purposes
making assessment judgements

42. Relationship between National 4 and National 5 Assignment
Designed to provide progression and articulation
Aim to support learners moving between levels and provide flexibility for centres

43. Relationship between National 4 and National 5 Assignment
No automatic ‘fall-back’ to level below
Necessary to show attainment of assessment standards of N4 Added Value Unit;
met assessment standards of AVU at N4
retain evidence
subject to quality assurance

44. Workshop 2 Task 2 Use the materials provided:
Further information on Course assessment at N5
Assignment read across document
In small groups of 2-3, discuss
National 4 Added Value Unit
National 5 Course Assessment
Question Paper
Assignment
Relationship between the N4 AVU Assignment and the N5 Course work component - Assignment