1 of 14 Controlled assessment Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Disclaimer This is an example of a teaching aid to support learning in the classroom. It has been written by and is copyright of Sam Coulson, Assistant Head of Geography at William Farr C of E Comprehensive School, and is a resource she currently uses with her class. She has kindly agreed to share this resource as an example of good practice and in anticipation that other teachers will find this approach interesting and inspiring. AQA accepts no liability for the content of these materials.

2 of 14 Controlled assessment sections Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. There are two levels of ‘control’ Low control – pupils can talk and teacher can help. High control – exam conditions with no teacher help. There are five sections in controlled assessment: geographical understanding methodology data presentation data interpretation and conclusion evaluation.

3 of 14 Controlled assessment sections Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Your actual controlled assessment will last for 20 hours, this will be completed during normal school hours. There will be a trip to collect data, which will not form part of your 20 hours. Over the next few lessons, you will be completing a practice task to help you understand the process and to practice the skills required in order to succeed.

4 of 14 Controlled assessment Practice task Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

5 of 14 Lesson breakdown Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Lesso n SectionActivitiesHomework 1Geographical understanding and data collection Brief of controlled assessment task/ methods Data collection Annotate three maps for locational evidence Write up methodology table 2Data presentationBrief of how to create proportional circles Complete proportional circles 3Data presentationBrief of radar graphs and land use survey Complete radar graphs and land use survey Complete any outstanding data presentation 4Data interpretationDiscussion of how to analyse data Write up findings 5ConclusionComplete and further data interpretation Brief on and write up conclusion Complete any outstanding data interpretation and conclusion 6EvaluationBrief on how to write an evaluation Write up evaluation

6 of 14 Geographical understanding This section sets the background for your study. You will need to identify a key question – this is what you will be trying to answer during your investigation. Context – this is where you will discuss the background and suitability of the area for your chosen question. Key concepts – you will pick four or five key words and define them. These are geographical words that you will use throughout your investigation to help explain what you have found in response to your question. Locational evidence – this is a series of maps and annotations that fully describe the location of your study – all maps must have a scale and north arrow. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

7 of 14 Study of a local environment What will you be doing? Key question – is the quality of environment consistent throughout William Farr? Context - William Farr is a large, rural secondary school that has developed rapidly over the last 15 years to cater for the increasing number of pupils, from the rapidly expanding village of Welton and the surrounding area. It is categorised as an outstanding school and provides well for its pupils. I aim to investigate whether this is reflected in the provision of facilities and the overall quality of environment. Key Concepts – 1.Quality of environment – the qualities of the natural or man-made environment that cause satisfaction or dissatisfaction to the people living or visiting the area. 2.Maintenance – the work of keeping something in proper condition. 3.Improvement – the act of changing items (e.g. buildings) for the better. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

8 of 14 Locational evidence This is a series of maps and annotations that fully describe the location of your study. You should have at least three scales, national, regional and local – but this should include the actual area of study. All maps must have a scale and north arrow. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

9 of 14 Methodology This section shows how you conducted your study. Methods – for this practice task, we will be using three methods of data collection, environmental quality survey, noise levels and land use survey. Methodology table – you will write up your methods using the format below. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Method – what are you trying to test/prove? Description of method – how to do each method and important details of method – location, day/date, duration of method and timing. Why was this method necessary – why this information is useful? What is the importance of the data? Name your method – state whether it is individually planned or as a group (everyone did it) and whether it is primary or secondary data. You should outline exactly what you did so that it could be repeated using only your instructions, include how many locations or where you collected data, how long you collected it for, and how many people/places were involved and how you picked them. You should say why the data collection method will help to answer your question/hypothesis (include key concepts).

10 of 14 Environmental quality survey You will pick four areas to study, mark these on the map. Walk around each area and give judgements on the different factors from 0- 10, with 0 being negative and 10 being positive. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Factor Site Environmental factors LitterHeavy litter throughout the area Little or no litter at all BuildingsBuildings are in poor condition (damage/ graffiti) Buildings and area is in perfect condition PathwaysPathways are poorly maintained Pathways are well maintained Green spaceArea has no trees, grassy areas, flowers etc Greenery is evident throughout the area Access factors Food AreasNo availability to buy food/ drink Access to a wide variety of food and drink items Social/shared space No areas suitable for socialising Ample space and areas suitable for socialising ICTNo access to ICT Sufficient ICT available Advice/informatio n Limited sources of help or advice Wide range of information/advice available at all times

11 of 14 Noise levels You will pick four areas to study, mark these on the map. Use the data logger to measure the number of decibels at each location. Take two readings and then take an average. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Data collection point Reading 1TimeReading 2TimeAverage

12 of 14 Land use survey You will survey the whole area. Walk around the area and code the map according to the key. You will need to do both ground floor and first floor. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. CoreArts English Art Maths D&T Science Drama Music HumanitiesOther Geography Languages History Business R.E. P.E.

13 of 14 Effectiveness of methods While collecting your data, you should think about any problems and solutions there may be. Record these on the ‘effectiveness of data collection’ sheet. Noise Levels Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Problem with MethodHow might this affect accuracy of your results? How could you try to solve this problem? 1 2 3

14 of 14 Homework – due next lesson Now that you have collected your data, you will need to complete the methodology table in your practice task write up book. You will also need to complete the annotations for your locational evidence. Use the ‘How to…’ booklet to help you. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.