1. UNIT 5: NON EXAMINED ASSESSMENT
PRESENTATION AUTUMN 2016

2. PREVIOUS GUIDANCE

3. JCQ GUIDANCE 1st September 2016

4. MAIN ISSUES The main issues for this session are: Teacher input
‘General’ and ‘Specific’ advice
Administration and forms
Independent learning
The nature of the exercise
Marking the exercise
Issues of concern: Q&A and FAQ
Considering two Unit 5 exemplars

5. Teacher Input 1
The JCQ Instructions allow teachers to support learners by:
teaching the skills of source evaluation (which is done in Unit 2 and 4);
developing an understanding of how and why interpretations are formed (Unit 2);
presenting a short introductory course on the demands and requirements of the NEA (see the website material);

6. Teacher Input 2 outlining the main historiographical issues – the
development of the historical debate;
providing access / links to resources – but NOT the
resources themselves;
supervising and reviewing the progress of the developing
work;
providing a ‘Formal Review’ of developing work;
providing ‘GENERAL ADVICE’.

7. Teacher Input - restrictions
There are a number of things that teachers are NOT allowed to do including:
 teach the CONTENT of the enquiry;
 provisionally assess / mark the essay and then allow the candidate to revise it;
 provide model answers or writing frames specific to the task (such as section headings);
 provide a detailed guide to the historiographical debate set in the enquiry
 provide “Specific Advice” – unless it is recorded and reflected in the marking of the essay.

8. General and Specific Advice 1
Teachers are allowed to give GENERAL ADVICE.
This is defined as advice referring to the criteria in the mark scheme.
This can be done in the FORMAL REVIEW that is required and recorded by the LEARNER.
If it is done outside the FORMAL REVIEW it does not need to be recorded.
“General Advice” can be provided as often as is appropriate to support the learner in understanding the criteria in the mark scheme.

9. Formal Review and the FORM
Teachers should provide a formal review of the developing exercise with the learner in order to focus the learner on the demands of the assessment objectives for History which are shown in the generic mark scheme in the Specification. This review has to be recorded by the learner on the Feedback Form (available on the WJEC website).

10. General and Specific Advice 2
Teachers can give SPECIFIC ADVICE.
Any advice which goes beyond pointing out the criteria in the mark scheme is considered “SPECIFIC ADVICE”.
“Specific Advice” (by which is meant advice to amend, change or improve any aspect of the response) MUST be recorded and taken into account in the final mark awarded to the essay.
Where “Specific Advice” is provided teachers MUST ensure that the work of the candidate is capped at the top of BAND 5 for each of the Assessment Objectives.
Teachers will need to ensure the LEARNER completes a “SPECIFIC ADVICE FORM” and will also have to authenticate and acknowledge the degree of advice given in the Authentication Form.

11. SPECIFIC ADVICE FORM
Teachers who provide specific advice should ensure that the LEARNER completes and submits this form.
A copy is in the pack and it can be downloaded from the WJEC website).

12. INDEPENDENT LEARNING
The NEA is based on the concept of INDEPENDENT LEARNING so the onus must be on the individual learner.
Students can work in groups to research the exercise but the essay must be individually and independently written.
Students can be supported and supervised but within the confines of the JCQ instructions and regulations.

13. THE DEVELOPING HISTORICAL DEBATE 1
The NEA is primarily an exercise about gauging how the value of the primary source material selected by the learner for the essay would have contributed to the developing historiographical debate.
The issue is not one of relaying the different views of historians but of showing an understanding that interpretations are provisional and can change over time.

14. THE DEVELOPING HISTORICAL DEBATE 2
It is not about summarising what different historians or schools of history had to say.
It is about why they said it in view of the range of factors that could explain the making of interpretations and how and why historiography develops, such as
 the availability of primary evidence,
 the political, social and economic (and other) factors influencing a school of history,
 the influence of other historians.

15. SOURCE ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
Learners should analyse and evaluate a variety and a range of primary source material in its historical context; a “range” is primary sources.
Learners should analyse and evaluate the value of the selected sources in forming an interpretation by a historian.
Learners should consider how the selected sources may have influenced the making of the interpretation and how such interpretations change over time for a number of reasons – including the availability of evidence.

16. USE OF EXTRACTS FROM HISTORIANS
Learners need to discuss the developing historiography about an issue. It therefore seems reasonable to allow learners to use extracts from historians where they contribute to that discussion – for example they may wish to use a key passage from one historian to show how a school of history was influenced by that historian or to support their argument and their judgement by reference to the work of a particular historian.
Learners do not need to provided extracts but where they do we strongly recommend that the use of extracts from historians is limited in number to 2 to 4.

17. WORD LIMIT RECOMMENDATION
The learners should aim to complete the exercise in about 3000 to 4000 of their own words – excluding sources, extracts, references, attributions and brief footnotes.
Teachers marking the exercise should ensure that overlong responses are restricted to Band 5 marks because they would not meet the criteria for Band 6 which demands that essays are “coherent, lucid, concise and well - constructed”.

18. LOG BOOK
Learners are expected to keep a record of the work as it develops including any notes, drafts and other materials.
To ensure this task is kept manageable we have provided a “log book” that is ample for our needs.
A copy is in the pack – and available from the website.

19. AUTHENTICATION
The authentication and submission of exercises for the moderation process will remain largely as it was. There is a revised form to allow for the LEARNER and TEACHER to acknowledge “Specific Advice”
A copy is in the pack – and available from the website.

20. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
A copy is in the pack – and is available from the website.
HOWEVER – anything pressing we can attempt to answer now.

21. EXEMPLAR 1
'The circumstances of the War were mainly responsible for the Holocaust.' How valid is this assessment of the Holocaust?
Discuss these key issues, then consider what can be done to improve the essay
The structure of the essay
The use of the sources
The use of the extracts
The quality and purpose of the source evaluation comments
The quality of the discussion of the actual question set
The quality of the discussion of the developing historical debate

22. EXEMPLAR 2
Historians disagree about the causes of the September Massacres of How far do you agree that fear of the approaching Prussian army was the main cause of the September Massacres?
The structure of the essay
The use of the sources
The quality and purpose of the source evaluation comments
The quality of the discussion of the actual question set
The quality of the discussion of the developing historical debate

23. SANCTIONS Penalties for breaking the regulations
If your work is submitted and it is discovered that you have broken the regulations, one of the following penalties will be applied:
§ the piece of work will be awarded zero marks;
§ you will be disqualified from that component for the examination series in question;
§ you will be disqualified from the whole subject for that examination series;
§ you will be disqualified from all subjects and barred from entering again for a period of time.
Your awarding body will decide which penalty is appropriate.
REMEMBER – IT’S YOUR QUALIFICATION SO IT NEEDS TO BE YOUR OWN WORK