Chronicle January 2021

33 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Bligh Henshilwood Which Pathways and Perspectives are you studying? Music and Music Technology, Sports Science, and Global Societies and Environments. Are the lessons different from your GCSE lessons? Yes very different. The way we are taught is a lot more collaborative and different ways of assessing us are used rather than just the normal written exams​– for example, debates, presentations and practicals. Give us a few examples of projects or topics you’ve enjoyed so far. I really enjoyed a debate around a Harkness table in Global Societies and Environments – we were discussing if and how the Anthropocene, the current geological age in which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment, has been a catastrophe. It was also great to produce music for The Crucible in Music Technology, and in Sports Science, I really enjoyed an investigation into how the heart responds to exercise.

Josh Davidson in a Drama Pathway lesson

Becky Drury Head of Sports Science

which is linked to Sports Science and the improvement of performance, but also their own applied experiences. Videos and the experiences of athletes and coaches, as well as media sources will be used to help illustrate the points and help bring the theories to life. Lessons will, when at all possible, be interactive, and involve class and group discussions, as well as independent research. Why do you think these courses are a step forward?

How does your approach to lesson planning differ for Pathways and Perspectives courses compared with GCSEs? Now that we are not constrained by the inflexibility of mark schemes we have certainly been able to be more creative with our planning and lesson tasks. There are increased opportunities to learn physiological and psychological concepts through practical activities. Playing sports and completing physical activity in order to relate and apply the theories, enhancing learning rather than being marked solely on how good you are at that sport, is a positive step forward educationally. What differences will pupils experience in Pathways and Perspectives lessons compared with GCSE lessons? Within this course pupils draw not only on the theoretical knowledge and research What do you hope pupils will take away from these new courses? The best answer to this is from the pupils themselves, here are some quotes from their self-reflection sheets: ‘My strength was my factual knowledge and the way I linked it back to the practical skill of jackaling. My self- management was also good as I organised my time and research in lessons and prep effectively.’

The opportunities to carry out experimental work brings out the science side of this subject.

It allows pupils to investigate and analyse the effects of the theories they have learnt using their own experiences. Pupils are

able to plan investigations, collect, present and analyse data, then use their knowledge to explain their results and evaluate their experiments in order to improve their research skills. The development of these skills better prepares them for Sixth Form studies and beyond. ‘I feel like my work was clearly presented and that I spoke well when explaining my analysis of movement. I used previous notes to help my research and I was able to do extra research to gain more knowledge. This allowed my replies to the questions to be clear and without pauses.’ ‘Next time I would analyse another rugby player in order to understand their signature movements, then watch a different sport to add variety.’