Computer Science OCR A level H446 Spec. Simplifies teaching by adhering precisely to specification: Detailed, but concise coverage of each section. Great for home-learning & revision. Simple to use.

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A CPD webinar could be a one-stop shop for all your needs in improving your delivery and assessment of the NEA for H446. You will look at the mark scheme in detail and review how to apply it fairly and accurately to candidate work. Butatleastthistime,itstates(justlikeintheoldspec)thatthe"purpose"and"function"oftheALUistheknowledgethatcandidatesneedtoknow.Nowstudentsstandachanceinpassingtheirexams(whichwillbegreatlyimprovedifOCRlearnedhowtowriteexams). Here at OCR we’ve had lots of queries from centres in recent weeks about marking coursework, or non-exam assessment (NEA). For A Level Computer Science (H446), this means the programming project.

Ialsofoundpaper2abitharderthanpaper1atfirstbut,ifyoudoeverysinglealgorithmquestionoftheoldspecpapersyou'llbefine.AndIdomean everysingleone.AsifOCRdidn'ttorturestudentsenoughbywritingterribleexams,nowtheyhavetoconfuseusevenmorebywritingaterriblespecification! IfOCRcouldwritesuchaclearanddetailedspecbefore,whynotnow?Thenewlinearexamsystemisalreadytoughenoughandtomakemattersworse,somestudentsdon'tevenknowwhatcontenttheyhavetoknowfortheexam! Thanks,thereasonIstartedmakingtheseinthefirstplacewasduetotherebeingprettymuchnogoodresourcesavailableforthiscourse,atleastnotfreeones.Ithonestlyamazedmehowpoorthequalityofthetextbooksandotherresourceswere,especiallythesocalled"OCRendorsed"ones. Regarding that last point, the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) have recently released guidance, which makes it clear that all NEA must be marked in the same way as before the pandemic disruption. This is really important, as it will help ensure that all students’ work is marked to the same standards.

There are several resources that will help you have confidence in your application of the marking criteria for H446: Btw,forthepseudocodequestionsdoyouneedtohavesomepreviousprogrammingexperience?IdidalittleprogramminglastyearusingvisualbasicbutstruggledalotanddidnotunderstandathingasIwasatotalbeginnertoallthisstuff. Iimagineatthispointyouunderstandallthematerialandit'sjustamatterofretainingthatinformation.So,Iwouldrecommendjuststartmemorisingallthekeyterms/definitionsorwhateveryouwanttocallthemforthetheoreticalsideofthespec(whichismostlyassessedinPaper1).Essentially,youneedtogothrougheverysinglekeywordinthespecificationandlearnitinsideout. Ineedto"describethe FUNCTIONand PURPOSE"oftheALU.Nowthatmake'ssense,acandidatewillclearlybeabletodistinguishtheknowledgethatisrelevanttohimregardingtheALUandwhatisnot,theysimplyneedtoknowit'sfunctionandpurpose. Anyway,IthinkIjustneededtoventandletallthecontemptIhadforOCRbeforetheyreleasedthisguideout(don'tgetmewrong,Istillhatethem).

OCR AS and A Level Computer Science

Movingon,theveryfirstwordofthespecpointissomethingveryfamiliarinexams,itsays DESCRIBE.NowI'msurethatIdon'thavetotellyouthedifferencebetweenthecommandwordsstate,identify,define,describe,explainetc.soitwouldmakeperfectsenseforOCRtoclearlystatewhatknowledgeIneedregardingtheALU. What is meant by computational thinking (thinking abstractly, thinking ahead, thinking procedurally etc.)

Candidatesshouldbeableto:a.describethefunctionandpurposeofthe...andALU(arithmeticlogicunit)asindividualpartsofacomputer; Look,Iknowit'snicetoknowextrainformationaboutthecontentinthespec(especiallyifyouloveyoursubjectlikeme)butwhenitgetstothethosefinaldaysbeforetheexam,ITDOESN'TMATTER. So,thefirsttimeroundyoushouldjustfocusonthelogicofthequestions,notthesyntax.Justuseyournotesoryoucoulduse thisresourcewhichbasicallygivesexamplesandnotesoneachconstructinOCR'ssyntax. As the JCQ guidance also says, the 2022 grading process that takes place after marking, when the grade boundaries are set, will provide a safety net. So please don’t think that by marking your students’ work to pre-pandemic standards this year, you are in any way doing them an injustice. (For more on 2022 grading, please see this Ofqual article from September last year.)

What people say...

Obviously,you'llneedsometechnicalskillsinwritingcodeinHTML,CSS,JavaScript,SQL,LMCandofcoursepseudocodeamongstotherthings.Forthis,youactuallyneedtopracticebydoinglotsandlotsofquestions,noamountofmemoryworkwillcutit.There'sloadsofquestionsintheoldspecpapersthataredefinitelyworthatry. Candidatesneedtohaveanunderstandingofthepurposeandfunctionofthecorecomponentsofaprocessor.CandidatesneedtounderstandtheroleandcomponentsoftheALU. There'sglimpsesofclarityoftheoldspecinthenewonebuthonestly,Ithinkwhoeverwrotethiseitherdidn'tgetpaidenoughorisjustplainlazy.IcouldgoonandonbutIthinkyougetthepicture.

SEE!EvenOCRrealisedwhatatremendousfailuretheirspecificationwas.Lookattheextraordinary,thegreatlengthsitgoestoandthefamiliarwordingusedtoensureitisasclearaspossible.Sure,theydon'tusetheworddescribelikebeforeastheyprobablywanttoexpandthescopeofthespec,whichisfine. Withthatsaid,bothtextbookshavesomegreataspectsbutthePGonlineoneedgesitforme.IamcurrentlywritingatextbookandIfindbothofthemtohavedesirablefeaturesthatIplantoincludeinmyown. Toconclude,IwilljustlinktheASandAlevelspecificationsandtheASandAlevelsubjectcontentclarificationguideswhichIhighlyrecommendyouusetoknowwhataspectsofthecontentmentionedinthespecyouneedtoknow. Asforthepseudocodequestions,I'drecommenddoingallthequestionswithyournotesfirstifyouaren'tsureabouttheOCRsyntax.Obviously,youdon'thavetouseOCR'spseudocodebutIthinkit'sbestnottotakerisksandjustusetheirsanyway.Besides,it'snotthatcomplicatedanyway.A written paper assessing the application of the knowledge and understanding developed in component 01. OKFine,notmentioningthatlineinthenewspecistolerablebutwhatisnotishowOCRthinkit'soktojustwritealonglistofwordsandexpectstudentstoreadtheirmindsastowhattheiractualintentionswereinwritingthatvaguelist.