A Level Maths A: What can I expect from the “Enhancing your teaching” events?

A Level Maths A: What can I expect from the “Enhancing your teaching” events? 07 November 2022

Nathan Barker, A Level Maths presenter

Ever wondered what you would gain from attending a course for the subject you teach? OCR offers a range of course types, designed to support you both as you are getting familiar with the qualification and then on an ongoing basis during your teaching.

In this blog I’ll discuss our upcoming “Enhancing your teaching” events that I’ll be running over the next couple of months for A Level Maths A (H240).

Who prepares the material?

The “Enhancing your teaching” events are designed to cover issues raised in examiners’ reports or identified from the insight gained by the subject advisors from teachers. Authors, principal examiners, senior assessors and subject advisors all had an input into the preparation.

I will also have input, turning the set of useful hints and observations into an interesting presentation for delegates based on my experience as a current teacher of A Level Mathematics.

Regulations mean that anyone involved in the production of live assessment material (i.e. next year’s exam papers) are not allowed to deliver professional development courses related to those papers. I am not currently involved in the assessment of Maths A but have co-authored teacher resources for Cambridge University Press and I teach secondary mathematics in Jersey.

Supporting students progressing to A Level from GCSE

The step change between GCSE and A Level Maths is still a concern for some students, especially after the disruptions to teaching over the past couple of years. In this session I will look at the topics introduced in the GCSE specification and how these are developed at AS and A Level.

Teaching statistics using the pre-release large data set

The statistics strand of the reformed A Level Maths has a greater focus on authentic, real life data and the interpretation of results from statistical calculations. The large data set (LDS) provides an opportunity to gain familiarity with a specific data context so that exam questions can assess both the competence with statistical techniques and with using statistics to solve problems. In this session I will look at how knowledge of the LDS has been assessed and how you could make greater use of the pre-release for teaching the statistics content.

Ensuring the use of technology permeates the teaching and learning of Mathematics

There is an explicit requirement in the A Level Maths criteria that students should use technology in their course. In the exam this is limited to a calculator, so this session will look at where students would benefit from knowledge of the range of functions available on new calculators. I will also look at other software that could be used in class to support teaching and learning.

What other support is available?

Everything starts with the specification. OCR produces a range of support material (see the support highlights document), and also endorses a range of textbooks and teaching material from third party publishers.

Examiners’ reports give feedback on student performance on each paper. The Starting to teach events include marking exercises from the 2022 series and are designed to support both teachers new to the specification and those that have been teaching the specification for many years.

Subject advisors hold regular Q&A webinars, and we also run Teacher Networks each term for a more general discussion of A Level Maths.

Stay connected

The subject advisor team are getting started on the plans for next academic year. Contact the team at maths@ocr.org.uk to suggest any events you feel should be on offer to help you support your students.

If you have any questions about the current CPD programme, email the events team at cpd@ocr.org.uk, call 01223 553998 or tweet us @ocrexams. You can also sign up for email updates to receive information about resources and support.

About the author

Nathan obtained Chartered Teacher status in 2019 and currently works as the Lead Teacher of Secondary Mathematics in Jersey. Nathan has co-authored maths resources for Cambridge University Press and also worked on the Underground Mathematics project and with the Further Mathematics Support Programme.

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A Level Maths A – what CPD events are planned for 2022/23?