EDEXCEL EXTENDED

PROJECT QUALIFICATION

AT PARMITER’S SCHOOL

What is an EPQ?

• A large piece of work

• On a subject of the student’s choice

• Worth half an A’ Level

• Edexcel board

At Parmiter’s – usually around 30 Year 13 students

and last year 20 staff!

4 Types

Dissertation

Recommended - about 6000 words in all)

Abstract (about 200 words)

Introduction (about 800 words)

Research Review (about 1800 words)

Discussion (about 2700 words)

Conclusion (about 250 words)

Evaluation (about 250 words)

Bibliography

Investigation

e.g. scientific experiment or Field Study

Recommended about 5000 words in all

Abstract (about 100 words)

Introduction / context (about 600 words)

Research Review (about 1600 words)

Discussion / Analysis (about 2300 words)

Conclusion (about 200 words)

Evaluation (about 200 words)

Bibliography = List of References (no limit)

Artefact

e.g. vase, costume, model, book, website…etc.

Recommended about 1500 - 3000 words in all

Abstract (about 50 - 100 words)

Introduction (about 200 - 400 words)

Research Review (about 450 - 900 words)

Development (about 675 - 1350 words)

Conclusion (about 60 - 125 words)

Evaluation (about 60 - 125 words)

Bibliography = List of References (no limit)

Performance

Recommended about 3000 words in all

• Abstract (about 100 words)

• Introduction (about 400 words)

• Research Review (about 900 words)

• Development (about 1350 words)

• Conclusions (about 125 words)

• Evaluation (about 125 words)

• Bibliography = List of References

What does the student have to do?

Think of a title… First

Dissertation

Title = a question

on which the student has a view and on which there is plenty

of evidence both for and against to compare and weigh.

Should we re-nationalise the railways?

What is the greatest unsolved problem of maths?

Should smoking related diseases be covered by the NHS?

Field Study

An hypothesis

Garden ponds play a role in helping to maintain biodiversity in

a local area

(or does human intervention prevent this?)

An enquiry

Is summer school in the UK more beneficial to students than

summer school in Yugoslavia?

Performance

A commission

Edexcel example

'Make Dickens popular with a teenage audience'

A question

What are the performance techniques in early vocal music

seen through Handel’s Messiah?

Artefact

A question or a design brief

How does nature inspire Architecture?

Design a new visitor centre for the Hypercaust in St. Albans.

Write a novel for teenagers on mortality.

Then…

Prepare a Project Proposal Form

and meet with their Tutor Assessor & EPQ Administrator to get

it approved.

IMPORTANT

Students shouldn’t start any substantial work on researching

or writing their EPQ until their Project Proposal Form has been

signed off.

Project Proposal Form includes…

Objectives

What they want to do

What they want to find out

What skills they want to learn

Reasons

for choosing that project

Why the topic is important

Why the topic is important to them

Activities & timescales

Two Milestones

Set or agreed by Tutor- Assessor e.g.

Milestone 1 – between 6th- 10th October

Milestone 2 – between 3rd – 7th November

Meetings with Tutor Assessor to review progress at

the two agreed milestone points.

Then

Project Plan

Transfer their activities and timescales to a project plan (diary,

Edexcel sheet or Gantt Chart).

We recommend Gantt chart

Activity Log

Also

Keep an Activity Log recording their progress against the

project plan and their thinking about the project.

Create the Product

Produce their ‘product’ be it Dissertation, Investigation/ Field

Study, Artefact or Performance.

Write the structured Report

Performance or artefact reports will consist of:

•Introduction

•Research

•Development (what they did)

•Critical self-evaluation

Dissertations & investigations incorporate their main ‘product’

Exam Entry Deposit

e.g. 6th – 10th October

£40 deposit

Collected during lunchtime tutorial

on citation and referencing.

Draft Report

•To be handed in to Tutor-Assessor

by 17th November

•Followed by a meeting to discuss

Draft Report e.g. between 17th-

21st November

Final hand in

Monday 1st December

Marking by Tutor- Assessors

1st- 8th December

How is it marked?

There is a different marking grid for each type of project.

Each assesses how well four assessment objectives have

been met.

See marking grids

AO 1 Managed the Project

Evidence in the Project Proposal Form & Activity Log (with

project plan)

AO2 Used Resources

Secondary research and if appropriate their own primary

research (evidence in the Research Review section of the

Report and the Activity Log)

AO3 Developed and realised the

‘product’

Evidence in the product itself or photos of it and the

Discussion / Analysis or Development section of the Report.

AO4 Reviewed their own success

Evidence in the Evaluation section of the Report and the

Presentation.

Moderating by us in LRC

5th -18th December

Presentation

Students must make a ten minute presentation

telling their project story, reviewing their work and

being prepared to answer questions.

Presentations are around 9th, 10th & 11th December

just after marking.

Marking the Presentation Tutor assessor and one other witness assess it.

• Tutor Assessor - Oral Presentation Record Card • Is clearly and logically structured

• Is audible

• Visual aids & displayed items are relevant and helpful

• Is not cluttered with too much information

• Questions are answered calmly and confidently

• Good insight and subject knowledge is shown.

• Other witness - Observation Record Witness Statement • More evidence towards AO4 – Review

• Asking questions to draw it out.

Presentations immediately after school

over 2 evenings Students have a table in the Conference Centre on which to

display items relating to their project and their handouts.

Other EPQ students present at the same time.

The audience consists of tutor-assessors, other teachers,

students and parents(?) who walk round and look at the

displays, with students on hand to explain what the project is

about and answer questions.

Presentation Software

Students may use presentation

software (PowerPoint, Prezi etc.) with

a laptop on the stall and can hold

notes or prompt cards.

Overall time frame • Project Proposal Meeting as soon as possible and in any event by

the middle of September

• First Milestone Meeting 6th-10th October

• Exam Board also entry 6th-10th October – deposit £40

• Second Milestone 3rd – 7th November

• First draft of final report handed in 17th November

• Meeting to discuss first draft 17th-21st November

• Completed work handed in on Monday1st December

• 10 minute Presentations on 9th& 10th December.

• Work marked by Friday 12th December.

• Work moderated & Candidate Record Sheets completed by

Thursday 18th December

Submitting marks & sending papers

•Final submission of marks online,

photocopying & sending off sample

required by Moderators 5th – 7th

January.

•Moderators stipulate 10 examples of

each type of project they require but also

include the projects with highest and

lowest marks.

Support for Students – Uni Day

University of Herts. study day – was Friday 27th June

Support for Students - Tutor-Assessors

•Project Proposal meeting

•Two milestone meetings

•Draft final project meeting

Other support as / when required.

Mentoring Booklets We have created 4 Mentoring Booklets:

• One for each type of project

• One booklet for each student

(A checklist for Teacher Assessors to make sure

students are hitting the assessment objectives at

each stage of the project at the Project Proposal

meeting, Milestone 1meeting, Milestone 2 meeting

and Draft Report meeting)

See booklets

Support for Students Lunchtime Tutorials

Introduction -11th Sept

Set up email group, finalise outstanding Proposal Forms, give

out Mentoring Booklets, introduce sources of help (Tutor-

Assessor, us, the VLE)

and Project Planning – Gantt Chart, Activity Log

Doing Research – 18th Sept

The assessment objectives for ‘Research’ for the four kinds of

projects. Analysis & synthesis. Secondary research – primary

& secondary sources, recording and evaluating. Primary

Research, quantitative, qualitative, sampling, interviews,

questionnaires & focus groups.

Writing up Secondary Research 25th September

Citation & Referencing Harvard, Vancouver, MHRA. Writing

the Research Review - Chief Examiner’s & Moderator’s

preferences.

Writing up Primary Research 9th October

Artefact projects = Materials, processes, techniques and

design. Performance projects = material, skills and techniques.

Investigation projects = extra sections for Data Collection

Methods & Results & Analysis

Tutorials – cont.

Tutorials – cont.

Discussion /Development / Analysis – 16th October

Assessment Objectives for each of the four types of project.

• Dissertation = a well thought out argument, addressing

counter arguments, ideas for further work, wider implications.

• Artefact = development of ideas, alternatives considered,

well argued justification for decisions, carefully refined.

• Performance = alternative ideas and approaches, resources

& skills applied, thorough rehearsal.

• Investigation = interpretation answers the question, lines of

argument, data trends & patterns, models and theories.

Writing up the Report to achieve the Assessment

Objectives - 23rd October

What’s gets given in, word counts, which bits of work are

evidence toward which Assessment Objective

Self-evaluation, the Review and making the Presentation -

13th November

Assessment objectives for Review and the Presentation –

sections, timings, general tips.

Tutorials – cont.

Support for students – on VLE

• Full details of what is required, timescale and blank

forms.

• Opportunity to upload work to the VLE in stages to

make sure it is meeting the assessment objectives

(proof read by the administrator - me!)

• EPQ Skills course in development also on the VLE.

Questions…

Do email me with any questions about running

An Edexcel Level 3 or Level 2 project from the library

n.cheeseman@parmiters.herts.sch.uk