Crunch time for the Department’s Coursework.

Coursework is a mixed blessing.  It’s the chance to get better grades, but you spend half your time chasing students. Then there’s that nightmare at the end, when every folder seems to have an element missing and moderation looms, along with a mountain of paper work. Managing the department’s coursework is a big problem for every head of department, so what are the best strategies?

Time for an audit!

Number one will be an early audit of the department’s coursework. This is also a really good point to sit down with colleagues and check the coursework requirements once more. It is so easy to miss something. Of course, the really smart cookies are auditing on a regular basis but what with reports, parents’ evenings and teaching, it’s all too easy for New Academic Year resolutions to go out of the window!

Time to play catch-up.

You will need to find the time to catch up missing coursework. Some lessons are less useful than others because of where they are in the school day…before lunch, last lesson… Allocate one of these per week to catch-up. What about those students who have a complete folder? They can usefully revisit their early work and enhance it. Students who have completed everything can go on with exam preparation. This is the kind of lesson where it is really useful to have a good textbook available for independent work.

The paper chase.

Coursework leaves a big paper trail. Top tip, get the students’ signatures on the front sheets as soon as you possibly can, the folder isn’t valid without it.

What about moderation?

The aim of the game is consistency. Sampling is a good way to deal with this. Lay all the folders out in the departmental office and ask every one to sample say, five folders each, with particular attention on the grade boundaries. You’ll get brownie points from the exam board for evidence of the process:  marks visibly adjusted with brief comments.

Good luck with it all!