How is Cambridge Technical coursework moderated at OCR?
22 November 2024
Amy Brewer, Science Subject Advisor
Many teachers who switch to teaching our Cambridge Technical qualifications are amazed at how easy, flexible and collaborative our approach to moderation is. In this blog I’ll explain what makes our approach so special and why teachers come back to us when they move schools.
I’ve described the process for Level 3 Applied Science, but most information applies to all other Cambridge Technicals. If you have specific questions, please contact your subject advisors.
What are the four biggest differences new centres will see?
- No Lead Internal Verifier. All we need is one teacher’s contact details – someone teaching the course or a department lead so our moderators can get in touch to arrange visits. Whoever is teaching the subject and marking the coursework will meet to standardise when they are ready.
- No formal requirement to sign off mandatory training. Our OCR Train provides on-demand training for marking key NEA units, and we run webinars throughout the year with our principal moderators, but none of them are compulsory.
- No requirement to submit a teaching plan for the year with the dates of completion. We don’t mind if you need to swap units between teachers, or if student absence affects when you finish a unit. When you’re ready for moderation, you tell us!
- No need to submit assignment briefs. All of our mandatory NEA units come with a model assignment, which you can adapt to suit your students or your local context. If you want us to check if your brief meets the requirements, you can send it through, otherwise we’ll see it when we moderate the work.
How is NEA work moderated at OCR?
- Centres get two free moderator visits per year. You choose when and how these happen – online or face-to-face. We recommend one earlier on in the year, especially with new centres, once you have completed one or two NEA units. Moderators only need to see the completed assignments – we aren’t looking for a portfolio of work for all of the taught content.
- Make a claim. When you have marked a complete unit of work and internally moderated one or more units, you use Interchange to submit the grades and “make a claim.” You can then arrange a convenient date with your moderator and send them your sample digitally. You can arrange a Microsoft Teams meeting or meet in person at your centre.
- Provide the evidence. Your moderator will usually request work from up to six candidates for each unit per person marking (where available). For an in-person visit they will also need a quiet room to review the work, and some time with you to discuss the assignments and your internal moderation process. Candidate work can be posters, leaflets, reports, photographs, video conversations or witness statements – our accessible and flexible approach means our Cambridge Technicals are very inclusive. We don’t mind how the evidence comes, as long as it meets the assessment criteria and the command words.
- Specialist feedback. Our moderators will tell you what you’re doing well and what needs more work. They will be specific and offer constructive advice on how to support candidates to improve their responses or your marking.
What happens next?
At the end of your moderation visit, you will have lots of advice on how to support your students to make improvements to their work, or for your team to mark more consistently with the assessment criteria, and you can resubmit that unit for another claim if necessary or at the point of certification in year 13 (or year 14 in Northern Ireland). Take as long as you need to improve outcomes for your students.
Our moderators will visit when you make a claim but are also happy to answer questions if you have them, and you also have access to subject advisors for guidance and support. Your final moderation visit for students wishing to certificate that summer must be requested by 15 May to arrange the final review by 30 June.
Where can I find out more information?
For Level 3 Applied Science, more details can be found on the administration section of our website, and I recommend looking at the centre handbook to find out how your students will benefit from studying the qualification and support for your centre to deliver the course. All our teaching resources, past papers, candidate exemplars and moderation reports are available on Teach Cambridge.
We also run Choosing OCR and Starting to Teach professional development webinars where you can talk to our experts about how to deliver the Cambridge Technical in Applied Science at your school, as well as Ask the Moderator and Ask the Subject Advisor. We host teacher networks, both in-person and online throughout the year, and you can always email us with your questions.
Stay connected
Share your thoughts in the comments below. If you have any questions, you can email us at science@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X (formerly Twitter) @OCR_Science. You can also sign up to subject updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources.
If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use our online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information.
About the author
Amy joined OCR in May 2022 and is a subject advisor for GCSE Sciences and Applied Science. Before joining OCR, Amy taught chemistry to 11-18 year olds for 16 years and was responsible for planning her school’s science schemes of learning. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Amy mentored PGCE students, was responsible for the progress of KS5 science students, and is committed to improving diversity and inclusion in the sciences.
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