Teaching skills vs teaching to SPBs?
Edexcel’s expectation is that students learn the skills they need for about 2/3 of the time for each unit. They are then expected to apply the skills they have already learnt to the SPB.
Many teachers find that students forget these skills by the time they actually start working on the SPB.
Edexcel maintains that is what is required. Part of the skills they are learning is the ability to apply their knowledge and skills to different scenarios to get the desired results.
It is one of those situations where the views of the exam boards clash with that of the teachers who are actually delivering the course.
We would suggest that you teach the skills for 2/3 of the time for the unit. It is important that the students get enough knowledge to tackle the SPB before they actually start working on it. You should then proceed to working on the SPB. During the Summative Project period, you should incorporate starters that are useful but not linked to the live project brief. This will act as a reminder and will also give you a chance to deal with questions.
This has worked for members of our team who deliver the DiDA units on a daily basis.
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