IGCSE Geography virtual fieldwork assessment
IGCSE Geography
Students taking Edexcel IGCSE Geography examinations this year will be assessed on virtual fieldwork opportunities included in the specification for the first time. The Edexcel IGCSE Geography specification includes eight fieldwork opportunities of which it is recommended that students carry out two as practical fieldwork studies, one from Section A and one from Section B.
Assessment of Virtual Fieldwork Opportunities
In the examination, students will need to answer fieldwork questions in Section A and in Section B. These may be based on any of the eight virtual fieldwork opportunities. There is a distinct difference between the Section A opportunities (The Natural Environment and People) and those in Section B (People and their Environment). The focus in Section A is on measuring and surveying, i.e. planning and data collection. In Section B the focus will be on the later key stages of an investigation, data presentation, analysis, concluding and evaluation.
What do I need to do?
In response to queries from schools, Edexcel’s specialist adviser for Geography recently issued Guidance and Exemplars for IGCSE fieldwork opportunities for teachers. From this document Oxford Open Learning has compiled a set of Guidance Notes on Virtual Fieldwork Opportunities for distance learning and home-educated students. These include the sample assessment material issued by Edexcel.
Guidance Notes for Students on Virtual Fieldwork Opportunities
We invite all our students, and anyone else for whom they may be useful, to download the Guidance Notes and add these to their course folders. We recommend that students read the notes carefully and work through the sample assessment to ensure that they become familiar with the kind of assessment questions that Edexcel will use to examine the eight fieldwork opportunities. OOL students should address any queries to their course tutor.
Oxford Open Learning IGCSE Geography course
Oxford Open Learning students should use the Guidance Notes firstly in conjunction with the section of the Course Introduction that sets out virtual fieldwork requirements, and secondly with the sections of their course that cover each virtual fieldwork topic.
If you are working towards your Edexcel IGCSE Geography examination and would like further details of our IGCSE Geography course, please contact us. One of our student advisers will be pleased to answer any queries you may have.
