As the new A Level and GCSE specifications are rolled out across the country parents of students who have felt like guinea pigs to this revolution in qualifications have grappled with ways to support their offspring. At Edusites we have been at the forefront of these specifications advising teachers on the most expedient ways of teaching to ensure learning is applied to gain the highest grades possible.
How much does it cost?
So how can we support?
For us it’s always about subject specific thinking and application…Research shows that general advice about study skills and revision has a small effect. What really influences outcomes is to get down to subject based Assessment Objective Level. All Edusites exam support for all subjects are focused on Assessment Objective level to hone specific skills
Can I see what the resources look like before committing?
You can always email us on emily@edusites.co.uk
Or you can look at the 5 lessons out of the 250 available below
Please click below
GCSE
A Level
I don’t know which exam board my child is studying
You don’t need to! Your membership includes full coverage of the essential and desirable Media Studies specification content for all exam boards.
How much can you as a non-teaching parent be expected to understand A Level Or GCSE Media Studies?
Don’t worry…we are not expecting you to go through the exam and get A*s or 9s but for the best application and understanding by your children the discussions about WHAT they are doing are really useful for them to explain their points and respond to your questions .
In the ParentZone I pointed out that
As a teacher with more than a quarter of a century of experience I have often had parents tell me they feel like they have 20+ GCSEs as they have taken the journey through exams so closely with their children. At Edusites we believe that parental input and constructive conversations about what is being learned is invaluable. A membership to Edusites helps you to sidestep the nagging to ‘get on with revision’ to engage with some of the content. Parents involvement can invigorate learning, not just while ‘revision is happening’ but also at the dinner table, with their friends or the drive to and from school.
Where do we start?
The key to this subject is to develop a different and new type of writing style that uses the subject specific terminology as a short cut to ideas and frameworks. In the time given in the exam it’s not possible to gain the top band if those things don’t coincide. I’m thinking of lots of sporting examples.... without the basic fitness and core strength the player will develop movements and behaviours which are essentially a work around but eventually inhibit the sportsman to be the best...
The four Edusites Core Units cover the four frameworks
Each core unit contains at least 25 lessons
In addition to the Core Units which cover the Frameworks there are additional 100+ lessons teaching the Close Study Products within the context of the frameworks. This means that students are not exposed to CSPs needing all four framework comprehension until they have covered that unit.
How do I know that your materials are good?
Edusites have been in the business of teaching support for over a decade. We have a great reputation!
Our members include
The Avengers, Class, Dr. Who Luther, and The Sweeney. Edusites has the comprehensive teacher resources for the New GCSE Media Studies Specifications!
From other colleagues’ anecdotes, it’s clear that, actually, Media mock exams are not always as simple as they perhaps should be. While many of us are probably fairly well grooved in terms of curating the December/January English Lit and Lang mocks (“Hello Past Paper my old friend, I’ve come to copy you again”), mocks in the subject of Media, English’s cooler, Gitane smoking, Italian sports car driving, experimental theatre viewing hipster cousin, are definitely less straightforward.
Looking for Mock exams with Indicative Content? Edusites writers are experts whose work, in addition to writing with us, includes representing a range of exam boards as Senior, Principal examiners, as well as DfE subject advisors.
Working your way through the new specifications can feel like being part of a Big Brother experiment. Here at Edusites, we get some great questions from our members. This blog is about one well-formed question from Laura and the various responses and advice we offered.
At first they just sound a bit stuffy...The four keys skills (or theoretical frameworks) are, in theory, the building blocks of Media knowledge. Bearing in mind that we are very likely to have some ‘last minute of the transfer-window’ kids in our classes, the idea of starting with an introduction about these concepts is actually sensible and reassuring for all involved.
All Media specifications will have four crucial elements built into them. These skills are the fundamental learning principles you need to understand how to teach because they comprise all of the angles of media education your students will need to be able to recognise, comment on, assess and theorise about.
What do Media Language and Ken Barlow have in common? Nick Belger's most recent blog for Edusites Media explores the relationship between Media Language and erudition...
Starting work again does have its benefits though. At least we can casually pretend to be watching Celebrity Big Brother “to really be getting inside the marvellous examples of Propp villains and Levi-Strauss dynamics” and not just because we want to see how crackers Roxanne really is.
Part of the genuine appeal of this AQA GCSE Media Studies course is the wide and contrasting spread of topics in the CSP. Many of the units are thoughtfully curated so as to offer a neat comparison between two institutions.
What a year that was in GCSE Media. I’m sure many of our colleagues will agree that this has been one of the most challenging we can remember. The dual year we knew had to be faced has been conquered…..hopefully! Those teachers and departments who have found themselves in the unenviable position of managing Y11 through the final days of the much loved (ok..very familiar!) GCSE legacy specs whilst simultaneously getting to grips with the new strengthened course will be looking forward longingly to that final bell, the swift taxi to the airport and the rattle of ice cubes more than most this year.
Dear Edusites Team, Please can I just say a huge thank you for providing such superb resources for us to use in the classroom with our students. Our subscription is worth every penny we pay. We are also grateful for the swift response and support when we contact you! With best wishes, Lucy Hunter. Head of Media Studies Bohunt School and Sixth FormAn Outstanding School named Overall School of the Year by the TES in 2014. Bohunt School is a mixed 11-18 School and Sixth Form. Bohunt are the state school of choice in the region which includes the counties of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex.Join experts online, by email and on 01604 847689 to answer any questions
I’m sure all you cool Media Edutistas are going to agree with me on this one. As much as I love a bit of Great British Bake-Off, I sometimes feel the two production pieces at the beginning and the end are a bit annoying. Knowing the task and the rules before you enter the competition is OK for the inevitable quirky, eccentric, golly-gosh student type who has had all day to practice after their 33 minutes of weekly lectures have finished.
"That depends on where you want to end up." The Cheshire Cat.” Need some help down the rabbit hole of the new NEAs? In this week's Blog Nick Belger offers more timely and experienced advice on how to get the very best out of your students.
You can be especially pleased with yourself when you know you have hit something just perfectly. Got something so spot on that it can’t fail. Like last week’s thoughtful suggestion about limiting NEA brief responses to a small number so you and the kids can stay focused and you can feel a sense of control.
