Hello,
Below is an email from Alison Drever, Senior Education Officer for Technologies
Dear colleagues,
Due to unforeseen circumstances the writer we had contracted to write the support materials for the new CS Higher has had to pull out. I am writing to ask if anyone would be interested in taking on the writing of materials for Higher and Nat 3 CS courses as a development opportunity. It is possible to contract one writer for Higher and one for N3 or one person to do both. We are looking to develop a group of writers and take an approach to developing materials which showcase the real potential for creativity in CS; something I know the CASS community is passionate about. I have set out more information below but if you have further questions or expressions of interest, please can you direct them to Kirsty McFaul, technologies development officer, since I am now on leave till October 28th.
Kirsty.McFaul@
Education Scotland has taken the decision to commission writers to produce course materials for N3 and Higher for all subject areas. This will build upon the materials produced in April 2013 for N4 and N5. All materials will be badged as Education Scotland materials and will be uploaded to our NQ Glow site http://www.educationscotland.
As with N4 and N5 materials, these course materials will promoted as materials for teachers by teachers.
All materials will be reviewed and edited internally and externally so be prepared for changes being made to what you write – it is part of the normal process of quality assurance and editing in preparation for materials going live.
Copyright – Education Scotland has to respect copyright at all times. Please build this in from the beginning and only use photos, diagrams and other materials where we have the right to do so. Flickr Creative Commons and Wikepedia are a good source of copyright free images and diagrams. NASA also provides copyright free materials. Some websites are really good at providing permissions for education purposes – it is worth asking – but please ensure you keep a track of all your weblinks/sources as you go along and share relevant permissions with us. Where you need to use a particular copyright image or diagram or video then please note the link or insert it into your materials and highlight it – we’ll do our best to source an alternative if possible.
Nat 3
7 days at £150 per day
The commission for N3 will be split into 2 parts. Two days will be allocated to the production of Professional Focus Papers (PFPs). These will be similar in style and format to those produced for N4Â http://bit.ly/13TMyAa
The purpose of the PFPs is to alert teachers to new content and learning and teaching approaches required within the new qualifications. They are intended to stimulate professional reflection and dialogue and to provide support to teachers. It is anticipated that we’ll retain the main headings, sub-headings and length as before but you will be able to shape the text as required. You should aim to make it as informative and useful to practitioners as possible.
The remaining 5 days will be for producing course materials for N3. The main purpose of these will be to exemplify new content or approaches in the course or to provide support to practitioners where it is needed the most – for instance where they might be struggling for relevant contexts, new approaches or engaging practical activities. You may choose to exemplify some key areas in each unit or you may choose a different approach.
Higher CS
7 days at £150 per day (including 1 day of editing)
This is largely the same as that for N3 except the content for the PfPs will be incorporated into the introduction section and will outline:
•         Big ideas/concepts – the purpose and aims of the course
•         Key aspects of course – course structure
•         Points of stability and areas of change
In addition:
What does effective learning look like in this subject?
•                    Subject specific approaches to learning and teaching – in line with CfE briefing paper number 7, ie active, collaborative, independent learning, etc
•                    Progression in learning and teaching with a focus on attributes and skills (including higher order thinking skills), knowledge and depth of understanding
Exemplification of content
•         Applying the theories of effective learning
•         Particular emphasis on areas of significant change or new areas of content
•         Leading inspirational and motivational learning
How does effective learning relate to qualifications?
•         Preparation for assessment through depth of understanding
•         Wide range of approaches to assessment, eg holistic assessment of unit outcomes, portfolio approaches
No separate PFP will be produced so all 7 days will be allocated to the production of Higher course materials.
Best wishes
Alison
Alison Drever, Senior Education Officer Technologies
T:Â +44 (0)141 282 5162
Education Scotland
The Optima, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow, G2 8DU
