Every activity has a model answer, so you don’t need to be an expert in Computer Science! Every structured learning record includes sample examination questions with a mark scheme provided for teachers too.

HOW WE MARK STUDENT WORK

The structured learning records are marked on a four-point scale under four categories: breadth, depth, presentation and understanding. Each is accompanied with a marking checklist that includes a list of the key terms students should have used, together with guidance on how to award a mark for each of the categories.

MARKING PROGRAMMING ACTIVITIES

We believe the best way to assess programming is to look at the programs students have written with them and give them oral feedback. It is much more efficient and useful to them if they call you over when they have finished a problem. You spend a few minutes reviewing the code they have written and discuss with them their:

• Use of comments;
• Use of sensible variable, procedure/function names;
• Algorithmic thinking – how they approached the solution to the problem;
• Exception handling and validation.

It will be helpful to discuss with them how elegant their solution is and other possible approaches. For example, they may have used a while loop which works, but a better structure might have been a for loop. Equally, many if statements could be replaced with a select case in some languages. Arrays are a better structure than multiple variables because they can be used with a loop. These discussions are much more timely for students. If your school requires evidence of this feedback, students could either keep a simple diary of your comments (that they complete), or perhaps even use the voice recorder!