Example #2: Criterion B

Candidates need to clearly separate whether they are addressing how they applied ATL skills to achieve the learning goal or the product. Candidates that are not clear about this, but rather present how they applied ATL skills in general during their project, are unable to reach beyond the lowest levels of criterion B. 

In the report, candidates need to be very clear about whether they are addressing ATL skill(s) that helped achieve the learning goal or the product. Candidates are advised to label this by headings, in different sections of the report.

Example

Level: 7

The student addresses two ATL skills to demonstrate how these were applied to achieve the learning goal. The first is self-management, and it was mainly described, using examples that were sometimes general, sometimes detailed. The second ATL skill addressed is research, and this had elements of explanation, although vague, almost implicit. The reason evident is that applying the skill was necessary for being able to learn a new coding language from scratch. There is one piece of evidence supporting the claim. The work did not reach the highest level due to the weakness in the reasons included, which is required to qualify as the command term "explain".

To reach the higher achievement levels for Bi and Bii, it is not enough to state/outline which ATL skills was applied. Candidates also have to describe/explain ‘how’ ATL skills were applied. Examiners sometimes observe rich descriptions of how ATL skills are applied, but without explanations of why it helped the candidate to achieve the specific learning goal or product. Successful candidates focus on fewer ATL skills, with in-depth explanations of how those skills helped in achieving their learning goal or product, rather than listing a wide range of skills with only superficial mentions of how they were applied. Within criterion B, schools are advised to guide students towards the command terms and to carefully consider requirements for an explanation. 

Example

Level: 6

The student addresses transfer skills to demonstrate how ATL skill(s) were applied to complete the product. This account is mainly descriptive, and there are two descriptions of the application of transfer skills. There are possibly vague elements of explanation in the second last paragraph, but not enough to move into the highest mark band.

The evidence provided directly supports the first argument about creating the box, placing Bii on the higher level of the descriptor band where describe is the command term.