It is with great pleasure that I present to you this term’s newsletter spotlight for Psychology. It has been a busy term for students as they prepare for their final examinations which has meant that much of this term has been exam-focussed; a great opportunity to trial some innovations based on psychological research!
Y12-13 have been developing their own knowledge-organisers which are called Bento-Boxes; this revision tool enables them to chunk information into appropriate categories (knowledge and evaluation) in order to reduce some of the pressure from their working memory–which has a capacity of 5-9 chunks of information–so they can focus on writing effective essays.
Y11 students have been analysing models written by specialists to identify the structure and features of effective responses to tough exam questions; applying this to their own writing and developing their ability to answer some of the more challenging questions. Y11 have also developed and delivered a TedTalk to their peers on the different aspects of Unipolar Depression which has proven their fluency and excellent oratory skills.
Students in Year 10 have been learning and applying their knowledge of clinical psychology in a mock clinical setting. They devised their own script with their knowledge of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and have recorded some thoughtful videos to showcase their learning! The Year 10s have also challenged themselves by writing their first 1500 word essay which asked them to meet a strict criteria and deadline. As we expected, all of our students met these expectations and then some.
All in all this term has been busy, but our students at TBS have taken on the challenge with maturity and ambition, bringing together all of their prior-learning into a meaningful sprint to the finish line.
Next year will look towards a change in the A-Level syllabus which means a new set of content and approaches to look forward to. I look forward to sharing this with you as we move forward into the new academic year.
