About the Course:
This is a Level 3 qualification equivalent to an AS Level. It is graded, and carries the same UCAS points, as an AS Level and can be taken as a free-standing qualification.The course offers students a unique opportunity to develop essential skills for higher education and the workplace, in a subject area of their own choice. The Extended Project gives students more control over their study than ever before. You have a free choice of project topic, so you can choose to explore a further aspect of a subject you're studying, or another subject, or choose a topic in which you have a personal interest. This level of choice and flexibility means students are engaged and motivated and gain valuable research and project management skills along the way.
Students have to:
- Choose a topic to study
- Complete a Production Log to document the project process
- Plan, research and carry out their project
- Prepare and deliver a presentation on the outcome
Assessment:
This is an independent piece of research. You will meet with a member of staff (supervisor) weekly to discuss your progress and to guide you and help you develop the necessary skills to complete a successful project eg. referencing and research skills.
The assessment covers both the process and the end product. The final project, plus the Production Log, will be assessed as a whole, according to a generic set of marking criteria. We'll be looking at how well students identify and use resources, carry out research, develop their ideas to realise an outcome and then reflect on the outcome and the process.
Students complete a Production Log as they carry out their projects and at the end they must deliver a presentation which should be for a nonspecialist audience using media appropriate to the type of project. This could take the form of a group presentation (in the case of a group project) or a one-to-one presentation to the supervisor. The presentation must be supported by a question and answer session which is recorded in the Production Log. The completed Production Log, a written report, the evidence and the presentation are assessed together by the centre at the end of the process.
Is there anything else I need to know?
Examples of projects chosen:
Global Warming
Disease
Mental Health
Learning Disabilities
Gender equality in the police
Employment, gender and ethnicity
Poetry – linguistic and literary exploration
Management Styles
Population
Antibiotics
Everyday application of Mathematics
Childhood obesity
Gene Therapy
Nuclear Fusion
Terrorism
Progression Routes:
The project will attract UCAS points (for entry to universities) equivalent to an AS Level. Students might use the project at interview stage for higher education and/or in their Personal Statement on their UCAS form. The project will develop important independent learning and study skills that will improve the chances of success when progressing to higher education or employment.