'The 50' is a set of 50 questions that cover the main ideas in the OCR GCSE physics course They will still be useful for other exam boards.. These questions are designed to develop students' conceptual understanding of the main topics in the specification. Alas, they do not cover the entire course but focus on, what I consider, the key ideas. Furthermore, they are designed to be accessible to all students so some higher topics, such as electromagnetic induction, are neglected.
The summer exams will always test the content covered by The 50 in one way or another. Although it is unlikely for a question from The 50 to be explicitly asked, students should be able to apply the knowledge they have learned from The 50 to a particular question. For example, question 8 states "explain how a gas exerts a pressure" and an exam paper may ask, "explain how an airbag is inflated". Provided students can identify that the question relates to gas pressure, they should be able to answer successfully.
This website is designed to help students learn the answers to The 50, in colaboration with the algorithm outlined below.
I use The 50 in every KS4 physics lesson. Students have access to the questions online and there are physical laminated copies in my classroom. In general, I follow the procedure outlined below in a cyclical pattern, working in blocks of ten questions:
The first stage can be completed as a starter activity, main body of a lesson or at the end of a lesson. It is hoped that this will help students to develop their ability to learn independently and build resiliance. My students write their answers to The 5o in the back of the exercise books from page 50.
Once the majority of students have thier answers to the ten questions, I release the solutions. This allows students to check their answers, correct them if necessary or write answers to questions they were not able to answer. Also, the solutions are succinct so may be easier for students to learn in comparison to their own answer.
Stage three, learning the answers, can be completed in class and as homework. I encourage students to use this website, in addition to trying a "look, cover, write, check" approach to lerning the answers. Students attempt to answer the ten questions on blank paper and then check the solutions. Points they missed or questions they could not answer are then recorded and studied. Students then repeat the process until they can successfully answer all ten questions.
Students then sit a test in stage four. Given the solutions are available to all studetns, I have found it engages almost everyone.
After this cycle is complete the class can move onto the next ten questions. Once the class reaches content in The 50 that has not been covered in lesson, I then set tests with random questions from the set they have answers to. With year 11, once the class has answers to all 50 they regularly recieve a test with ten random questions.
Of course, a quick inspection of The 50 will show there is no practise of mathematics and applying equaitons. This is something I complete in lessons and is not within the scope of The 50.
For any further advice on using The 50, please get in touch info@the50.cloud . I would also welcome any feedback.
The 50 has been a really effective tool in my teaching. I have found it to be especially useful for year 11 as it allows me to recap content from year 9 and year 10 in every lesson. Students are able to build a solid understanding of the main ideas in the course and successfully deploy this in the end of topic tests and mock exams they are given at my school.
One of the best outcomes of employing The 50 has been the engagement of my lower ability classes. Although they struggle to find the answers to the questions independently, they fully embrace learning the solutions that are given to them. It is my hope that they will be able to recall these answers in the summer exams and write something to questions that typically they would leave blank. The 50 also helps this group of students to direct their revision.
This concept has been inspired by Professor Gabor Elek and his course in Real Analysis at Lancaster University.
I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Justin Grossu, whose valuable contribution and dedication have greatly enhanced the functionality of this website. His expertise and tireless efforts have been instrumental in the success of this project, and I am deeply grateful for his support.