GCSE Pupils Guide

If you are stuck with knowing how to teach and organise the major project for the AQA Electronic Products syllabus, or even the OCR one, I offer this help guide.

Pupil Guide in PDF format and LINK to Adobe for the free reader

It is in Adobe PDF format. The original is in Publisher Format and includes all the icons used which are fully editable. It is also over 12MB so if you want a copy, contact me and I'll find a way to send it to you!

My pupils are given a copy of this guide about June of year 10. They ae encouraged to buy an A4 loose leaf folder with about 30 punched clear pockets. A set of stickers with the same icons and headings are given out (Again, the file is huge but contact me for a copy. They print on Avery LL24 labels) and the pupils fix them to their clear pockets. A sheet of A4 blank paper is put in each pocket and are updated, replaced, as they work their way through the project.

I have had excellent results with this method. It gives a clear guide to the work needed and I hope it gives enough info to help them without being overly proscriptive.

I would normally expect pupils to have completed their final PCB layout by about Autumn Half Term and then finish construction by Christmas and the evaluation soon after. Like most teachers though, I have never managed to keep to this! (Were still sorting component orders today, december 11th 2003!)

I also offer this Excel file with a blank matrix for recording your pupils progress, and this Other Excel file which is a simple matrix for pupils recording the components needed for their design.

Don't forget, This is a freebie offered in good faith. It has not been approved by any exam board. If you improve it... please mail me the different copy and remember to tell your pupils about the rest of this electronics website!