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Venue:
Queen’s University, Belfast
Date:
Easter Holidays 27th,
28th & 29th of April 2011.
Also Saturday 7th May 2011.
Time:
9:30 - 12:30
Helping Hand Tutoring offers a broad
range of courses and has significant
experience in the design and delivery of
intensive, exam-orientated tuition.
All of our Easter revision tutors are
experienced grammar school teachers with
extensive teaching experience in some of
Northern Ireland’s top grammar schools. Many
are examiners and are therefore attuned to
the requirements and approaches demanded by
the various examining boards.
The aims of our courses are to cultivate a
high level of understanding of core topic
areas, to show students how to revise
effectively and to adopt good examination
techniques.
Small classes are essential in order to
provide the close attention which each
student requires. All AS & A2 groups are limited
to an absolute maximum of ten students.
All students attending will be sent out a
pre-course questionnaire in which they will
identify their particular areas of concern
and the examination board they are sitting.
This information is reviewed by their
specific tutor in advance of the
commencement of the course to ensure that
individual student requirements are
understood.
Courses available (click link to view more
details):
At the end of the
course all students will be given a report
outlining areas of strength and weaknesses.
This report will provide specific
suggestions for improvement specific to the
subject area.
A2
Mathematics Course
The course tutor is an experienced,
practising grammar school teacher and
examiner.
The Maths revision course will be based on
the CCEA specifications for the core C3 and
C4 modules. Although we will focus on the
CCEA specification there is a significant
overlap with the C3 and C4 specifications of
other examining boards, eg. Edexcel, AQA,
OCR, so the material covered will be
relevant for students studying for those
examinations also.
We will be aiming to ensure that all
students gain the maximum marks that they
are capable of in this summer’s
examinations. We will achieve this by
focusing on the topics listed below, in each
case concentrating on the most problematic
areas and checking pupils understanding of
the concepts involved. We will also examine
past paper questions, identifying exactly
what they are asking and how to best answer
them in order to get the most marks
possible.
C3: The Modulus Function, E and Logs,
Differentiation, Parametric Curves,
Exponential Growth and Decay, Trigonometry –
identities, graphs and equations, Newton –
Raphson Iteration, Partial Fractions,
Integration (basics, e’s, logs and f’(x)/f(x)),
Simpson’s Rule
C4: Functions, Parametric Differentiation,
Implicit Differentiation, Vectors,
Trigonometry – inverse functions, compound
and double angle formulae, Integration
(substitution and by parts), Volumes of
Revolution, Differential Equations.
The third A2 module taken by students varies
depending on choices at AS. Questions on
Mechanics and Statistics will also be dealt
with on an individual basis.
GSCE
Mathematics Course
The Mathematics tutor is a Grammar School teacher with experience of teaching Mathematics to A-level as well as being involved in private tuition for several years.
The Maths revision course will be based on the CCEA specifications for the N2 to N6 modules. Although there will be a focus on the CCEA specification there is an overlap of other examining boards, so the material covered will also be relevant for students studying for those examinations..
The revision course will be aimed at the more challenging topics which have traditionally proved problematical for students. Pupils should, if they wish, bring along their own notes and/or question material. We will also examine past paper questions, identifying exactly what they are asking and how to best answer them in order to achieve maximum marks. Pupil interaction in class through asking and answering questions will be encouraged. The aim is for increased confidence with overall improvement in mathematical understanding and application..
A2 Biology
Course
The grammar school teacher running the
course has 27 years experience of teaching A
Level Biology in one of our well-known
grammar schools. He also has extensive
tutoring experience and has led Easter
revision courses in the past.
The Biology Easter Revision Course will be
based on the A2 specification, (found at
www.ccea.org.uk/biology) but will
also be 'aligned' to other boards, such as AQA as there is a great deal of commonality
in specifications.
We aim to consolidate and enhance each
pupil's existing biological knowledge in a
way that makes it more accessible and
therefore more easily recalled during exams.
To this end, the tutor and students will
work through the topics listed below,
concentrating on problematic areas
(identified by the course participants
themselves) and resolving issues found here.
The tutor and students will also examine
actual exam papers, teaching pupils how to
establish specifically what is being asked
in each case and how to frame answers for
these with the precision, 'vocabulary' and
relevance expected by examiners.
Module 4: Physiology: Homeostasis, kidneys,
osmoregulation, immunity, nerves, hormones
(plant and animal), muscles.
Ecosystems: Populations, Communities,
Energetics, Nitrogen and Carbon cycles,
Human impact on the planet.
Module 5: Respiration (anaerobic and
aerobic, Krebs, fermentation, etc),
Photosynthesis (Z-scheme, Calvin cycle,
chloroplast physiology, etc), DNA (triplet
code, GM technology, ligase vs polymerase
etc.), Genetics, both individual and
populational, Plant kingdom, Animal Kingdom.
*These lists are not exclusive of other
topics. What will be covered will largely be
driven by the course participants' needs.
So, for example, the tutor has not alluded
specifically to "statistics" as all
coursework will have been already submitted,
but there is a 'synoptic' element built into
each paper that may require interpretive
statistical knowledge therefore the tutor
may choose to visit "statistics".
A2
Physics Course
The Physics tutor is an experienced, grammar
school teacher, author and examiner.
This Revision Course is designed for
students who want to maximise their grades
in the CCEA A2 Physics examinations in the
summer. All of the challenging topics on the
two theory modules will be explored and
guidance will be given about the best way to
prepare for the practical test.
The key themes in each module will be
explained fully and students will have the
opportunity to practise past examination
questions in a supportive environment.
Students will be strongly encouraged to ask
questions to broaden and deepen their
understanding of the material on the
specification.
A2 1: The major problem areas associated
with Momentum, Thermal Physics, Circular
Motion, Oscillations and Atomic and Nuclear
Physics will be explored in depth. The
course tutor will seek to show students
that, with adequate preparation, these
topics can be approached with confidence.
Particular attention will be paid to the
solution of the more challenging
mathematical questions and some time will be
set aside to allow students to develop their
problem-solving skills with a scientific
calculator.
A2 2: Students will increase their knowledge
and understanding of Fields and their
applications. Particular topics include
Gravitational, Electric & Magnetic Fields,
Capacitors, Deflection of Charged Particles,
Particle Accelerators and the Physics of
Fundamental Particles. This is a long and
quite demanding module and the course
tutor’s objective is to give students a
clear understanding of what they need to
know, understand and be able to do if they
are to obtain a high examination grade.
No-one can adequately prepare for the
Practical Examination without practice in a
laboratory setting. Nevertheless, the tutor
will seek to show students how they can
maximise their marks by applying appropriate
skills in planning, analysis and evaluation.
AS
Physics Course
This Revision Course is designed for students who
want to maximise their grades in the CCEA AS
Physics examinations in the summer. All of
the challenging topics on the two theory
modules will be explored and guidance will
be given about the best way to prepare for
the practical test.
The key ideas in each module will be
explained fully and students will have the
opportunity to practise past examination
questions in a supportive environment.
Students will be strongly encouraged to ask
questions to broaden and deepen their
understanding of the material on the
specification.
In AS 1, the major problem areas associated
with Forces, Energy and Electricity will be
studied. The course tutor will seek to show
students that, with adequate preparation,
these topics can be approached with
confidence. Particular attention will be
paid to the solution of the more challenging
mathematical questions and some time will be
set aside to allow students to develop their
problem-solving skills with a scientific
calculator.
In AS 2, students will increase their
knowledge and understanding of Waves,
Photons and Medical Physics. Particular
attention will be paid to Refraction,
Lenses, Superposition, Interference,
Diffraction, Sound, Imaging Techniques,
Photoelectric Effect, Quantum Physics and
Particle-Wave Duality. This is a long and
quite demanding module and the course
tutor’s objective is to give students a
clear understanding of what they need to
know, understand and be able to do if they
are to obtain a high examination grade.
No-one can adequately prepare for the
practical test without practice in a
laboratory setting. Nevertheless, the tutor
will seek to show students how they can
maximise their marks by applying appropriate
skills in planning and analysis.
The course tutor is an experienced teacher,
author and examiner.
AS
Chemistry
The AS
chemistry course will be taken by our
experienced grammar school teacher who has
taught AQA chemistry at AS and A2 levels for
many years and has a very good working
knowledge of all the other major exam
boards. The focus of the course will be the
understanding of all the conceptual aspects
of AS chemistry coupled with practice of
applying that knowledge.
The actual content of each session will be driven by the demands of the students who sign up to the course but one would expect that the following topics would be included to a major or minor degree:
1) The mole including empirical formula, titrations, back titrations, percentage yield and atom economy.
2) Atomic structure and ionisation energies.
3) Bonding, structure and intermolecular forces.
4) Shapes of molecules.
5) Redox and group V11.
6) Organic chemistry from basic principles through to complicated mechanisms.
7) Energetics.
8) Equilibrium.
The students will be expected to take a full and active role in all question and answer sessions plus be prepared to ask individual questions relative to their own individual needs as it is hoped that time will be available for a small amount of individual tuition within the group session.
A2
Chemistry
The Chemistry tutor is an experienced,
grammar school teacher and has experience of
three previous A-level intensive revision
courses and has undertaken private tuition
with CCEA, AQA, OCR and Edexcel examining
bodies. The Chemistry tutor has also been an
A-level chemistry examiner for two examining
bodies.
The Chemistry revision
course will be of particular benefit to
students following the CCEA A2 Chemistry
specification but will also cover the
majority of content from the other
examination boards.
The main focus of the
course will be modules 4 and 5 which are the
non-practical papers students will sit in
summer 2010. The tutor will guide students
through the more difficult aspects of these
modules and then demonstrate the application
of this knowledge through various worked
examples. Students will then be given the
opportunity to test their own understanding
by working through past examination paper
questions.
This process will provide
students with increased confidence in areas
they have previously found difficult. This
is especially true for the mathematical
applications required in module 4 and the
analytical techniques covered in module 5.
The tutor will also summarise the organic
chemistry covered in both modules 4 and 5
and reinforce this with extensive use of
problems from previous examination papers.
Students attending the
course will also be encouraged to ask
questions throughout the teaching sessions
in order to clarify any areas of confusion.
GCSE Chemistry Course
The Chemistry tutor is
a Grammar School teacher with over 30 years
experience of teaching chemistry to A –
Level. He has been a CEA Chemistry examiner
and has been tutoring privately for several
years.
The revision course will be aimed chiefly at
the more challenging topics which have
traditionally proved problematical for
students. These will include bonding,
electrolysis, mole concept, organic
chemistry. Specific areas of request from
pupils in the class will also be addressed.
Pupil interactive notes will be provided on
the areas mentioned as well as comprehensive
summary notes for the whole course. Pupils
should, if they wish, bring along their own
notes and/or question material.
Pupil interaction in class through
asking/answering questions in class will be
encouraged.
The aim is for
increased confidence and overall improvement
in standard. Tackling previous CEA Exam
questions should help to consolidate
learning and understanding.
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