Computer Science OCR A level H446 Spec. Simplifies teaching by adhering precisely to specification: Detailed, but concise coverage of each section. Great for home-learning & revision. Simple to use.

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Iimagineatthispointyouunderstandallthematerialandit'sjustamatterofretainingthatinformation.So,Iwouldrecommendjuststartmemorisingallthekeyterms/definitionsorwhateveryouwanttocallthemforthetheoreticalsideofthespec(whichismostlyassessedinPaper1).Essentially,youneedtogothrougheverysinglekeywordinthespecificationandlearnitinsideout. Regarding that last point, the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) have recently released guidance, which makes it clear that all NEA must be marked in the same way as before the pandemic disruption. This is really important, as it will help ensure that all students’ work is marked to the same standards. IfOCRcouldwritesuchaclearanddetailedspecbefore,whynotnow?Thenewlinearexamsystemisalreadytoughenoughandtomakemattersworse,somestudentsdon'tevenknowwhatcontenttheyhavetoknowfortheexam!

AnothereasywayofgettingusedtowritingalgorithmsinOCR'ssyntaxistoliterallywritedownallthealgorithmsinthequestionsthemselvesoftheF452pastpapersinthenewsyntax.Theoldspecpapersuseasimilarsyntaxtothecurrentspec,butthereareafewdifferencesandIpersonallythinkthecurrentspecsyntaxisalotcleaner.Here at OCR we’ve had lots of queries from centres in recent weeks about marking coursework, or non-exam assessment (NEA). For A Level Computer Science (H446), this means the programming project. That'sthewholepointofaspecification,to specifythecontentthatthecandidatesneedtoknow,notjuststatearandomtermexpectingstudentstoknowwhatyou'retalkingabout.

Students are introduced to the internal workings of the (CPU), data exchange, software development, data types and legal and ethical issues. The resulting knowledge and understanding will underpin their work in component 03. Obviously,you'llneedsometechnicalskillsinwritingcodeinHTML,CSS,JavaScript,SQL,LMCandofcoursepseudocodeamongstotherthings.Forthis,youactuallyneedtopracticebydoinglotsandlotsofquestions,noamountofmemoryworkwillcutit.There'sloadsofquestionsintheoldspecpapersthataredefinitelyworthatry. Students will be expected to analyse a problem (10 marks), and design (15 marks), develop and test (25 marks), and evaluate and document (20 marks) a program. The program must be to solve it written in a suitable programming language. Toconclude,IwilljustlinktheASandAlevelspecificationsandtheASandAlevelsubjectcontentclarificationguideswhichIhighlyrecommendyouusetoknowwhataspectsofthecontentmentionedinthespecyouneedtoknow. Candidatesneedtohaveanunderstandingofthepurposeandfunctionofthecorecomponentsofaprocessor.CandidatesneedtounderstandtheroleandcomponentsoftheALU.Ialsofoundpaper2abitharderthanpaper1atfirstbut,ifyoudoeverysinglealgorithmquestionoftheoldspecpapersyou'llbefine.AndIdomean everysingleone. A free on-line marking course is available on OCR Train. This can be completed in your own time and includes a series of tests designed to ensure that you are correctly allocating levels to the AEP and practical performances. The internal workings of the (CPU), data exchange, software development, data types and legal and ethical issues. Movingon,theveryfirstwordofthespecpointissomethingveryfamiliarinexams,itsays DESCRIBE.NowI'msurethatIdon'thavetotellyouthedifferencebetweenthecommandwordsstate,identify,define,describe,explainetc.soitwouldmakeperfectsenseforOCRtoclearlystatewhatknowledgeIneedregardingtheALU. Anyway,IthinkIjustneededtoventandletallthecontemptIhadforOCRbeforetheyreleasedthisguideout(don'tgetmewrong,Istillhatethem).

There are several resources that will help you have confidence in your application of the marking criteria for H446: SEE!EvenOCRrealisedwhatatremendousfailuretheirspecificationwas.Lookattheextraordinary,thegreatlengthsitgoestoandthefamiliarwordingusedtoensureitisasclearaspossible.Sure,theydon'tusetheworddescribelikebeforeastheyprobablywanttoexpandthescopeofthespec,whichisfine. AnoldspeccandidatewouldsimplyreadthespecandknowheknowsthefunctionandpurposeoftheALUbutanewspeccandidate...wouldsimplyreadthewordALUandthinkdoesheknoweverythingaboutit.ImeanseriouslyOCR,wasitthattiresometowritethisspec?So,thefirsttimeroundyoushouldjustfocusonthelogicofthequestions,notthesyntax.Justuseyournotesoryoucoulduse thisresourcewhichbasicallygivesexamplesandnotesoneachconstructinOCR'ssyntax. Whenyou'recomfortablewiththelogicsideofthings,dothequestionsagain(allofthem)soyoucanpracticewritinginthecorrectsyntax.IalsodoneVisualBasicinyear12anditwasterriblesinceIhadneverdoneanyprogrammingbeforehand. As the JCQ guidance also says, the 2022 grading process that takes place after marking, when the grade boundaries are set, will provide a safety net. So please don’t think that by marking your students’ work to pre-pandemic standards this year, you are in any way doing them an injustice. (For more on 2022 grading, please see this Ofqual article from September last year.)