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.

Product Information

What is meant by computational thinking (thinking abstractly, thinking ahead, thinking procedurally etc.) IfOCRcouldwritesuchaclearanddetailedspecbefore,whynotnow?Thenewlinearexamsystemisalreadytoughenoughandtomakemattersworse,somestudentsdon'tevenknowwhatcontenttheyhavetoknowfortheexam! AnothereasywayofgettingusedtowritingalgorithmsinOCR'ssyntaxistoliterallywritedownallthealgorithmsinthequestionsthemselvesoftheF452pastpapersinthenewsyntax.Theoldspecpapersuseasimilarsyntaxtothecurrentspec,butthereareafewdifferencesandIpersonallythinkthecurrentspecsyntaxisalotcleaner. 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. The book is divided into 12 sections, each containing roughly six chapters. Each chapter covers material that can comfortably be taught in one or two lessons. It will also be a useful reference and revision guide for students throughout the A Level course. Content applicable to the A Level only is indicated throughout the textbook.

So,thefirsttimeroundyoushouldjustfocusonthelogicofthequestions,notthesyntax.Justuseyournotesoryoucoulduse thisresourcewhichbasicallygivesexamplesandnotesoneachconstructinOCR'ssyntax. The internal workings of the (CPU), data exchange, software development, data types and legal and ethical issues. There'sglimpsesofclarityoftheoldspecinthenewonebuthonestly,Ithinkwhoeverwrotethiseitherdidn'tgetpaidenoughorisjustplainlazy.IcouldgoonandonbutIthinkyougetthepicture. Anyway,IthinkIjustneededtoventandletallthecontemptIhadforOCRbeforetheyreleasedthisguideout(don'tgetmewrong,Istillhatethem). 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.Candidatesshouldbeableto:a.describethefunctionandpurposeofthe...andALU(arithmeticlogicunit)asindividualpartsofacomputer; Movingon,theveryfirstwordofthespecpointissomethingveryfamiliarinexams,itsays DESCRIBE.NowI'msurethatIdon'thavetotellyouthedifferencebetweenthecommandwordsstate,identify,define,describe,explainetc.soitwouldmakeperfectsenseforOCRtoclearlystatewhatknowledgeIneedregardingtheALU. SEE!EvenOCRrealisedwhatatremendousfailuretheirspecificationwas.Lookattheextraordinary,thegreatlengthsitgoestoandthefamiliarwordingusedtoensureitisasclearaspossible.Sure,theydon'tusetheworddescribelikebeforeastheyprobablywanttoexpandthescopeofthespec,whichisfine. Ialsofoundpaper2abitharderthanpaper1atfirstbut,ifyoudoeverysinglealgorithmquestionoftheoldspecpapersyou'llbefine.AndIdomean everysingleone.

There are several resources that will help you have confidence in your application of the marking criteria for H446: Students must take all three components to be awarded the OCR A Level in Computer Science. Component Asforthepseudocodequestions,I'drecommenddoingallthequestionswithyournotesfirstifyouaren'tsureabouttheOCRsyntax.Obviously,youdon'thavetouseOCR'spseudocodebutIthinkit'sbestnottotakerisksandjustusetheirsanyway.Besides,it'snotthatcomplicatedanyway. Whenyou'recomfortablewiththelogicsideofthings,dothequestionsagain(allofthem)soyoucanpracticewritinginthecorrectsyntax.IalsodoneVisualBasicinyear12anditwasterriblesinceIhadneverdoneanyprogrammingbeforehand. EvenafterdoingGCSEICTIhadnoideawhatanyofthismeantandI'mselfteaching!IhadtolookattheoldspectogetabetterideaofwhatIneededtoknow.Sonowlet'slookathowtheoldspecstateswhatcontentyouneedtoknowabouttheALU: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.