Ds struggling with A' level geography

[Kurzgesagt]

Ds1 has just started studying A' level geography at our local sixth form

college. It was one of his favourite subjects and one of the few that he talked
enthusiastically about. Work ethic in year 11 not amazing to be honest - did the homework etc but the bare minimum to get through - and not the most assertive or confident of 16 year olds although he does have his moments He's dyslexic and required a scribe in essay based exams yet in spite of this he did reasonably well in his GCSEs and managed to get a 6 in geography - in fact 2 marks off a 7.
After 2 or so weeks at college he seems pretty disillusioned with the subject, he enjoys it but is struggling to cope with the the teaching style of the tutor. Apparently he whizzes through stuff at a rapid pace without properly explaining things and just reads off a power point. I asked ds if he had access to any lesson plans or notes on the college moodle so he could prepare himself for lessons but he said what there was was very basic. No recommendations with regards to text books etc so far (do they still use text books even ?) and ds isn't sure which board they are studying for so we haven't been able to buy any study guides yet.
I've encouraged ds to ask his teacher what written materials he could be using to improve his understanding but doubt he'll pluck up the courage if I'm honest....Ds actually has a college mentor to support him so I may well ask her how they can accommodate his learning needs better but I'm not sure what we can expect. I know it's a long shot but just wanted to ask anyone who has experience in the subject for any recommendations re appropriate textbooks, websites etc and what kind of skills are expected in the subject.
I appreciate that it's very much up to ds to get his head down and to recognise that A' levels are a world apart from GCSEs, requiring a bit more initiative. Can you really motivate someone to work harder ? Thanks in advance !

No experience with geography, lots of experience with dyslexia, both myself and students.

DS should be sent the powerpoints before the lesson, and they should be with a font ds can read and a background that suits him. If not sent electronically then printed out on the correct colour paper.

My default is a yellow background - good for partially sighted students amd the font 'lexia'.

Does DS have a laptop? If so he should have the laptop with the powerpoint in class so he can annotate it and change the colour if necessary.

Does he have a note taker in class? A properly trained note taker?

I tend to use gapped handouts with all students but for the dyslexic student if they fill it in they should have the essential information when they leave the class.

He needs to know the exam board so he can look at the syllabus.

It might be worth ds reading up about dyslexia and how his brain works differently so he can use his dyslexia to his advantage.

Thanks for your input, really appreciated! Have spoken to his progress tutor who is going to have a word with his geography teacher re lesson notes etc, he’s also given me exam boards and recommended text books for all his a levels !

Did he have the option of staying at his existing school as maybe it would be easier to get help in a school where the teachers already knew your ds.

Thanks Millie he failed his English language ( got a 3) and so although the rest of his grades were okaish - 9 5’s and 6’s, school sixth form doesn’t do resit classes. He also felt that the facilities at the local college particularly with regards to computer studies were far superior so really wanted to go there ! I’ve managed to speak to his ‘progess mentor’ and he’s going to have a chat with ds and geography teacher, he’s also given me details of text books, exam board revision aids etc so cross fingers he’ll feel a bit better !

I teach this subject and level. My advice:

1. Find out the exam board and buy the relevant revision guide. The CDP ones are good, and they do them for all exam boards. Note that they cover the basics and won’t be enough to get higher than a C on the exam.

1. Get him reading around the subject. What is he doing in class? Is there something online he can read to give an example of something in class. It’s expected that students fill their exam answers with relevant examples - very different to GCSE.

1. The NEA will be completed during the two year course. My advice here is that he has to motivate himself to do this way ahead of time.It’s a geographical investigative report that totals 4000 words. He won’t be able to ask his teacher much as the idea is they work as independently as possible.

The pace is more urgent at A level BUT students have free periods to do extra work/revisiting of content. There is simply too much to get through to stop and start again. It’s up to him to do this.

Hope this helps!

CGP*

Also dyslexia/scribing isn’t an issue. I had two students who got A’s last year who had both. They just got organised and did extra/asked me tons of questions!

Yes omg! I can help.

I just did a level geo. Everyone complained about how awful the teachers were. For reference I was off for several months due to being at hone with baby and got better than most people in my class in the summer mocks, despite struggling at the start. Here are my tips:

• make his own notes using both textbook and internet. And make sure they're neat and colourful. Use diagrams which stick in your mind
• highlight stuff rather than trying to read a block of Black and white text
• use acronyms! For example I used SCHAMPIT F to remember threats to glaciers... for example S is scientific research, C is co2, and make notes under each heading
•make a summary at the back with all the topics. Try and recall information without looking at the notes. Tick of the ones you know and then focus on the ones you didn't recall much from
•past papers are ok, but they change every year with geography. What's more important is learning the info and being able to apply it to any question.

I got an A overall.

Maybe you could apply for his dyslexia to be taken into account when he's given his final grade, at the very least he'll etc extra time in exams.

@ThatFlamingCandle doesn’t work. I had a student who had a car accident on the way to the exam. Drunk driver with kids in the back. She came in crying. Got 1% extra on paper 1. Exam boards are tough.

@Geog1985

That's crazy, that's genuinely insane. I wonder why they didn't do more.

@ThatFlamingCandle because people would abuse the system. Broken arm/leg etc it’s the same. The best bet is always to get a scribe/extra time. Really benefitted my students who needed it. You’ll never get anything from the exam boards.

Thanks again everyone ! Very helpful advice. I suppose it's now up to him to motivate himself to put it into practice although I'll support him as much as I possibly can !