Anyone else finding EPQ surprisingly difficult for their child?

[CuriousSixthForm]

I’ve been working with Sixth Form students over the past few years on EPQ-style work and something I’ve noticed quite consistently is how many capable students struggle with knowing how to actually approach independent projects. It’s often not the academic side that’s the issue, but things like choosing a topic, structuring ideas, and knowing how to begin. Once that part starts to click, the difference in confidence is quite noticeable and students tend to produce much stronger work.

I’m interested to hear whether others have seen something similar, particularly with students currently in Year 12 or starting EPQ. It feels like something that sits slightly outside what’s explicitly taught, but becomes very important quite quickly.

The key is doing a lot of up-front work on research skills. Long before they start to choose what kind of EPQ and topic, they need to learn what research is (clue - not Google/Insta/Tiktok), different research methods (social, qualitative, quantitative, ethnographic etc), how to identify an end goal, how to identify tasks towards the end goal, how to format citations and a bibliography, and so on. They need to be able to schedule sufficient hours into their timetable to be able to do the work, and to construct a Gantt chart to structure their time and tasks. They need to look at some good and weak completed EPQs, so they know what their own work ought to look like. They have to be taught what the difference is between a teacher (normal subjects) and a research supervisor (EPQ), and learn how to take ownership and lead a discussion about their work. They also need to be able to accept constructive criticism without resentment or sulking. They should also learn how to make and maintain a research journal. They need research ethics drumming in.

With any luck, the flakey ones withdraw once they realise that it really is equivalent to a year’s worth of A Level work, but without a teacher telling them what to do. Actually choosing their topic, focus and research method is a long process of refining ideas. Once all that is done, they can and should spend some time each week in a research peer group discussing their process and progress, in addition to work with supervisors.

Does that help?

I haven’t noticed this with my children. My oldest did an EPQ a few years ago, had lots of ideas and the most difficult part was choosing which one to as he had ideas for all of them. He had read up a lot on how to do a good one. His friends had done the same. College provided support. He didn’t find it anywhere near as much work as an A level and enjoyed the research required.

My youngest is in year 12 now and chose not to do one but some of her friends are and seem to be coping fine.

I lead the EPQ in my school. For choosing a topic, I have several suggestions:

For those who know what they want to study at university, I call it “try before you buy”. Do an EPQ in that area (as long as it doesn’t cover any A level work). Really smart kids look at the research interests of the admissions tutor at their chosen institution and do something in that area.

For kids who wanted to do an A level in something but couldn’t, choose the parts of that subject that interested you and do that.

Whilst I agree with much of what @LoserWinner has written, my exam board loves the use of technology and many students use planning tools like ToDoList, Notion or Trello rather than a GANTT chart. Planning can take any form as long as it lists the objectives and a suitable time frame.

I don’t agree about numbers needing help. We regularly put 80-90 students through, getting 90% A star or A grades. I have had huge groups for the last 3 years (34, 27, 26) and they have managed to keep up. I use a mixture of humour, coaxing and nagging to get them through.

The support provided by the school or college is crucial. I examined EPQs for a while, and it was clear which institutions got it right and which ones didn’t. With proper support, students can produce cracking work without too much stress. Without, they flounder. The absolute worst thing (and it does happen) is when the supervisor does or revises the work.

Any effective planning tool works, as long as they use it properly to PLAN rather then just throw something together to tick the box.

The brilliant thing about doing an EPQ well is that the skills are fully transferable to undergraduate and post-grad research, so they really are setting themselves up well for university work. I occasionally bump into ex-students who enthuse about their final year dissertations, MAs or PhD work and look back to how useful they EPQ was.

Me too! My own DDs say frequently that knowing how to approach things like research and referencing make uni work so much less stressful.

I explain referencing as a skill to be acquired. The exam board wants any recognised form, so in supervision slots, I ask them what form of referencing they are using and why. For those yet to make up their mind, we often google university departments or libraries that they are interested in applying to and checking what they do. I always say that once you know how to do it, it doesn’t really matter if your institution uses a different style because you understand the process.

Your point @LoserWinner about the supervisor’s input is so important. I have a mostly good team. One is exceptional and I have advocated for her to take over from me. We used to get more students dropping it, but with a bit of a shove at the right time, most complete. In their presentations, they always say how proud they are that they got to the end, and that really pleases me. Resilience is important and knowing they can see the EPQ through builds great foundations for future work.

This year (my last in teaching!) my students have done me proud. I have marked some stunning projects on a vast range of topics. Despite the oft-repeated line on MN that Oxbridge is not interested in EPQs, all
mine have been asked about it at interview.