One of the reasons The Student Shed exist is to help students and their parents navigate the sometimes unclear waters of the educational system.
Too often there is a miscommunication between teachers and students regarding what is required from each other.
To help avoid any misconceptions about expectations, the Ministry of Education has put together a syllabus for each subject. It represents a general guideline that teachers should follow in order to help their students do well in the BJC and BGCSE examinations.
In today’s website update, we’ve added several new syllabus subjects for you to download, including;
- BJC Literature
- BJC English Language
- BGCSE Religious Studies
- BGCSE Literature
- BGCSE Family & Consumer Science
- BGCSE Commerce
- BGCSE Keyboarding Skills
- BGCSE French
- BGCSE Spanish and
- BGCSE Economics
The syllabus can be a bit intimidating, and I will outline the general structure of it to help you understand its components.
Near the beginning of each syllabus there is usually an outline of the aims and objectives. When you read this, you will get a clearer understanding of what outcome is expected from your work.
Following the objectives, there is usually a scheme of assessment which shows the relationship between the components of the examination and the assessment objectives.
The scheme of assessment explains how the examination paper is organized and how the marks will be distributed.
Additionally, the scheme of assessment highlights the time allotted for each exam and how the grades are awarded.
This is definitely something a shrewd student would want to know
Another useful component of the syllabus is the list of recommended or referenced materials. In many cases, a student is required to obtain only a small selection of these materials.
The teacher on the other hand benefits greatly by having access to most if not all of these materials.
If it is your hope to remain ahead in your school work, you would want to ensure that you follow the teacher’s lead and have access to most if not all of this list of materials as well.
I’m not suggesting that you go ahead and purchase all of these books.
You just need to have ready access to them when you need it. A simple library membership will suffice.
Think about those class projects when you need resources for additional research. This list of additional materials can be your secret arsenal to help you ace your subject.
Next, is the biggest chunk of information found in the syllabus, the subject content. It is here that each topic is broken down into fine details. This is the real meat of the syllabus.
How many times have you or someone you know left an exam room only to complain “We weren’t taught that topic” ?
One way to alleviate this issue is to read through the subject content and ensure that you have covered and understood every topic on the syllabus.
There are many reasons why a student may have not learnt a topic on the syllabus. It could be that he was absent on the day the teacher taught the lesson, or maybe the teacher did not have adequate time to teach the lesson.
In any instance, you can take on the responsibility to ensure that you have covered every detail on the syllabus.
If a subject has coursework associated with it, then the coursework details will be outlined in the syllabus as well.
The format, subject matter, presentation and amount of time that a student should devote to coursework are all mentioned in that section of the syllabus.
Near the end of the syllabus book, you may find an appendix with samples of examination papers, a glossary of terms or any other important additional information pertaining to that subject.
So, as you can see, the syllabus is not only useful for teachers, but also for students as well.
If you haven’t yet downloaded your subject syllabus, what are you waiting for?
We now have over 20 different BJC & BGCSE subject syllabuses online for you to access for free.
Get your free copy right here. If you don’t see the subject you’re looking for, feel free to let me know in the comments below or send a message.
Until next time, happy learning!
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