Welcome to the Guston CEP School data handling project. You may have reached this page by following the link in the QCA Teacher Assessment Activities: ICT Key Stage 2.

The census project has been revised (March 2006). Click here to enter.

Please note that the materials were never designed to be used as an out-of-context assessment task, as recommended by QCA.

The project at Guston CE Primary School was developed to show how data handling may be integrated into a history topic as an investigative tool, while fully covering the statutory ICT curriculum entitlement. It presents an alternative model to QCA ICT Unit 5B. The content was revised and taught to a Year 5 / 6 class in March 2006.

Nineteenth century census data is rich in potential for discovery of trends and connections which can genuinely contribute to pupils' understanding of social change. Dover 's car ferry port is situated in the parish: comparisons between 1841 and 1871 data provide clues to the expansion of transport during this era, and its effect on people's lives.

The QCA ICT data handling units present an exceptionally high level of cognitive challenge to learners. Unit 5B in particular makes substantial demands on pupils' ability to conceptualise abstract models and relationships. The work requires mathematical skills and concepts which are not taught until Year 6.

The unit requires pupils to use AND / OR in complex searches. AND to narrow a sample is readily understood where it occurs in the natural language of the question: "Who goes swimming and plays football?" The problem is with the inclusive function of OR. To find swimmers and footballers, OR is the right choice.

The unit also expects pupils to use the mathematical relations =<, =>. These are not introduced in Mathematics until Year 6. They are required only where numeric data is non-integral. Able pupils will grasp the meaning of these operators, but they can be avoided. Rather than "Which birds lay 5 or fewer eggs?" it is surely preferable to ask "Which birds lay less than 6 eggs?"

There is no need to teach OR in preparation for Key Stage 3. In the Framework for teaching ICT capability, OR is not specifically required until Year 8. In Year 7, the focus is on relevant enquiry in an authentic context. Teaching objectives include: " Narrow down a search (AND) to achieve more relevant results."

In other words, natural language AND is more important at this level - as in virtually all of our routine interaction with large databases. Many pupils interact daily with search engines, without ever having to use OR. Search engines return both types of matches. Results where all criteria are matched are ranked first, followed by records where one or other of the criteria has been matched.

In offering an alternative to Unit 5B, the priorities are to:

•  Take a step-by-step approach to building skills and concepts

•  Have realistic outcomes which are achievable in the time available

•  Show explicit links to opportunities in other subjects

•  Take account of pupils' mathematical development

•  Include clear-cut examples, minimising complexity in the data.

These revised expectations for Key Stage 2 pupils are in line with the level descriptors. The emphasis on purposeful inquiry provides a more effective preparation for Key Stage 3. In place of complex logical searching, the main objective in Year 5 is for pupils to recognise the most efficient retrieval strategy in the language of the question:

Which is the commonest / most frequent .? frequency chart

Which is the tallest / oldest .? sort into numerical order

Which <entities> have <attributes>? search

The revised expectations present implications for planning and teaching. The aim of the Guston project is to exemplify how this can be achieved in an authentic, purposeful context which has intrinsic relevance and interest for pupils.

Many able pupils thoroughly enjoy the challenges posed by logical database searching. At the discretion of the teacher, OR may be taught to pupils of high cognitive ability, but is not essential.

Click here for Kent's revised expectations for Key Stage 2 pupils' data handling.

Dr Helen Smith
ICT Adviser (Primary)
Advisory Service Kent