Video

Vanessa Barry, Extended Project Coordinator, Joseph Wright Centre, Derby College
Mel Chadwick, Vice Principal, Winstanley Sixth Form College, Wigan
Extended Project supervisor Kathryn Lovelock, Beauchamp College, Leicester
Dr Kerry Bristol, Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies, University of Leeds
Dr Paul Goddard, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Lincoln

Extended Project supervisor: We were really inspired by this idea of an Extended Project.

Extended Project supervisor: It gives the students a real opportunity to develop some of the research skills and study skills they're going to need.

Library/Resource manager: It's such a good thing that they're doing because it's such good practice for when they get to university.

Extended Project supervisor: This is them taking on board a project, running with it and coming up with their own ideas.

Vanessa Barry, Joseph Wright Centre, Derby College: They have to be autonomous learners, they have to research.

Extended Project learner: They encourage you to go to libraries and talk to professors at universities that are specialists in what you're doing.

Mel Chadwick, Winstanley Sixth Form College, Wigan: It's just that boost of confidence that being accepted into such an academic environment really gives to our students.

Extended Project learner: You have to be able to manage your time efficiently.

Extended Project learner: It's helped me to organise my time, you learn how to manage your subjects as well as being able to pursue this separate interest.

Extended Project learner: It's the independent study and being able to reference and research for yourself.

Extended Project learner: I've learnt to not just take a source at face value.

Extended Project learner: We always have computers, we always have books, we've got the library, we've got all those resources, we can always access them.

Vanessa Barry: Students have the choice of producing a 5,000 word written assignment or they can produce an artefact. They can do it either as a DVD, a sculpture, a presentation, perhaps as a group activity.

Extended Project learner: I chose to do the artefact rather than just a 5,000 word essay because I could raise awareness and actually make a difference.

Extended Project learner: Planning is an important part of the Extended Project.

Extended Project learner: The log builds up 75 per cent of the marks.

Extended Project learner: You record every change you make, you record what you're doing and it just helps you get through it really in a systematic way.

Extended Project learner: You keep a diary of your project, such as photos and video.

Extended Project supervisor: They can put all kinds on it, photographs from trips they've done and field work - that's the bit they really enjoy.

Extended Project learner: We have weekly meetings with our mentor, which are about 10 minute sessions.

Extended Project learner: And they're really useful because if we're not sure on what direction we want to go in, we can ask our supervisor.

Extended Project learner in one-to-one mentor session: It's going quite well, I managed to find a copy of the questionnaire that I wanted to use on the internet.

Extended Project supervisor: The skills I've encouraged is the communication skills.

Kathryn Lovelock, Beauchamp College, Leicester: They can email other people doing the Extended Project and ask them questions and then compare.

Extended Project learner: All the skills I've learned from doing this will just transfer straight away and I'll be a lot more set up for doing it at university.

Dr Kerry Bristol, University of Leeds: I think this is a really good opportunity for students to develop independent critical thinking skills.

Dr Paul Goddard, University of Lincoln: Students will be better prepared for higher education because it will equip students with the kind of learning skills that higher education seeks to achieve.

Extended Project learner: This has helped me to focus on all subjects to get the grades that I need.

Extended Project learner: You're going to need that level of independent study and the EPQ gives you the opportunity to develop those skills.

Kathryn Lovelock: They get the chance to work independently; they get the chance to be quite creative as they've got a complete choice of whatever they want to do.

Extended Project supervisor: The students this year are working on a very wide range of subjects.

Extended Project learner: I'm going to look at how body satisfaction affects body distortion.

Extended Project learner: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Extended Project learner: Congenital heart defects.

Extended Project learner: A film about eating disorders.

Extended Project learner: The health systems in the UK and in Pakistan.

Extended Project learner: Modernist literature.

Extended Project learner: To what extent has the recession impacted women's spending?

Extended Project learner: I decided to do a charity concert.

Extended Project learner: You have to look further afield to try and gain the information you need.

Extended Project learner: You've really got to be quite self-motivated.

Extended Project learner: I think it's helped to focus me and is something I'm doing for the future.

Extended Project learner: It helps because then you can apply it to your other subjects.

Extended Project learner: Having the chance to step on a platform will take away the leap between A level and degree level work.

Mel Chadwick: Extended Project supervising is all about stepping back. Losing control can sometimes be quite challenging for teachers.

Extended Project learner: I can talk to any member of staff about my project - it's not just my mentor.

Extended Project supervisor: You do need co-operation from other members of staff who might just cast their eye over something to make sure it's all going in the right direction.

Kathryn Lovelock: As a supervisor your role is not to actually give the students the information they need, but to help them find ways of accessing the knowledge.

Extended Project supervisor: You're saying to them "How are you going to do this?", "What are you going to do" and literally you're making them take responsibility for their own learning.

Extended Project learner: The staff are fabulous they're there to help to kind of stretch your imagination of what resources you can look to.

Extended Project supervisor: It's great to teach it as well because you find out so many fascinating things that they're doing, it's just really enjoyable.

Extended Project supervisor: Those students are enthused, those students are motivated and for many of those students they can go on to university.

Extended Project supervisor: It stimulates students' learning and really prepares them for what's out there in the real world.

Vanessa Barry: It's very satisfying to see students reflecting on what they've learned.

Extended Project learner: It kind of proved to me that I could do something if I put my mind to it.

Extended Project supervisor: It does set students apart from others when they're applying to university.

Extended Project learner: When you come to writing your personal statement it's really useful.

Extended Project supervisor: You can go into interviews and have something to talk about and it gives them those skills which allows them to be successful in future careers.

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