NEA Preparation with Inversity’s Free A-Level Resources - TC meeting

If you were unable to join us for the recent thematic community meeting on NEA Preparation with Inversity’s Free A-Level Resources - TC meeting, don't worry! Here’s a summary of the session’s key discussions and insights. You’ll also find links to further resources and materials to help you make the most of the tools discussed.

Key Takeaways:

• Inversity’s challenges offer a structured way for students to develop problem-solving skills and prepare for the NEA.

• Free resources include lessons on market research and problem curation, as well as AI-marked feedback on submissions.

• Inversity’s AI-assisted platform provides detailed feedback, streamlining the teacher workload.

• The approach encourages students to focus on iterative development and practical application of skills.

• Using AI in NEA preparation can facilitate productive discussions about its appropriate use in projects.

The thematic community session, led by Laura Nevin from Worcester Sixth Form College and James Kuht from Inversity, explored how free resources and challenges from Inversity can be used to support students’ preparation for the Non-Exam Assessment (NEA). Laura shared her journey of piloting these resources and highlighted their potential to enhance both teacher efficiency and student outcomes.

Overview of the Inversity Platform: Inversity’s platform offers a library of challenges designed to foster problem-solving and technical skills. The session featured a demonstration of the platform, showcasing how students can sign up, access challenges, and receive AI-generated feedback on their submissions. Notably, the Government Digital Services challenge is available for free and includes an interactive chatbot trained on insights from industry professionals. This feature helps students practice identifying real-world problems and crafting solutions.

Addressing NEA Challenges: Laura discussed common hurdles in NEA preparation, such as time constraints and ensuring students feel equipped to tackle their projects. She emphasized how Inversity’s challenges mimic the NEA process, providing practice in user-centered design, market research, and iterative development—all aligned with exam board expectations. Importantly, the platform’s AI-assisted marking relieves teachers from the burden of manually assessing practice projects, offering detailed feedback that students find invaluable.

Promoting Skill Development: Through structured lessons on market research and problem curation, students learn essential skills for the NEA’s analysis phase. These lessons encourage a hands-on approach, with tasks that guide students in gathering and synthesizing data, refining their problem statements, and creating prototypes. For example, students use the chatbot to ask industry-relevant questions, helping them build a deeper understanding of user needs and potential solutions.

Using AI Effectively: The session also addressed the role of AI in NEA preparation. While AI use is restricted in some areas of the NEA, such as testing, it can be highly beneficial for brainstorming and research phases. Inversity’s open approach to AI encourages students to explore its capabilities while fostering critical discussions about ethical and practical considerations.

Further resources:

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