As a teacher, you know that mock exams are more than just a rehearsal; they’re a vital checkpoint for students preparing for high-stakes assessments. They provide insight into what our learners are good at and what they need to work on.
But what if your mock exams could do even more?
Get involved in the Disciplinary literacy & corpus-based pedagogy: The BAWESS project!
The BAWESS research team are currently investigating disciplinary literacy in the exam years (GCSE, IGCSE, A Level and IB), and we’re inviting teachers to share your mock exam papers which we will digitise, analyse and share findings with you. By contributing, you’ll help advance our understanding of students’ use of language to demonstrate subject knowledge in these high-stakes exams.
Why get involved?
The BAWESS project will provide evidence-based insights into the language patterns in different disciplines and the writing development of your students’. We plan to work with teachers and the Education Endowment Foundation to share resources that identify common linguistic patterns across subjects.
What’s next?
Sharing your mock exam papers is simple, and the benefits are significant. You’ll gain access to findings that can inform your teaching practice and help your students succeed – not just in exams, but in mastering the language of your discipline.
What’s in it for me?
As part of the offer to schools supporting the project, we’re providing a series of CPD sessions designed to promote the teaching and learning of disciplinary literacy in secondary schools’ exam years.
Join us for our first workshop in the CPD series titled ‘Supporting students to know and write the genres of their subjects’ on Wednesday 21st January 4:00 – 5:00pm (UK time).
Ever wondered why students struggle to write confidently in your subject? It’s not just about spelling and grammar—every discipline has its own “language” and way of building knowledge. In this session, we’ll discuss what makes writing in science different from history, or how essays differ from reports and explanations. You’ll leave with practical strategies to help students tackle tricky subject-specific genres, so they can express their ideas clearly and succeed in your classroom. Whether you teach maths, English, geography, or beyond, this workshop will give you tools to make writing a powerful part of learning in your subject.
Click here to register.
Interested in getting involved?
Reach out to the BAWESS team today and be part of shaping the future of disciplinary literacy in secondary education.
Information about how to get involved in the BAWESS project can be found here. Alternatively, you can complete this form, or contact us as bawess@bath.ac.uk.
