Co-teaching guide
- the content of the AS specification is a subset of A-level specification
content:
- the A-level content goes into greater depth in some areas and so elements of the A-level/AS content will need to be revised at the end of the course of study
- the software development section appears only at AS, however in co-teaching this section A-level candidates can gain useful insight into the processes required for non-exam assessment (NEA).
- both the AS and A-level specifications have topics which are fundamental to Computer Science and can be taught together in the first year of the A-level course
- topic numbering is consistent wherever possible to enable connections to be made in a straightforward way
- similar assessment structures at both AS and A-level (with the exception of NEA at A-level) will allow the previous year's AS examinations to be used in centres as a progress check.
Core programming skills
The skills required for the AS and A-level specifications are very similar when introducing programming to students. The A-level extends the skills required from AS by adding an appreciation of recursion and a requirement to explore object-oriented programming. The A-level also considers more advanced abstract data types such as graphs and trees. Object-oriented programming and abstract data types could be assessed in Paper 1 as part of an examined programming task or through more theoretical questions.
Centres familiar with the previous GCE Computing specification should see the additional A-level skills as an extension to those taught for programming. Any current schemes of work or lesson plans for teaching programming would be appropriate for the first year of this new specification.
Theory topics
- software development in AS is covered as part of the non-exam assessment (NEA) in A-level
- in A-level additional topics are:
- fundamentals of algorithms
- fundamentals of databases
- big data
- fundamentals of functional programming.
It is possible to co-teach a class of AS and first year A-level students the theory topics. This might mean that rather than finishing some topics off completely for the A-level you would revisit them in the second year.
- data types
- core programming concepts (declarations, sequence, iteration and selection)
- subroutines
- abstraction and automation
- finite state machines
- number systems
- number bases (decimal, binary and hexadecimal)
- binary number system (unsigned, signed two's complement and fixed point)
- character coding systems (ASCII and Unicode)
- representing images and sounds
- data compression
- encryption
- hardware and software
- programming language classification and translation
- logic gates and Boolean algebra
- internal hardware components
- stored program concept and fetch–execute cycle
- processor instruction set (assembly code)
- consequences of uses of computing
- communication and networking.
Possible co-teaching structure
Scenario | Winter term | Spring term | Summer term | Additional guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AS | Programming skills Fundamentals of programming Fundamentals of data structures Theory of computation Fundamentals of computer systems | Programming skills Skeleton program Fundaments of data representation Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture Consequences of uses of computing Fundamentals of communication and networking | Software development Revision for AS exams Additional work on Skeleton program | |
A-level | Programming skills Fundamentals of programming Fundamentals of data structures Theory of computation Fundamentals of computer systems | Programming skills Fundamentals of data representation Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture Consequences of uses of computing Fundamentals of communication and networking | Software development to enable students to commence NEA Commence work on A-level topics eg Object-oriented programming, and databases that are most likely to be useful for NEA | AS examinations could be used as mock papers / progress check for year 13 |
Appendix A - Table 1
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AS topics which are not extended at A-level |
Topics which are introduced in the AS and extended in A-level |
A-level topics which are not included in the AS specification |
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3.1.1.1 Data types (pointer and reference types included at A-level) |
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3.1.1.2 Programming concepts |
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3.1.1.3 Arithmetic operations in a programming language |
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3.1.1.4 Relational operations in a programming language |
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3.1.1.5 Boolean operations in a programming language |
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3.1.1.6 Constants and variables in a programming language |
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3.1.1.7 String-handling functions in a programming language |
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3.1.1.8 Random number generation in a programming language |
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3.1.1.9 Exception handling |
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3.1.1.10 Subroutines (procedures/functions) |
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3.1.1.11 Parameters of subroutines |
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3.1.1.12 Returning a value/values from a subroutine |
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3.1.1.13 Local variables in subroutines |
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3.1.1.14 Global variables in a programming language |
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4.1.1.15 Role of stack frames in subroutine calls |
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4.1.1.16 Recursive techniques |
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4.1.2.1 Programming paradigms |
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4.1.2.2 Procedural- oriented programming |
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4.1.2.3 Object-oriented programming |
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3.2.1.1 Data structures |
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3.2.1.2 One- and multi-dimensional arrays (or equivalent) |
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3.2.1.3 Fields, records and files |
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4.2.1.4 Abstract data types/data structures |
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4.2.2 Queues |
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4.2.3 Stacks |
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4.2.4 Graphs |
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4.2.5 Trees |
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4.2.6 Hash tables |
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4.2.7 Dictionaries |
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4.2.8 Vectors |
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3.3.1.1 Analysis (A level includes requirement for interaction with the users and awareness that clarifying requirements may involve prototyping/agile approach) |
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3.3.1.2 Design (A level includes awareness that design can be an iterative process involving prototyping/agile approach) |
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3.3.1.3 Implementation (A level includes awareness that the solution may be arrived at using an iterative process with a focus on solving the critical path first) |
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3.3.1.4 Testing (A level includes knowledge of acceptance testing) |
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3.3.1.5 Evaluation |
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4.3.1.1 Simple graph-traversal algorithms |
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4.3.2.1 Simple tree-traversal algorithms |
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4.3.3.1 Reverse Polish – infix transformations |
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4.3.4.1 Linear search |
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4.3.4.2 Binary search |
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4.3.4.3 Binary tree search |
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4.3.5.1 Bubble sort |
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4.3.5.2 Merge sort |
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4.3.6.1 Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm |
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3.4.1.1 Problem solving |
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3.4.1.2 Following and writing algorithms |
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3.4.1.3 Abstraction |
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3.4.1.4 Information hiding |
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3.4.1.5 Procedural abstraction |
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3.4.1.6 Functional abstraction |
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3.4.1.7 Data abstraction |
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3.4.1.8 Problem abstraction/reduction |
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3.4.1.9 Decomposition |
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3.4.1.10 Composition |
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3.4.1.11 Automation |
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3.4.2.1 Finite state machines without output (with output required at A-level) |
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4.4.2.2 Maths for regular expressions |
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4.4.2.3 Regular expressions |
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4.4.2.4 Regular language |
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4.4.3.1 Backus-Naur Form / syntax diagrams |
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4.4.4.1 Comparing algorithms |
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4.4.4.2 Maths for understanding the Big-O notation |
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4.4.4.3 Order of complexity |
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4.4.4.4 Limits of computation |
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4.4.4.5 Classification of algorithmic problems |
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4.4.4.6 Computable and non-computable problems |
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4.4.4.7 Halting problem |
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4.4.5.1 Turing Machine |
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3.5.1.1 Natural numbers |
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3.5.1.2 Integer numbers |
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3.5.1.3 Rational numbers |
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3.5.1.4 Irrational numbers |
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3.5.1.5 Real numbers |
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3.5.1.6 Ordinal numbers |
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3.5.1.7 Counting and measurement |
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3.5.2.1 Number base |
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3.5.3.1 Bits and bytes |
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3.5.3.2 Units |
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3.5.4.1 Unsigned binary |
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3.5.4.2 Unsigned binary arithmetic |
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3.5.4.3 Signed binary using two’s complement |
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3.5.4.4 Numbers with a fractional part (floating point representation included at A-level, only fixed point at AS) |
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4.5.4.5 Rounding errors |
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4.5.4.6 Absolute and relative errors |
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4.5.4.7 Range and precision |
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4.5.4.8 Normalisation of floating point form |
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4.5.4.9 Underflow and overflow |
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3.5.5.1 Character form of a decimal digit |
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3.5.5.2 ASCII and Unicode |
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3.5.5.3 Error checking and correction (Check sums included at A level) |
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3.5.6.1 Bit patterns and images, sound and other data |
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3.5.6.2 Analogue and digital |
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3.5.6.3 Analogue/digital conversion (uses included at A level) |
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3.5.6.4 Bitmapped graphics |
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4.5.6.5 Vector graphics |
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4.5.6.6 Vector graphics versus bitmapped graphics |
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3.5.6.5(AS)/3.5.6.7(A-level) Digital representation of sound |
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3.5.6.6 (AS)/3.5.6.8 (A-level) MIDI |
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3.5.6.7 (AS) / 3.5.6.9. (A-level) Data compression |
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3.5.6.8(AS) / 3.5.6.10 (A-level) Encryption |
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3.6.1.1 Relationship between hardware and software |
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3.6.1.2. Classification of software |
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3.6.1.3 System software |
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3.6.1.4 Role of operating system |
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3.6.2.1 Classification of programming languages |
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3.6.3.1 Types of program translator |
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3.6.4.1 Logic gates (half-adder, adder and D-type flip-flops included in A-level) |
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3.6.5 Boolean algebra |
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3.7.1.1 Internal hardware components of a computer |
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3.7.2.1 The meaning of the stored program concept |
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3.7.3.1 The processor and its components |
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3.7.3.2 The fetch–execute cycle and the role of registers within it |
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3.7.3.3 The processor instruction set |
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3.7.3.4 Addressing modes |
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3.7.3.5 Machine-code/assembly language operations |
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4.7.3.6 Interrupts |
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3.7.3.6 (AS) / 4.7.3.7 (A-level) Factors affecting processor performance |
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3.7.4.1 Input and output devices |
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3.7.4.2 Secondary storage devices |
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3.8 Consequences of uses of computing |
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3.9.1.1 Communication methods |
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3.9.1.2 Communication basics |
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3.9.2.1 Network topology |
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3.9.2.2 Types of networking between hosts |
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3.9.2.3 Wireless networking |