Command Terms Glossary

Command Terms Glossary

This Command Terms glossary can be used with both students and staff.

The glossary can be given to students as an aid throughout the course. It clearly explains how the command terms are used in their exams and defines each one, based on the definition given in the DP subject guides.

The glossary also shows students the different subjects where each command term is used. This is aimed to help the students see the connections between their subjects and to focus on the skills the subjects are asking of them. It can come as a surprise to students that when they are being asked to analyse in English A: Language and Literature, they are being asked to do exactly the same thing in Japanese A: Literature, History, Environmental Systems and Societies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Visual Arts too.

The glossary can be used to support student understanding in lessons and as a check against their knowledge of the terms. The glossary can also be used when students are attempting formative assessment, to allow them to get used to using the command terms in the correct way. This can be checked with students by giving them the Command Terms glossary quiz, which can be found here.

The glossary also provides a good opportunity for staff training, which is shown in the “collaborative planning folder in this website here and here. The glossary can be used to highlight the links between the different subjects across the programme, leading to staff discussing the different Approaches to Teaching they use to teach each of the command terms. This results in teachers working with colleagues from other departments who teach the same command term and allows them to share their knowledge and understanding as well as learning new ways to teach the command term. This training can lead to different groups presenting how they teach the command terms `analyse`, `annotate` and `apply`, for example, giving all staff a better understanding of the terms..

The glossary can be used to support student understanding in lessons and as a check against their knowledge of the terms. The glossary can also be used when students are attempting formative assessment, to allow them to get used to using the command terms in the correct way.

I have introduced the glossary to parents at a parent workshop, explaining the importance of the students knowing exactly what the exam is asking them to go and discussing the common errors the students have made when trying to state what each command term is asking them to do.