Welcome to LC History: Preparing for the New Research Study Report. This short course has six lessons of about 25 minutes. You know your history; this course is about the report your first fifth years under the new specification begin when the State Examinations Commission (SEC) issues its brief.
In this first lesson you rate your confidence, see the report as the specification sets it out and what is not yet published, and study a two-year planner with the unset dates left open. Then you note where a practice inquiry fits in your fifth year. Lesson 6 ends with your own plan for the research study, which a Coding Ireland tutor reviews. Your survey, reflections and plan across the six lessons compile into a downloadable Professional Learning Portfolio when you finish.
Before the presentation, rate your confidence on the five areas this course develops. There are no right answers. You will rate the same five statements at the end of the course, so you can compare each rating with your first.
Watch this presentation on the new Research Study Report: the specification and its two assessment components, the report as the specification sets it out, what is not yet published, and planning the two years with the unset dates left open.
Study this two-year planner, filled in for an invented class starting the new specification in September 2027, with the dates the SEC has not set left open. Read the notes on each line.
Download the blank planner to use with your own class: Two-year planner (Word).
Use the planner you have just studied to start on your own fifth year. Download the blank template if you want it beside you: Two-year planner (Word). On screen, answer one question. It saves to your Professional Learning Portfolio as Before the Brief.
In this lesson you set a confidence baseline and saw the new Research Study Report as the specification sets it out.
| Key idea | Why it matters for your teaching | Classroom application |
|---|---|---|
| 40%, on a common brief | The Research Study Report and the written examination are each set and examined by the SEC | Tell your fifth years from the start that the report is 40% of the subject |
| The brief in term two of fifth year | The report goes to the SEC in sixth year, after approximately 20 hours of research; the SEC has not set the dates yet | Plan by terms, and leave the SEC's dates open in the Two-year planner (Word) |
| Still to come | The NCCA's guidelines, the SEC's brief and any sample brief | Check your plan against them when they are published |
Next: Strand 1, the specification's research process, and a research question with its historical significance.
Enrol to take the whole course. Your work is saved as you go, and you get a certificate when you finish.