Course Guide

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to your Wolsey Hall Guide to the Edexcel GCSE Psychology course.  Please take the time to read carefully through this guide. It will explain how the course is structured, how to get the most out of the course and how your work will be assessed. At the end of this guide you will find the Programme of Study for the course which shows how the course links to the Edexcel syllabus. 

Psychology is such a fascinating subject. We hope that, through your studies with Wolsey Hall, you will come to love it as much as we do.

During your course you will learn much about Psychology that’s interesting and useful. The varied subject matter of this course provides insight into some of the key areas of Psychology, which will enhance your understanding of why humans behave in the way they do. By the end of the course you should be able to:

  • Use specialist vocabulary, psychological concepts, terminology and conventions to engage in the process of psychological enquiry
  • Acquire knowledge and understanding of Psychology, developing an understanding of self and others, and how psychological understanding can help to explain everyday social phenomena
  • Understand how psychological research is conducted, including the role of scientific method and data analysis
  • Present information, develop arguments and draw conclusions through a critical approach to psychological evidence, develop as a reflective thinker
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between Psychology and personal, moral, social and cultural issues, and develop an understanding of ethical issues in Psychology
  • Develop an understanding of psychological issues, the contribution of Psychology to individual, social and cultural diversity, and how Psychology contributes to society

We hope you’ll really enjoy your GCSE Psychology course and studying with Wolsey Hall. The main thing to remember is your tutor is always here to help, so please contact them whenever you have a question, no matter how big or small, and we will do our very best to help you do your very best!

SYLLABUS AND EXAMINATION

This Wolsey Hall course has been written by a Psychology specialist to prepare you for the Edexcel GCSE Psychology 1PS0 course and final examinations.

At the end of your course, you will sit a final exam, at a local/national exam centre which is administered by Edexcel.

In your Edexcel exam, you will sit two papers:

  • Paper 1 (Paper code: 1PSO/01): This paper lasts 1hr 45m and is worth 55% of your final grade. This is a written examination in which all questions must be answered. There are 98 marks available. This paper consists of six sections. The first five sections each cover one of the Topics (Development, Memory, Psychological Problems, The Brain and Neuropsychology, and Social Influence). These sections will include multiple-choice, short-open and open-response questions.

The sixth section will contain two extended open-response questions. These questions will focus on debates within Psychology and the interrelationships between the core areas of Psychology.

This paper may also draw on knowledge and understanding of investigations from Research Methods.

  • Paper 2 (Paper code: 1PSO/02): This paper lasts 1hr 20m and is worth 45% of your final grade. You must answer all questions from Section A and then all questions from your chosen options - Sections B to F.

Section A will focus primarily on Research Methods, although it can draw on material from Topics 1 to 5 from Paper 1. It will contain question types that include calculations, multiple-choice, short-open questions, and one extended open-response question.

Sections B-F are the optional topics. The two options chosen for this course are Topic 6: Criminal Psychology and Topic 9: Sleep and Dreaming. These sections will include multiple-choice, short-open questions, and one extended open-response question.

Please note: Calculators may be used in the examination. Information on the use of calculators during the examinations for this qualification can be found in the syllabus, Appendix 2: Calculators.

Throughout the course, as well as knowledge of general psychological theory, you will also need to learn key studies. For each key study it is important that you learn the aims, procedures and findings (results and conclusions). You must also be able to evaluate each study, so you will need to focus on the strengths and weaknesses.

YOUR COURSE BOOK AND RESOURCES

Wolsey Hall offers a unique model of offline and online resources to our homeschooling students – a model which we have developed based on our many years’ experience of providing home schooling courses to students.

Course Book

Each subject specialist team carefully selects the best course book from which you will study. The course book for your Psychology course is:

EDEXCEL GCSE Psychology, by Christine Brain, Anna Cave and Karren Smith (Pearson Education, 2017); ISBN: 9781292182773

This book has been carefully prepared to cover the full curriculum for the latest Edexcel GCSE Psychology syllabus. It covers the key topics, theories and studies you will be learning about. It also covers the key issues and debates relating to each of the compulsory topics and includes contemporary studies that are up-to-date and relevant to today’s society.

Throughout the course, we recommend that you try all the questions in the course book – the Programme of Study will highlight which pages you should read for which Module. You should also make full use of the exam preparation material to help you to prepare for your final examination.

We can’t stress this enough: in our experience, those students who spend time preparing well for the examination at the end of the course are the ones who perform significantly better in their exams and get the best grades.

Other Resources

In addition to your course book, your tutors have sourced lots of interesting and fun resources to support your learning. The resources are clearly marked out in the Course Modules and you should make use of these alongside your course book work to ensure that you get the very best out of your course.

  • MASSOLIT Resource

Massolit is an outstanding website which provides high quality videos presented by subject specialists. We strongly recommend that you watch all of the Massolit videos linked to the relevant topic pages of your course.

HOW YOUR WOLSEY HALL COURSE IS STRUCTURED

All the files required for your Course are uploaded onto our Learning Management System, Canvas. Once you have read through this guide and downloaded a pdf of the POS then you are ready to begin the course.

The Course is divided into eight Modules which cover one section of the syllabus at a time. These IGCSE Psychology Course Modules will help you to get the most out of your Course Book. Each module is subdivided Topics so that you can study the course in manageable chunks. Each Topic is set out as follows:

  • Introduction – this section will include clear learning objectives for that topic along with both the page references and required activities from your course book.
  • Links – there will be links to resources that will enhance your understanding of key concepts and will give you an opportunity to apply your knowledge.
  • Extension Material – this section is for those students who would like to extend their knowledge and understanding of that topic material. We would encourage those students aiming for high grades to work through all our extension (stretch) exercises.

At the end of each Module, you should complete the End of Module Quiz to test your understanding of material covered in the module. This is a multiple-choice activity that can be completed as many times as you wish to ensure that you have achieved all the learning goals for the Module.  You should only begin the Assignment when you have completed all the topics and achieved a score of 90% or more in the Quiz.

HOW YOUR WOLSEY HALL COURSE IS ASSESSED

Your progress will be assessed throughout your Wolsey Hall course by completing assignments. These allow you to think critically about what you have learned and will enable your tutor to see how well you are progressing. Your tutor will mark these and provide you with detailed feedback. Once you have had your marked assignment returned you will be able to access the Mark Scheme and/or a Specimen Answer (an A-grade piece of work). You should consider your feedback carefully, reflect on it and apply it in your future assignments.

We ask that you do not submit multiple assignments at the same time. It is very important that you reflect on your tutor’s feedback before beginning each new assignment, so that you can incorporate their tips for improvement into each new piece of work.

The assignments have been designed to help you prepare for your final examination – all the questions are taken from past exam papers. You should read the questions carefully and answer them to the best of your ability, providing relevant examples (where necessary). If you do not do well in your assignment – don’t worry! Your tutor will be able to recommend extra work that will improve your understanding. 

There are eight assignments throughout the course. Before you submit your assignment please ensure you have completed the required reading in the textbook and have completed the Quiz.

Assignments 1-5 are aimed at preparing you for Paper 1 (worth 55% of the total GCSE). Assignments 6-8 prepare you for Paper 2 (worth 45% of the total GCSE).  

All assignments are submitted via Canvas – you should consult the Canvas Guide for more information. 

HAPPY TO HELP

When you study a Wolsey Hall course, you are never alone! There are lots of people who are willing to help you. Everyone is on your side! 

  • Tutors: At Wolsey Hall, all our tutors are friendly and knowledgeable. They are subject experts and you should not be shy about asking them questions about your course. You will meet your tutor via a video call and you should contact them if you have any questions.
  • Student Progress Managers: You have already been assigned a Student Progress Manager who can help with your assignment schedule.
  • Exams Officers: Wolsey Hall’s Exams Officers are here to help students with any queries regarding exam centres.
  • Canvas Help Desk: Canvas is a great virtual learning environment, but we understand that sometimes, even the best things can go wrong! If you have any problems with Canvas (e.g. uploading assignments or unable to access resources) you should submit a Canvas Help Ticket.

For information about how to create and submit a Help Ticket, please refer to the Canvas Guide.

Best Wishes

The Wolsey Hall Team

DOWNLOAD YOUR PROGRAMME OF STUDY