Paper 2: Coursework gives learners the opportunity to work as part of a team to plan, carry out and evaluate a real project in the form of a travel or tourism event. Undertaking and completing a coursework investigation allows learners to work in a very different way from the traditional didactic teaching and learning style often adopted in preparing learners for an external assessment. Coursework investigation is particularly relevant when studying the travel and tourism industry as the industry is customer-centred, requiring a high level of practical skills.
The purpose of this guide is to provide answers to any of the questions centres may have about the coursework paper and to inspire sufficient confidence in centre staff to deliver this component.
Coursework:
• allows teachers to focus learning specifically on localised examples
• provides a vehicle for the assessment of practical and/or vocationally-specific skills
• allows centres to offer a less tightly constrained curriculum.
Coursework:
• allows learners to take control of their own learning and credits them for initiating tasks and assuming responsibility in managing their own work
• encourages creativity and independent learning
• enhances independent research skills
• develops communication skills
• improves time management skills
• provides a less formally controlled environment in which learners can work
• creates a more realistic vocational setting within which learners can work
• enables learners to understand the context of their vocational study within the wider world, i.e. taking their learning beyond the classroom
• allows learners to be practically engaged using skills and applying knowledge for a specific purpose
• offers a vehicle through which learners can express a thought or an idea freely.
The event must be set in a travel or tourism context and should be a group venture such as:
• staging a conference, meeting or exhibition
• the delivery of a guided tour or similar group activity
• the running of a trip or other group venture.
Learners must provide an overview of their team. They must produce a record of their involvement in carrying out the team event. This can be in the form of a log book or personal notes (with dates of activities). The record must include the following:
• details of their allocated tasks
• details of any problems that arose and how individual team members responded to such difficulties
• details of deadlines and progress made towards each deadline
• an evaluation of their role in the event
• the effectiveness of the team in achieving the event’s objectives.
Learners must produce 2–4 feasibility studies incorporating simple plans showing the target customers and consideration of the resource needs, risks and potential barriers to successful completion. SWOT analyses should be completed with reasons for the final chosen event.
Outline proposal forms are no longer in use for this syllabus for entries from 2022 series onwards. As part of teaching, you should give guidance and feedback to candidates on whether their coursework, essay or project title is suitable.
