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Creation of Synoptic Resources to develop synoptic skills in students studying
A level Biology and A level Human Biology

	School: Bede Sixth Form College, Teesside
	Fellow: Richard Spencer
	Email: raspencer@ntlworld.com, ras@bede.ac.uk

Project Aim:

To create A level Biology & Human Biology resources which help students to:

	revise knowledge and understanding of a wide range of topics;
	revise in a variety of ways;
	become more familiar with and more confident about answering questions containing different topic areas;
	link different topic areas themselves;
	practise higher order skills such as data analysis, application of knowledge and synthesis;
	appreciate the complex and fascinating inter-relationships between different areas of Biology.

Rationale:

Students studying A level Biology/Human Biology complete 5 different topic units examined in January and June of their first year programme (AS course) and in January and June of their second year programme (A2 course). The linear nature of the course helps students to chunk their revision and to become confident in their knowledge and understanding of different topic areas. However, students do find it difficult to prepare for the synoptic exams at the end of the course. There are two reasons for this: firstly, there is a lot of information to revise from previous units (much of which has not been revisited for up to 18 months); secondly, students are unfamiliar with questions which draw together ideas and concepts from different areas of Biology.

Outline Plan & Progress:

Stage	Outline Plan	Progress to Date:
1	Decide on 3 themes that will provide the framework for 3 Synoptic Resources.	• I have decided on 3 themes: “Circle of Life” - themed around the Nitrogen cycle. “Bewitched” - themed around cystic fibrosis “All to Pot” – themed around cannabis.
2	For each theme, decide on which topic areas to include.	• I have mapped out the content for each theme, indicating which Topics from the AS and A2 specifications are included (Edexcel Biology & Human Biology).
3	Decide on questions and activities to put into each topic area. Plan for variety (e.g. interpretation of data, synthesis of new information, practical work, games, simulation activity, use of ICT, drama and dance).	• Questions and activities planned. • New revision activities created for “Circle of Life” and “Bewitched”
4	Create the resources.	• First draft “Circle of Life” completed. • First draft “Bewitched” almost completed. • First draft “All to Pot” planned in outline.
5	Use feedback from student focus group and Gatsby mentor to evaluate each resource at the draft stage. Make changes	• Draft “Circle of Life” evaluated. • I’m using comments from mentor and the student focus group to make changes to “Circle of Life” and “Bewitched”.
6	Use the resources.	• The resources are designed for use at the end of the A2 course – so cannot be used until April / May 2006. • I have planned their use in my A2 Scheme of Work.
7	Use questionnaire and student focus groups to evaluate effectiveness of the final resources.	• This will be done in May 2006. • I will write a questionnaire for this, and use student focus groups to ask students to expand on the feedback received.

Conclusions so far:

I have enjoyed the challenge of linking different topic areas of biology to produce themed resources. I have created some new, innovative revision activities, which will be incorporated into the final resources. I have tried these with AS or A2 students as end-of-topic reinforcement activities. They’ve proved popular, enjoyable and……they work. These activities include two dances (“DNA Boogie” and Rocking’ Robin Protein Synthesis) and “The Kidney Tour”, developed as both a themed physical tour and now under construction as an electronic virtual tour resource.

The student feedback on the “Circle of Life” draft resource was mainly positive. Students liked the idea of using a resource which pulls together different topic areas and which provides opportunities to revise AS topics within unfamiliar contexts. Some students liked the layout and diagrams, but others felt that too many parts of the booklet looked too much like an exam paper. Some students called for more “prompt” background information to rekindle prior knowledge. All students agreed that that they would benefit most from lesson time spent on the revision activities, using the rest of the booklet (questions) for self-study. I am aware, however, that the students have not used this resource and cannot do so until the end of the A2 course. No doubt the comments made then will be even more – “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”.

Feedback from my mentor (Sandra Amos) has been very valuable and has helped me to face some significant challenges. The “Circle of Life” draft would be difficult for other teachers to follow in its present form; it’s not clear how the resource is to be used and the activities need explaining. I need to consider how the resources are to be used, perhaps separating those parts which students can complete as self-study activities and those which can be done in lesson time. A teacher’s guide to the resources would be helpful and give more overall coherence.

More fundamentally, one of my stated learning outcomes, that students should be more able to link knowledge from different topics, is not strictly true, since in the “Circle of Life”, the links have already been made for them. However, this is also true of synoptic exam papers set at the end of A2. The Unit 5/6 papers contain synoptic questions that draw on knowledge and understanding from different areas of biology, but the only place the students are expected to actually make links themselves is in one essay question. This type of linking requires a different type of activity (perhaps this could be the theme of a final resource?). The resources will help students to become more familiar with and more confident about answering questions containing different topic areas. I believe this will lead to greater confidence when students plan synoptic essays.

Finally, I need to re-assess the balance between lower-order thinking skills (recall and understanding) and higher-order thinking skills (applying, analysing and synthesizing) to ensure that students are given plenty of opportunities to revise previous knowledge, but not at the expense of higher-order thinking skills.

Still to Do:

The three synoptic resources are in varying stages of completion and each resource needs further development. Overall coherence of the resources remains an issue to address – how they are to be used, the balance between self-study and lesson activities and the balance between lower-order and higher-order thinking skills. I suspect that the resources will meet many of the project aims, but will need to plan further activities to help students plan for the synoptic essay question. When the resources are completed, I will devise a questionnaire to evaluate their usefulness and effectiveness, but will also invite evaluation from members of a student focus group as I found their comments on the first draft resource mature and informative.

I have several dissemination opportunities in mind. In June, my college is hosting a “sharing of good practice” group for teachers from six sixth form colleges in Tees Valley locality. Also, I am about to complete training as a Subject Learning Coach and can use regional Science Network meetings to disseminate my findings to a wider teacher audience in North East England.