AS coursework assessment (SN3)
Notes on the 2005 course, provided by Edexcel.
For information about assessment of the new course starting September 2008 see Edexcel Biology 2008
AS course work (unit SN3) consists of two components, the Visit or Issue report (unit SN3/01) and the Practical Review Paper (SN3/02).
Visit (unit SN3/01)
The 'visit' can be to any place of biological interest such a cider factory, the Millennium Seed Bank, a zoo, or a hospital pathology lab. The variety of venue chosen by centres so far is very impressive. Candidates must write up the project unaided once the criteria have been made clear by the Centre. Good planning, preparation, and the choice of a stimulating place with plenty to offer are important.
Issue report (unit SN3/01)
The 'issue report' is an alternative to an out-of-school activity (the 'visit'). This needs to be launched in a stimulating way to ensure that the candidates enter into the spirit of the activity - as candidates tend to be when stimulated by the visit to an interesting place. Inviting some outside speakers from, for example, a hospital cardiovascular unit, a university department, or a research facility could be one way of achieving this.
Things to watch for on both visit and issue reports
Some candidates under-achieve by basing their report on only one or two sources (often relying heavily on the SNAB text-book).
A good report requires thorough research using a range of sources and exploring some individual ideas. A visit to a zoo might reveal claims that zoos can be used to re-introduce animals into the wild and to maintain genetic diversity. But how true are these claims? They need to be evaluated, by surfing the internet and by using a library to look for examples where such things worked, and seeing what people say who may not entirely agree.
Some candidates write a good descriptive essay (strand Ba) on what they saw during a visit and the science behind it, yet fail to explore the more speculative aspects (e.g. does genetic modification of yeast offer possibilities to extend the scope of the brewer? (strand Bb) Any such claims need to be explored and evaluated (strand Bc).
Some candidates lose marks through simply failing to identify the two aspects and their target audience as requested (A - identifying), or failing to set out their report as described in the specification, or exceeding the word limit of 2000 words (C - communication).
Practical review paper (SN3/02)
This is a written paper released in advance. Candidates need to select items of practical write-ups, and to use these in the formal examination itself to illustrate their answers.
The questions are generic and skills-based, and the best, indeed the only way, to prepare candidates for this paper is to do a range of SNAB practical activities throughout the AS year, especially all the 'core' ones. These core activities need to be done throughout the course and practical skills developed through feed-back provided by the teacher through the write-ups.
The skills are defined clearly in the specification. 'Students should be able to discuss the most appropriate methods for presenting data in order to identify trends and patterns clearly, and to an appropriate degree of accuracy' is best learnt by doing several practicals where these issues arise, and by careful choice of the practical write-up most appropriate to the particular question.
The teacher is free to help candidates to develop skills in the specification right up to the point where envelopes containing the question papers are opened - then the students are entirely on their own!
