LabTalk,
Volume 50, No.2, 2006
Reviewed by: Diane Latham
BIOZONE Student Resource and Activity Manuals
for Year 11 and year 12 Biology 2006 with Model Answers
In 2006, the eleventh annual edition of these manuals was published. This year, particular care was taken to bring the content and organization of the manuals inline with the changes to the VCE Biology Study Design. It should be noted however that these manuals are also designed to cater for the senior Biology syllabi in NSW, WA, SA and Queensland.
The manuals are printed in New Zealand using paper from sustainably managed forests.
Schools are advised to order the manuals directly from BIOZONE as the cost per student is significantly less than when the manuals are purchased individually from educational bookshops. To complement the manuals, Model Answers are available as a separate booklet for a reasonable charge.
The print is black and white but the graphics are expertly presented. Many photographs are included. Diagrams are easily interpreted and clearly labeled. Figures are set out in a sequential manner making the activities easy to follow by students.
The manuals include strict photocopying bans. No part of these publications may be photocopied under any circumstances.
The new VCE Biology syllabus has seen significant changes to the content and organisation of the year eleven course. The BIOZONE manual for Year 11 commences with a chapter on basic skills in Biology including hypothesis formulation and experimental design; graph drawing, basic statistical analysis and scientific report writing. This is followed by a sequence highly suited to unit one with the chapters on cell structure and function, nutrition, gas exchange, transport, excretion, reproduction and development. The principles of classification are also covered. Chapters suited to unit two follow. These include environment and adaptation, communities, population dynamics and practical ecology (ideal for teaching the skills required for fieldwork). A final chapter covers changes in ecosystems.
The Year 12 syllabus has not been changed to the same extent as the Year 11 syllabus but the biochemistry and signaling pathways topics in unit three have been well catered for. The sequence of chapters, in the Year 12 manual follow the VCE study design perfectly.
The sequencing of chapters and content in these manuals is now much more user friendly for the VCE than it has been in previous years. Formerly a teacher would need to constantly direct students back and forth between different sections of the book for relevant pages.
Use of the manual, with its tear-out pages, has the potential to be a highly enjoyable exercise for motivated students. Each chapter commences with a list of learning objectives with check boxes the students can complete as they work through the content. Key words in bold type are suggested glossary words that the students can compile with their own definitions. Supplementary texts, periodicals and internet resources are also provided to supplement student learning.
Each activity page has a code that indicates to the student (and the teacher) the difficulty level and the skills required to complete that page. For example, an activity page with a code A1 means that whilst some application of knowledge is needed to solve the problems set (A), the questions are of a relatively simple nature not requiring complex reasoning (1). DA2 would mean the activity page includes application of knowledge, data handling/or interpretation (d) with some complex reasoning required (2).
Some of the activity pages comprise paper practicals. I have found these particularly useful as the "hands on" visual nature of these activities appeal to the majority of students regardless of their ability levels. For example, the human karyotype exercise in the Year 12 manual involves students cutting out chromosomes from an idealized metaphase spread and compiling a karyotype. An example in the Year 11 manual is the leaf litter sampling exercise where the students design a sampling technique in order to estimate the incidence of various insect species amongst leaf litter.
The BIOZONE manuals generally provide a more comprehensive coverage of concepts than that required by the VCE Study Design. A problem associated with this is the need to direct your students carefully about how much detail they need to learn and how much should be considered extension material. The level of detail is ideal for highly amitious students who wish to persue a career in the biological sciences but it can be quite daunting for those who struggle with biology concepts.
It is ideal to order the exact number of manuals required directly from BIOZONE although they do accept returns (at your expense). Deliveries are generally very prompt.
These manuals work extremely well as supplementary texts.I would not recommend they be the only text used by the class of students. Given the reasonable costs involved, they are excellent value for money. |