School Science Review,
Volume 90, No. 332, March 2009.
Reviewed by: Peter Anderson
"The focus of this series of books
on
understanding by activity rather
than by
didactic explanation has
to be applauded."
"The visual impact of the slides
is remarkable."
CD-ROMs also available as a
bundle £199.95 (with bonus
Gene technology CD-ROM)
These stand-alone workbooks
follow the usual high-quality
Biozone format. The quality
of the pictures and diagrams is
consistently high (though all in
black and white). The books all
begin with useful explanations
of terms used in exams, concept
maps for the topic, resource
information and a list of
references for further reading.
They are a modular resource and
a further seven titles are available.
The books are intended to be
used as a source of activities
and a set of model answers is
provided on CD-ROM with each
order. The books are not intended
for photocopying and are
intended for single use so would
have to be purchased in sets by a
school or by individual students.
As they are very detailed and
focus on specific areas of the
syllabus, this would represent a
major annual investment for a
school. However, the quality of
the activities is high and always
interesting for students (and
teachers).
The content covered by these
three titles is very wide ranging,
always covering the basics from
all current A-level specifications
and well beyond. Any student
with a passing interest in any
of these areas of biology would
certainly find the content very
useful. These are high-quality
workbooks that go well beyond
the narrow confines of the
A-level specifications and are
highly recommended - I shall
certainly be purchasing some of
the other titles in the series.
The CD-ROMs are a useful
accompaniment to the
workbooks and contain slides
that can be used for classroom
presentation. The slides on the
discs are of a very high quality
and would be a useful addition
to any biology department's
resources, though at a cost. The
presentation files can be placed
on the school's intranet and can
be edited and customised as
desired. PowerPoint handouts
can be printed for student use.
The discs contain an absolute
wealth of information ranging
from basic topics through to
many areas not covered by
A-level specifications. This is a
recommended resource if you use PowerPoint and data projection
in your A-level teaching.
Incorrectly stated in review
*(1) student resource and activity manuals - should be Student Workbook |
