Environmental Science

School Science Review,
Volume 90, No. 333, June 2009
Reviewed by: Melissa Glackin

Biozone is an international company that has been producing resources to support the teaching of biology-related sciences at post-16 level for over a decade.Environmentmal Science is a new title in its Biology Modular Workbook series, using the house style and format of previous workbooks in the series. It is obvious, from how user-friendly these workbooks are, that this company listens and responds to teachers' needs. Clear chapter learning objectives are expressed. Up-to-date topic-related websites are listed and these links are listed electronically on the Biozone website, making access simple. Alongside these resources are subject-related articles from both professional and academic journals, providing students easy access to more in-depth work and, for many, their first introduction to scientific papers. There are plenty of useful illustrations, photographs and diagrams; however, occasionally, because of their small size, these can be difficult to interpret, especially in the case of satellite images. Questions in the main are demanding, asking students to compare and contrast, explain, describe and discuss. In several places extension questions have been slotted in, asking students to complete local surveys and write up reports. The sudden change in demand on skills and time of such tasks would require consideration before setting. Model answers are available on an accompanying CD-ROM. The notion of this being a workbook rather than a textbook is useful, in that it can save time on photocopying and enable quick access to additional assessment resources. The cost of the resource does encourage teachers to rely solely on the purchased publication, rather than dipping in and out. Where the cost has been passed onto students the pressure to utilise the resource, over possible other choices, may become apparent. It is questionable whom this book is aimed at in the UK. With environmental science no longer offered as an A-level, AQA's course being replaced with environmental studies, and the new A-level biology courses no longer offering optional environmental science modules, the only obvious candidates are those schools offering the International Baccalaureate. Much of the content is replicated within different workbooks within the series, including the Ecology and Evolution modules; therefore it would seem prudent to recommend other texts within the series initially.