Microbiology & Biotechnology

School Science Review,
Volume 90, No. 333, June 2009
Reviewed by: Maria Bateson

As Biozone states, this is a workbook with activities and questions; it is not intended as a textbook. This particular workbook is for the A-level module 'microbiology and biotechnology', though it is not aimed at any particular syllabus. The workbook has five chapters: microorganisms and biotechnology, cloning and cell culture, genetic manipulation, biotechnology in medicine and genome research.

Each chapter starts with brief chapter contents and the learning objectives (with tickboxes so that they can be licked off when completed). There is also a comprehensive list of supplementary texts, periodicals and the Biozone website which has further supplementary material, suggested websites and free downloads including glossary sheets.

Activity pages are laid out in the same way throughout. Each page starts with an introductory paragraph on the subject and highlights the keywords. This is followed by clear diagrams and pictures, which are easy to understand and bring in aspects of 'How science works'. Finally, there are questions and activities for students to complete. Each activity has been given a level (1 being the most simple, and level 3 the most challenging, requiring integration of concepts) and a type (data handling, research, analysis, etc.) so that each page gets a code (e.g. D2), which can help teachers in assigning work. Also, the pages are all perforated so that they can be removed for marking and slotted into students' notes.

There are some useful pages at the front of the workbook that explain key terms such as describe, interpret, analyse, etc. There is also an explanation of the Biozone website, a concept map of microbiology and biotechnology, a timeline of some modern biotechnology landmarks and information on supplementary texts and periodicals.

On the whole, the activities are relevant and contain a good degree of challenge. I like the activity on cheese making that explains how different cheeses are made and gets students to think about why the steps in each are important and how they contribute to the type of cheese produced. I also like the range of tasks involved in the activities, including drawing a diagram to illustrate the recombinant method to manufacture a vaccine, writing a short essay on the ethics of therapeutic stem-cell cloning, and researching local water-treatment facilities. However, for some of the activities, the tasks are very short and contain as few as three questions, with the majority of the page being taken up by print which students could get from their course textbooks.

Since this is a workbook and the intention is that all students have a copy, there is a very strong statement at the start of the workbook stating that no part of it may be photocopied and every page has a similar statement. This is rather annoying because the workbook is not aimed at any particular syllabus so will contain material that is not required by some exam boards. Also, there are some activities that would be very useful to a triple science group for example, but it would not be appropriate to buy the workbooks for the class if only a few pages were going to be used.

If I was teaching the microbiology unit to my A-level classes, I would consider buying the workbooks and using them for homework activities. They could also be used with GCSE G&T students and triple science classes but the cost of the workbooks would prevent many schools from doing this.