Fantastic new A Level revision guides and also IGCSE workbook now available

Every so often I have a wander through Amazon to see what is available. I am amazed at the explosion of textbooks available, particularly for IGCSE. For example I havejust discovered that there is a workbook to match Mary Jones new, and extremely good, textbook. I certainly will be ordering it.
There are more A Level text books also being produced for the new specification, especially two sets of revision guides both of which I recommend. I have created an E-Store that has all the relevant textbooks for Cambridge IGCSE and also Edexcel A Level. I will add other categories for other exam boards soon.
In the meantime please have a browse through my E-Store. If you fancy buying book or two that would be great. The order will go through Amazon and will not affect your purchase price if you go through me. However I do receive a small amount of money for each book purchase through my E-Store (all going towards my daughters college fund). If you can get your school to do bulk orders through me that would be absolutely wonderful!

Changing from concept to context approach for AS and A2 level

Our Biology department originally followed the Concept approach for the Edexcel AS syllabus. Our reasons for this were two-fold: a) at the time for making our textbook orders only the Concept approach textbook was available and b) we felt safer with this approach as it was how we delivered the previous syllabus. With all the changes we thought it would be too much of a shift to teaching in a Context approach way as well.

However as the year progressed and after a few online training course it became apparent that whilst the Concept approach was offered the Biology Big Bods were very much SNAB people. I began to wonder whether it would be a good idea to go along with the preferences of the examiners. After all I am of the opinion that, even though I may have my own preferences for how to teach topics, and in what order, and have favourite textbooks, it isn’t me setting and marking the exams. One has to play the game.

By this time the SNAB AS textbooks were available and I sent off for a copy. I immediately liked the book, it is less wordy and weighty than the concept books for a start. In addition the questions appear at once to clearer (i.e as to what detail is required in the answer) and also allows for more applied thinking from the student. Indeed with the placement of activities and questions throughout it is much more of a working tool than the concept textbook. It encourages students to explore and can be used much more easily by the teacher in terms of “working through the textbook” as I do (see additional post on using textbooks) without it becoming too dry.

I showed the book to one of my more high ability students and interestingly they preferred the Concept book. However my more middle ability students much preferred the SNAB approach and indeed the spark appears to have finally arrived in their eyes and lessons are now more dynamic as there is a greater dialogue between us.

Naturally one has to buy into the SNABonline site for both students and teachers (this is actually not very easy to navigate and I will review this separately) and in the first year (2009) it is offered free. As you can imagine I am downloading resources like crazy this year. The fact that one cannot buy a paper version teacher guide/resource pack is very commendable from an environmental point of view, and allows for cheap updates. However I have surprised myself by wishing I had a paper based guide as I do not always have the time to log on, hunt for the relevant resource, print it off then go and photocopy it. It is much easier to grab a folder, flick through and choose the worksheet or have the teacher notes open in front of me during a lesson. I suppose I should just plan ahead and be more organised, but I just do not seem to have the time.

Anyway, both my colleague and I like the SNAB approach so much that even though we have started again this year teaching AS via the Concept approach we will be switching if I am allowed my emergency book order. We already had enough books for our A2 class (all lads who love PE) and the new delivery is a big success, as I said earlier.

Seriously consider swapping, or at least mixing the two approaches. There is a lot of support for the Context approach, is clearly favoured by the examiners and certainly is an easier, less dry, teaching approach.

Using textbooks: its not what you use but the way you use it!

At the risk of being rant like again (see previous PowerPoint post) I have trouble with the double standards surrounding the use of textbooks in class. I have actually had teachers smugly say that they don’t use textbooks, as if this is some old-fashioned lazy way of teaching that they, the amazing revolutionary inspirational teachers that they are, would not dream of stooping too. Usually these are the same teachers who basically transcribe everything onto worksheets and then shower their students with pieces of paper.

I used to be a little like this until I realised that for a significant proportion of class-time my students were cutting, sticking, looking for or losing pieces of paper. I also noticed that there is a limit to worksheets that students can handle in one lesson and have frequently endured groans as I handed out yet another one.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-worksheet, I use them a lot, but I don’t use them at the expense of a textbook. Basically a textbook, if correctly chosen for the course, should deliver all we need. It should have the required information and additional questions to prompt the reader to assimilate the concepts taught. The key question is not whether we should be untrendy and use them but how we can encourage students to use them correctly.

My key tips are (yes I know, yet another internet top ten tips…and apologies if I am teaching you to suck eggs but it may help NQTs):

1. Use the words in bold in the text and tell the student to list them and make a glossary.

2. Use guided note-taking. This is like a comprehension exercise. Often students, particularly low ability, do not know the difference between key information and explanatory information and simply copy everything down without thinking. I work through the textbook, converting the information into exam like questions. After all I know the syllabus and I know what the exam papers are like so I can tailor the notes/questions to suit. The students then use the worksheets (see told you I use them) to work through the section and pull out the key information and actively think about what they are reading. I call these InfoQuests (as opposed to WebQuests and they are basically a booklet of worksheets) and I have added a couple of these to the IGCSE and AS resources. Very textbook specific though.

3. Students should list page reference numbers in their own notes so they can refer directly back to the relevant page when revising.

4. The book should be defaced by the end of the course! If the students are allowed to keep the books (A level students usually have their own at least) I encourage them to highlight, make pencil notes and add post-it notes throughout. It is a learning tool and should be used. Students who achieve the top grades also usually have books full of post-it notes with questions they need to ask me the next time the see me. I love this method as questions are very specific and the answers are usually short. Much better than the general shrug and “I don’t get photosynthesis”…I mean that is a whole topic!

5. Never give out page numbers but just state the topic heading then encourage them to use the contents and index pages to find the page. This is a great opening activity in itself and also keeps the students familiar with their books. Plus they act less like drones numbly turning to the page number given rather than the topic being studied.

6. Use the keyword technique (they usually hate it but it works). In short they read a short section, listing keywords in the margin as they go (plus scribbling down any diagrams, without labels), close the textbook and then make notes using the keywords as guides, plus label any diagram. This requires a lot of concentration and has to be done in one go (i.e. they can’t really natter to their friends, which is why they hate it). The mental processing this takes is much greater than copying directly and they can be amazed at the quality of notes made without the book being open. Recall is also often improved.

7. Students reading out loud from the book seems to keep many on task. Obviously this shouldn’t drag on and naturally we need to be sensitive as to who we pick to read. The students can then shut the book and work in groups to MindMap the topic just covered. I then get them to show and explain their maps. The learning is almost organic this way but of course I do close with formal notes/handout or presentation (or this could be done first and the textbook activity could be a closing activity).

8. Use the contents page as an outline study guide. My students are always asking me, prior to their end of year exams, for a list of what they should study as “other teachers have given them”. I cheerfully explain they already have some lists, they disagree, I tell them they have, they say they haven’t, I say they have….it’s called their syllabus. They grumble, as this document isn’t the “here is the mark scheme to your exam” quick fix they are really after. So then I tell them they have a simpler summary list. They say the haven’t, I say they have…it’s the contents page of their textbook (to which one student recently replied “what’s that?”…why do I bother?).

9. Advise students not to buy too many study guides etc. and to focus on one or two recommended sources: their textbook and one revision guide. Too many students spend too much time looking through a plethora of books that they hope will magically do their revision for them. They lose focus and end up being busy doing nothing. Less fuss and more focus.

10. Often I will photocopy a diagram from the book, tipex out the labels and hand it back as a worksheet to label. However this just results in mindless copying and doesn’t have any learning quality. To counteract this I will either re-orient the diagram so it is sideways, or upside down (if it is appropriate) or use a slightly different diagram from the internet that they then have to try and match to the books diagram. They really have to pay attention to the structures then (the heart is a classic for this as are the nutrient cycles).

Obviously not every lesson should be all about the book. Like every strategy it is variation that works, integrating fantastic multimedia resources with wonderful practicals and useful worksheets. However I do believe that the book is the backbone to the course, always there, complete, without pages falling out and missing lessons. We should applaud the wonderful textbook and remember that time for some calm focus so students can orientate themselves within a two year course is useful. Following a textbook allows students to know where they have been and know where they are going next. It is easy to flick through, to carry around and can be taken on buses and even into the bathroom (after all bidets are for keeping books in…aren’t they?).

As with all resources and techniques it is not what is used but how it is used, how often and how well integrated with other modes of delivery. So I am making a stand for the textbook! We all use them and should not feel like fuddy duddies for doing so: it is a great resource!

New Mary Jones IGCSE Biology textbook and cd due out

I have used the Biology for IGCSE by Mary Jones (Heinemann) textbook mainly because I knew Mary Jones was a principal examiner, is involved in writing the syllabus, the exams and even moderating the coursework. Hence I thought it was a safe bet to follow the textbook written by her. I have also met her and she is very nice, so it is quite cool to tell my students that I have chatted to her personally (it seems to give them so confidence that I may know what I am talking about… poor deluded fools that they are!).

The book does not use coloured diagrams and, although this may seem to be a negative, I personally feel that this does not detract from the book. Indeed the exams themselves are in black and white so it may be of benefit to the students. In addition we can always use presentations, study guides and online reources to inject a bit of colour in order to clarify explanations.  In fact the diagrams are very clear and well lablelled and the general text is in a largish font which is less off-putting to  my students.

I have shown them other textbooks (which will be reviewed) but they have overall preferred the good old Mary Jones. However I had considered changing the book this year anyway, which is quite a decision as we tend to work through the textbook in sequence and many of our resources refer to the book. The reason for the considered change is that the book has not, understandably, kept pace with the changes in the Cambridge IGCSE syllabus and important sections, such as the nephron, are not included. This could well be the case for other IGCSE textbooks so I was considering the stalwart authors Roberts or Mackeans textbooks.

Fortunately I checked the Heinemann website and not only is a new Mary Jones IGCSE textbook out in June there is a new supporting teachers cd as well. Currently there does not appear to be much information on them but I am guessing they are going to be up to date with even the 2010 and 2011 syllabuses hopefully (as these are already published).

These are due to be published in April 2009 so should be out soon for previewing. I will be sending off for them and of course will review them here. They are about 2 pounds more expensive than the current version publicised on Amazon but of course they will have everything we need to deliver the Cambridge IGCSE.

Naturally I will add the link to the blog for ease of ordering when it is published and available from Amazon.