(biology, chemistry and physics)
Centre policy and reasons for offering AEAs
Most of the centres contributing to this case study have been entering students for AEAs since they became available in 2002.
The majority of centres agreed that their overarching policy is to encourage the most able students to consider entry for AEAs. Only a few centres, mainly colleges, include a policy statement on AEAs in their centre literature. Most centres leave final decisions on whether to participate in AEAs to subject departments or to individual subject teachers
Only a very few centres include guidance on selection criteria in their policy. For example, one centre reported that its overarching policy was to ‘encourage all good grade A (based on AS grades and internal assessments) candidates to consider entering for the AEA’. However, the same centre allowed its subject departments discretion to enter candidates achieving just below this level when the student requested it and when subject teachers felt the student showed commitment to participating in the programme of extension classes.
Another college reported that its chemistry department offered the AEA ‘to the most able, those who gained at least 260 points for their AS award, provided they have an enthusiasm for the subject’. In all cases, entry was optional for students considered suitable.
Reasons for offering the AEA
Subject teachers gave the following reasons for offering the AEA.
- To provide the most able students with additional stimuli and challenge.
- As a natural progression of the centre's tradition of offering S level examinations.
- In the belief that participation in extra study and other support activities for the AEA may help borderline grade A GCE candidates strengthen their understanding of the subject and raise their GCE A level examination performance.
- In the belief that attempting the AEA would raise the status of the student's UCAS application.
- To help develop independent learning skills.
Teachers reported that some universities were including the AEA in offers to students applying for particular courses. One centre reported that success in the AEA examination has secured conditional offers at university for students who missed the required GCE A level result by one grade. Former students at one centre believed that preparing for the AEA made coping with their first-year degree work easier.
While nearly all the centres reported that not all their most able students elected to enter for the AEA, there was close agreement on the characteristics of those students who did.
In general, they fell into one or more of the following categories:
-
those aiming to develop a career in the subject
- those with a real interest, and wanting more difficult challenges, in the subject
- those aiming for places at the most prestigious universities or medical schools (and in some case preparing to take other types of test to support their entry, such as the British Medical Association's Test (BMAT) or Oxbridge entry tests).
Marketing and recruitment
While most subject departments encourage only their most able to students to consider sitting the AEA, several provide information about the award to all students through course literature or oral briefings at the beginning of year 13. Some distribute the AEA specification, awarding body guidance and past examination papers and mark schemes at this early stage to help students and parents decide on entry. At least two centres used parents' evening in the first term of year 13, to discuss the suitability of individuals and the work commitment that AEA entry would require. These discussions helped to inform final decisions on selection and entry of students for the award.
Arrangements for supporting and preparing students for AEA tests
In general, schools feel there is a good match between the content and higher-order skills required by GCE A level specifications and the demands of the AEA test specification. However, some subject departments have identified specific content or themes in which to offer their students guided further study, aiming to develop deeper understanding of the subject or sharpen higher-level skills.
Many teachers also feel that students need advice and guidance on how to handle the unfamiliar style of AEA test questions. Typical comments from teachers included:
"In some ways the AEA test resembles the synoptic unifying concept of the A level examination paper, but goes further."
"The college finds some AEA test questions less structured, and for this reason they require more powers of analysis and independent thinking than A level examination questions."
"The higher-order chemistry skills addressed at A level are often tested in more unfamiliar contexts in AEA tests, and some students find this difficult. Links with critical thinking techniques are important here developing the students' examination techniques. Comprehension skills (…needed for interpreting the requirements of questions…) are not easily acquired by students. Students need practice at essay planning, using links and flow charts, showing steps in their arguments and sequencing their response. A level does not necessarily prepare students for writing long essays."
While most subject departments visited provide timetabled enrichment classes for their most able students, a few provide more informal individualised support as and when requested by students, particularly where only one or two have opted to sit the AEA. Generally, this takes the form of guided further study, marking past AEA test questions and further support on specific areas of A level content or topic areas identified by students.
Some subject departments provided enrichment of A level subject content to all GCE A level students, integrating it into A level courses by using:
- visits to local/national/international businesses, industries or research establishments
- lectures provided by higher education institutions, subject societies or professional bodies
- extension notes to accompany aspects of A level subject content.
Where subject departments offered enrichment classes, these were not always provided exclusively for AEA preparation. Many departments have a tradition of using enrichment classes to provide additional stretch for students with a real interest in the subject and/or to prepare students for:
- Olympiad papers/research collaborations
- additional tests such as the BMAT and tests for entry to prestigious universities and/or courses.
Often these enrichment classes are used in year 13 to help students prepare for AEA tests.
Enrichment classes normally take place once a week in the lunch break or at the end of the day and run for 45 to 60 minutes. Subject departments, even within the same centre, varied greatly on when these enrichment classes started. Some started early in year 13 while others did not commence until the summer term. Therefore, the estimated number of classes offered to students varied from between four and 25 in one centre. A physics teacher reported a correlation between the number of enrichment classes attended by students and their degree of success in the AEA test. As a result, this department now requires students to attend 75 per cent of approximately 25 classes to show commitment and justify entry for the AEA test.
Teachers often manage classes differently depending on their purpose; the content of some enrichment classes is tightly planned and delivered by subject teachers, while others only require teachers to provide supporting guidance.
Centres generally use enrichment classes for one or more of the following purposes:
- work on past papers or other AEA-style test questions, particularly old papers requiring essay-style answers and feedback on marked papers and how effectively students organised and presented information/arguments. Some teachers use past papers to run timed tests under examination conditions
- review of terms and phrases (that students are not familiar with) used in AEA past papers to express concepts or current issues. For example, the term 'biologically important molecules'
- debates and/or individual presentations on relevant topics or current issues
- revision and enhancement of understanding of the more difficult or complex areas of GCE A level content
- enhancement of research, reasoning and data analysis skills (students are often required to research an area of interest and present their findings to peer groups)
- personal extended study (including personal research and opportunities to read and summarise articles and extracts from relevant reviews, textbooks, academic journals, periodicals).
Activities and resources offering opportunities to enhance understanding and skills
Subject teachers suggested the following activities and resources.
General
- After-school clubs and societies.
Biology
- One department has developed a bank of additional resources for students to help them with these more advanced topics: stem cell research; genetic disease; the human genome project; ethical issues; transplants; temperature regulation; sugar uptake.
- Useful reading material includes advanced level topics (Roberts) and Medical Research Council packs.
- Each AEA student is expected to carry out an individual research project, either chosen from a list supplied by the department or one devised by themselves. They further enhance their independent learning skills by preparing and carrying out a PowerPoint presentation of their research findings to the AEA group. On completion, they are expected to give their presentation notes and research findings to the department for the benefit of the next A level cohort.
- Once a year all GCE A level students are expected to attempt a university-style 2000-word essay, including references. Topics chosen include: Hox genes; RNA world hypothesis of evolution; size matters; bioluminescence.
- AEA students have to research a topic of interest and present their findings at a subsequent tutorial session. This assists students to develop better independent learning skills.
- Lectures at the Linnaeus Society and the Medical Research Council.
Chemistry
- One department has developed a bank of additional resources for students to help them with these more advanced topics: chemistry of epoxyethane and UV spectroscopy; oxidation numbers and shapes of molecules.
- Useful reading material includes the journal, Chemistry in the news.
- AEA students have to research a topic of interest, then present and debate their findings at a subsequent tutorial session. These debates can be quite challenging and help students to formulate and clearly present their arguments.
- Lectures at the Medical Research Council and the Royal Society.
- An annual science lecture for professional scientists (for example the Henry Tizard memorial lecture) to which students are also invited.
Physics
- One department has developed a bank of additional resources for students to help them with more advanced topics, such as complex algebraic expansions and proofs.
- Useful reading material includes the journal, Physics review.
- All GCE A level students undertake and present their findings on an applied research project on the mechanics of the machinery and equipment at a local theme park. For example, the focus of the research project might be deducing the safest and least safe places to sit in a particular ride, after investigating the application of circular motion and kinetic energy. Subsequently, the student might explain these applications of energy transfer to a small group of GCSE students. This process helps to develop the type of independent study skills needed to succeed in the AEA.
- To enhance learning about positron emission tomography a visit to the radio-physics department at Hammersmith Hospital to see a cyclotron being used.
- One centre is considering organising a visit for A level students to the CERN laboratory in Switzerland to enhance the A level nuclear physics option.
Also see
> Teaching advanced level subjects
> AEAs
QCA web links
> AEAs
> GCSE, GCE, VCE, GNVQ and AEA code of practice 2007
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Page updated: 12 June 2008