QCE Biology IA2: Student Experiment Support Pack

10 hours, 600 minutes or 36000 seconds. Regardless of how you look at it, class time on IA2 disappears in the blink of an eye.

‍

Here is a guide offering tips and tricks supporting you and your students squeeze value out of every second with

• Expert teachers on call 24/7 breaking down each syllabus dot point from the Edrolo Biology Unit 1-4 course
• Activities as hooks from our new Year 7-10 Edrolo Science resources with backwards-mapped scientific inquiry skills required for QCE success
• Unlocking class time for draft consultations, ultimately giving you valuable time back.

‍

Love these ideas and want more? Reach out for more information on QCE Biology and Junior Science.

‍

How can I support my students in research and planning?

‍

1. Students can learn, revisit, or be directed to theory to become experts on Biodiversity or Ecosystem dynamics at their own pace.

• Here is a link for a lesson exploring the syllabus dot point "Determine diversity of species using measures such as species richness, evenness (relative species abundance), percentage cover, percentage frequency and Simpson’s diversity index".
• Want to go more specific? Here is a 3 minute section within the dot point focused on strengths and limitations of relative species abundance.

‍

2. Two of my students missed a mandatory practical and now have hundreds of questions. What can I do?

Our expert teachers scaffold students through all mandatory practicals. Here is Biology guru Andrew Douch breaking down the process of Mandatory Practical 1. This knowledge is essential to make informed decisions regarding the direction of their investigation modification.

‍

How can I support my students in analysis of evidence?

‍

Junior Skill Sharpener Alert - Representing Data

• 5 - 20 minute hook activity
• Class discussion where students could write answers on the board
• Have students brainstorm different ways they may represent data and justify why
• Get the scissors or post-it notes out and get the students making posters

‍

1. Here is a ‘chunk’ from mandatory practical 1 where Andrew supports students' analysis of data. Students have this for every mandatory practical.

‍

2. Remember the IA1 Data Test masterclass you used to support students in the previous assessment? The worked examples are gold in supporting students to master this section, too.

‍

How can I support my students in interpreting and evaluating?

‍

Junior Skill Sharpener Alert - Evaluating changes to Ecosystems and Populations

• 5 - 20 minute hook activity
• Provide students with the results
• Run a write/pair/share focused on Question 6 and 7 where students justify their conclusion in support OR refuting the claim
• Peer-mark using ISMG OR have a class discussion focused on what makes an insightful interpretation and justified conclusion/s linked to the research question

‍

1. Explore the sections from Mandatory Practical 1 where Andrew scaffolds the discussion process and highlights the nuance of speaking into limitations.

‍

How can I support my students in communication?

‍

Junior Skill Sharpener Alert - Using claim, evidence, reasoning

• 5 - 20 minute hook activity
• Give students 5 minutes to fill out the sheet
• Ask them to add anything you deem essential
• Peer-mark and give feedback OR have a class discussion the quality of genre conventions and scientific language used

‍

Revolutionise the drafting process

1. Bring the drafting process to the classroom

Get your nights and lunchtimes back through dedicating two lessons of your 10 hours class time to draft consultation.

How? Working off a maximum of 25 students in your class, students are allocated a 5 minute draft consultation block during class time (that is a maximum of 125 minutes). Students are active in the drafting process as they ask questions directly on their pain points. You can either

• Have students write notes from the conversation on next steps OR;
• Provide a recording of each feedback session to students OR;
• Send students Edrolo video/chunk links related to areas to consider e.g. Discussion/Limitations

‍

What do students do before/after their consultation?

Student agency is at the heart of this approach. To prepare for the consultation, they can put together a list of questions for you, the teacher. Next, they can use Edrolo to improve their understand and assignment through accessing

• Theory videos
• Mandatory Practical videos (Introduction, Procedure, Analysis and/or Discussion/Limitations

‍

2. Can Edrolo help me speed up drafting outside of class time?

We have got you covered! Save the typing and instead copy/paste links to lessons and chunks. Preface with students that feedback includes content for ‘areas to consider’ in their assignment.

‍

The lesson links are a lifesaver, where do I find them?

‍

Have you found something on Edrolo you would love students to have a look at? You can find the video links in either the main menu or in a video. For chunk links, these are found on the associated chunk.

‍

Subject Course Planner/Main Menu

‍

‍

Inside a video lesson

‍

‍

‍

Ideas for sharing

• Collaborative page on class OneNote
• MS Teams class channel
• Email

‍

*Like most great ideas in education, these are not new. We’re not claiming them as our ideas, we’ve simply used them, relied on them, loved them, and now collated them.