Abstract:

Examination specifications in England for General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and General Certificate of Education Advanced Special/Advanced (GCE AS/A) Level examinations changed from 2015 onwards to reflect education reforms affecting curriculum design and assessment set out in the government white paper of 2010 [1]. This prevented coursework, practical examinations, and modular examinations from contributing to external qualifications for learners leaving school at sixteen and eighteen years old. Substantive and discipline knowledge were to be tested by written end of course examinations [1].

For science subjects, practical coursework and examinations were replaced by a list of required practical activities that teachers accredit that their learners have experienced and will help them answer questions about practical and investigation skills on their final examination. These are the same for all the examination boards serving English schools, and the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) specifications for GCSE and GCE AS/A Level Biology [2] [3] can be used as typical examples.

A previous International Academy of Technology, Education and Development (IATED) conference proceedings paper [4] discussed the use of a natural ecosystem on Merseyside in the northwest of England by pre-service science teachers to teach ecology. Using the school grounds is an alternative strategy that avoids some of the challenges associated with conducting fieldwork away from the school environment. School playing fields are a surprisingly diverse ecosystem with plants adapted to differing niches and distributed according to several abiotic environmental factors that can fluctuate over short distances e.g. soil pH, trampling, mowing, light exposure, nitrate depletion, etc...

GCSE and GCE AS/A level required practical activities [2] [3] linked to the ecology sections of the specifications are discussed. Examples demonstrate how random and systematic sampling using quadrats on school fields can be effective in demonstrating the distributions of species, linking this to the measurement of abiotic factors. The practical requirement for GCE AS/A Level is very similar to GCSE and using a version of Association Analysis developed on Field Studies Council [5] field trips is discussed as a strategy for progression.

References:
[1] Department for Education, The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White paper 2010, London, The Stationary Office, 2010
[2] AQA GCSE Biology 8461, Exams from June 2018.
Available from: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/biology-8461
[3] AQA AS and A-Level Biology 7401, 7402 Exams from: 2016 (AS), 2017 (A-level)
Available from: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/as-and-a-level/biology-7401-7402
[4] Tynan, R., “The importance of ecology fieldwork in English secondary school curricula,” EDULEARN23 Proceedings, pp. 2789-2797, 2023
[5] https://www.field-studies-council.org/

Keywords:

Ecology, STEM, required practical, teacher subject knowledge, fieldwork, sampling, estimating populations, association analysis, school playing field.