Reviews

Journal of Biological Education(2000) 34(4)

Biology exercises for assessment and revision (BEAR) version A

A CD-ROM providing worksheets for those studying NEAB syllabuses 1201 Science Double
Award Co-ordinated and 1161 Science Biology. Written by Chris Colclough, Rob Colclough, and Paul Lister and distributed by Egghead Publications, Hillhead, Bodmin Hill, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0HU; Phone: 01208 87 2525; Fax. +44 (0) 1202 257 258; www.EggheadPublications.co.uk
Hardware requirements: PC 486 with an 8X CD-Rom and 16 Mb RAM or better, with at least 1 10Mb free on the hard disk and compatible printer.
Software requirements: Windows 95, 98 and NT(Acrobat(r) 3.01 supplied).
Price: £ 149.95.
ISBN: 1 9003 10 05 8.

Target group: KS4 science teachers.
Category: Computer aided learning.
Subject: General biology.

Introduction

BEAR version A is a CD-ROM which provides easily accessible and printable biology worksheets with separate answer sheets. Designed for use by staff teaching the GCSE NEAB Biology and Double Award Co-ordinated syllabuses, the resource provides a wide variety of possible uses for all those teaching KS4 biological sciences.

Review

BEAR (Biology Exercises for Assessment and Revision) is the latest of the computer resource packs in the Egghead Science Sheets series; the previous being PEAR and CARE produced for those studying physics and chemistry, respectively. All have been designed for use with the NEAB GCSE syllabuses. BEAR version A is specifically for use with 1201 and 1161. It comprises over 100 printable sheets relating to the following Sc2 topics:

• Life and cell activity.
• Humans as organisms.
• Green plants as organisms.
• Variation and evolution.
• Living things in their environment.
• Applied microbiology.

A lot of time has obviously been taken to cross-reference the material with the syllabuses, as well as to differentiate for the higher and foundation tiers, and to identify material suitable for the science syllabus. The pack is designed to be flexible and provide the user with a variety of ways in which it can be used.
Loading onto a Pentium 533 with 128Mb RAM and DVD drive using the very clear installation instructions caused little problem. The supporting documentation is user-friendly and gives a step by step guide to the product. A split screen allows document details to be viewed simultaneously with a list of contents and thus aids navigation around the software. An index of key scientific terms is provided, which is interactive in as much as it links the user directly to relevant worksheets for each term.

Once loaded, BEAR provides a variety of student response sheets which can be printed for class or individual use. There are worksheets and copy sheets, both in an A4 format. The copy sheets are almost identical to the worksheets, but are intended to be copied by the students and therefore to be non-consumable. The sheets use a variety of styles of questions: there are simple sentence completion exercises using given words and straight recall, through to questions requiring the application of knowledge. Each sheet is supported by a separate answer sheet and all are marked out of a 20 which allows cross topic comparisons to be made. A set of revision sheets with more demanding questions enables students to apply their knowledge and understanding in more unfamiliar contexts. Finally the package supplies both class and personal record sheets to keep track of marks gained and student progress.

The quality of the presentation is good, although the space left for answers may challenge those students with larger or more uncontrolled writing. The text is rather small and could be enlarged, but that would lose the convenience of the A4 format. There is frequent use of diagrams and graphs which, despite being simple, do contain the relevant detail required. Although obviously computer generated the graphics print well and give some relief to the pages of small text. The quality of the questions is generally good, but those prepared for the foundation level lack a little in imagination. Of the answers viewed all were scientifically accurate. There is comprehensive coverage of the NEAB syllabus and also plenty of material to tempt those teaching alternative KS4 biology and science courses.

There are a wide variety of suggestions as to how the material can be put to good use. These range from whole class practice, starting at the beginning of the course, through to supporting final revision. If used wisely this package could increase teacher efficiency and effectiveness by reducing the time and effort required in preparation and marking of materials. It is most likely to enhance a teacher's current practices rather than replace existing methods. BEAR could provide valuable material for consolidation homework and revision sessions. It could also give an easily accessible way of providing meaningful work in the event of short-notice staff absence or assisting individual students to 'catch up' after absence. Science staff teaching outside their own particular specialism would find the accompanying answers a great asset for support and training. With BEAR available in a library or resource centre, students could be encouraged to use it for individual learning, printing off the sheets they required and checking their own answers.

Conclusion

Funds permitting, and used wisely within a school, this package could prove to be a valuable asset. The large number of easily accessible worksheets comprehensively cover the biology syllabus and could save time usually spent by staff producing similar resources for a variety of circumstances. The only minor failing being that the CD-ROM is not compatible for Macintosh® and so denies some the chance to take advantage of all that is offered by this good resource.

Visual summary

Ease of use  *****
Ease of learning  *****
Documentation quality  ***
Academic content  ****
Usefulness to students  ***
Usefulness to teachers  ****
Grading:  * = poor;  ***** = excellent

Lesley Annan