O level Biology Syllabus for Singapore

5094BIOLOGY(NEWPAPERSWITHSPA)ORDINARYLEVEL2008BIOLOGYGCEORDINARYLEVEL5094INTRODUCTIONThissyllabusisdesignedtohavelessemphasisonfactualmaterials,butamuchgreateremphasisontheunderstandingandapplicationofscientificconceptsandprinciples.Thisapproachhasbeenadoptedinrecognitionoftheneedforstudentstodevelopskillsthatwillbeoflong-termvalueinanincreasinglytechnologicalworld,ratherthanfocusingonlargequantitiesoffactualmaterial,whichmayhaveonlyshort-termrelevance.Itisenvisagedthatteachingandlearningprogrammesbasedonthissyllabuswillfeatureawidevarietyoflearningexperiencesdesignedtopromoteinquiry.Teachersareencouragedtouseacombinationofappropriatestrategiesinteachingtopicsinthissyllabus.Theassessmentwillbespecificallyintendedtotestskills,comprehensionandinsightinfamiliarandunfamiliarcontexts.AIMSThesearenotlistedinorderofpriority.Theaimsareto:1.provide,throughwell-designedstudiesofexperimentalandpracticalBiology,aworthwhileeducationalexperienceforallstudents,whetherornottheygoontostudysciencebeyondthisleveland,inparticular,toenablethemtoacquiresufficientunderstandingandknowledgeto1.1becomeconfidentcitizensinatechnologicalworld,abletotakeordevelopaninformedinterestinmattersofscientificimport;1.2recognisetheusefulness,andlimitations,ofthescientificmethodandtoappreciateitsapplicabilityinotherdisciplinesandineverydaylife;1.3besuitablypreparedandstimulatedforstudiesbeyondOrdinaryLevelinBiology,inappliedsciencesorinscience-dependentvocationalcourses.2.developabilitiesandskillsthat2.1arerelevanttothestudyandpracticeofscience;2.2areusefulineverydaylife;2.3encourageefficientandsafepractice;2.4encourageeffectivecommunication.3.developattitudesrelevanttosciencesuchas3.1concernforaccuracyandprecision;3.2objectivity;3.3integrity;15094BIOLOGY(NEWPAPERSWITHSPA)ORDINARYLEVEL20083.4enquiry;3.5initiative;3.6inventiveness.4.stimulateinterestinandcareforthelocalandglobalenvironment.5.promoteanawarenessthat5.1thestudyandpracticeofscienceareco-operativeandcumulativeactivities,andaresubjecttosocial,economic,technological,ethicalandculturalinfluencesandlimitations;5.2theapplicationsofsciencemaybebothbeneficialanddetrimentaltotheindividual,thecommunityandtheenvironment;5.3sciencetranscendsnationalboundariesandthatthelanguageofscience,correctlyandrigorouslyapplied,isuniversal;5.4theuseofinformationtechnology(IT)isimportantforcommunications,asanaidtoexperimentsandasatoolfortheinterpretationofexperimentalandtheoreticalresults.ASSESSMENTOBJECTIVESThesedescribetheknowledge,skillsandabilitieswhichcandidatesareexpectedtodemonstrateattheendofthecourse.Theyreflectthoseaspectsoftheaimswhichwillbeassessed.AKnowledgewithUnderstandingStudentsshouldbeabletodemonstrateknowledgeandunderstandinginrelationto:1.scientificphenomena,facts,laws,definitions,concepts,theories;2.scientificvocabulary,terminology,conventions(includingsymbols,quantitiesandunitscontainedin‘Signs,SymbolsandSystematics16-19’,AssociationforScienceEducation,2000);3.scientificinstrumentsandapparatus,includingtechniquesofoperationandaspectsofsafety;4.scientificquantitiesandtheirdetermination;5.scientificandtechnologicalapplicationswiththeirsocial,economicandenvironmentalimplications.Thesubjectcontentdefinesthefactualknowledgethatcandidatesmayberequiredtorecallandexplain.Questionstestingthoseobjectiveswilloftenbeginwithoneofthefollowingwords:define,state,describe,explainoroutline.(Seetheglossaryofterms.)BHandlingInformationandSolvingProblemsStudentsshouldbeable-inwordsorbyusingsymbolic,graphicalandnumericalformsofpresentation-to:1.locate,select,organiseandpresentinformationfromavarietyofsources;2.translateinformationfromoneformtoanother;3.manipulatenumericalandotherdata;4.useinformationtoidentifypatterns,reporttrendsanddrawinferences;5.presentreasonedexplanationsforphenomena,patternsandrelationships;6.makepredictionsandproposehypotheses;7.solveproblems.25094BIOLOGY(NEWPAPERSWITHSPA)ORDINARYLEVEL2008Theseassessmentobjectivescannotbepreciselyspecifiedinthesubjectcontentbecausequestionstestingsuchskillsmaybebasedoninformationwhichisunfamiliartothecandidate.Inansweringsuchquestions,candidatesarerequiredtouseprinciplesandconceptsthatarewithinthesyllabusandapplytheminalogical,reasonedordeductivemannertoanovelsituation.Questionstestingtheseobjectiveswilloftenbeginwithoneofthefollowingwords:predict,suggest,calculateordetermine.(Seetheglossaryofterms.)CExperimentalSkillsandInvestigationsStudentsshouldableto:1.followasequenceofinstructions;2.usetechniques,apparatusandmaterials;3.makeandrecordobservations,measurementsandestimates;4.interpretandevaluateobservationsandexperimentalresults;5.planinvestigations,selecttechniques,apparatusandmaterials;6.evaluatemethodsandsuggestpossibleimprovements.WEIGHTINGOFASSESSMENTOBJECTIVESTheoryPapers(Papers1and2)AKnowledgewithUnderstanding,approximately45%ofthemarks.BHandlingInformationandSolvingProblems,approximately55%ofthemarks.School-BasedSciencePracticalAssessment(SPA)(Paper3)CExperimentalSkillsandInvestigations,100%ofthemarks.35094BIOLOGY(NEWPAPERSWITHSPA)ORDINARYLEV