Evaluation of the Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology Project (SNAB): implementation in the classroom

Start date: 31 July 2002
End date: 30 June 2004
Primary investigator: Dr Jenny Lewis

The Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology course (SNAB) is a new biology A level designed to encourage active, student centred learning.

It teaches biological content through topical real life contexts, storylines and related socio-scientific issues and integrates ICT across all aspects of the course. As the approach requires teachers (and students) to modify their usual practices an independent, in depth evaluation of implementation was commissioned during the pilot phase of development.

The outcomes of this evaluation were used to inform revision of the pilot specification and materials and to identify the teachers' needs in terms of support materials and professional development.

Project Publications

Lewis, J. (2005) 'Bringing The Real World Into The Biology Classroom - the challenge for teachers' in M. Ergazaki, J.Lewis and V. Zogza (editors) Trends In Biology Education Research In The New Biology Era. Patras: Patras University Press, pp 271-286.

Lewis, J. and Scott, A. (submitted) The Importance of Evaluation During Curriculum Development: the Salters- Nuffield Advanced Biology (SNAB) experience. School Science Review.