In an ideal A-level chemistry course.

As the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) invites feedback about its revised criteria for AS/A-levels (see Educ. Chem. 2006, 43(3), 54), now is the time to think about the student experience we hope any new assessment model will promote.  

An ideal solution 

In my ideal AS/A-level chemistry course students would: 

• focus on understanding what they study, rather than developing their ability to regurgitate it; 
• be active rather than passive learners, and not just when they are doing practical work; 
• talk to other students, and to their teacher, and listen to other students, and so will their teacher. Assess the work of other students, and their own work; 
• make good use of modern technology - using animations to help them understand difficult concepts, for modelling behaviour and structure, and for collecting data, and using the Internet as a source of ideas and information; 
• be encouraged to be creative through activities, such as making posters, Powerpoint presentations and short video clips; 
• become aware of the vitality, challenge and diversity of contemporary chemistry through embedded examples rather than bolted on footnotes; 
• build upon their KS4 ideas about 'How science works' in the way they plan their own experiments, and collect and analyse data; 
• engage in practical work to experience at first hand chemicals and chemical change; use their sense of vision, touch and smell to make sense of the chemical world, as an outcome rather than an aim; and develop manipulative skills. Sometimes, students will have the opportunity to investigate chemical questions that they, or their teacher, don't know the answer to; 
• look forward to their next chemistry class, and so will their teacher. 

QCA proposals - help or hindrance? 

So, will the proposed QCA criteria help or hinder the development of my ideal chemistry course? There are some issues. The big one is the amount of material that is included in the overall specifications. In its draft criteria, QCA lists topics that are supposed to make up 60 per cent of the total with each awarding body weighing in with a further 40 per cent. This is just too much. Teachers already scurry to cover all the material with the consequences that practical work is often ditched towards the end of the year, and teacher-led transmission is favoured over student-centred, active approaches to learning. Assessment for learning becomes learning for assessment.  

There are two solutions to the problem. The QCA list of topics can become 70 per cent rather than 60 per cent of the whole. Alternatively, the awarding bodies could accept that deep learning takes longer than superficial recall and include approaches to learning within their aims and objectives, and consequently reduce the additional material that will be assessed. 

Another problem is in the assessment of practical work. Most people agree that an AS/A-level chemistry course should include a significant amount of practical work. The trouble is that experimental chemistry can become a very sterile activity as we provide a recipe for our students to help them prove that a reaction is first order with respect to a particular reagent, just as it says in the book! How many students after this experience are likely to use the words chemistry and creativity in the same sentence?  

Practical investigations can provide opportunity for students to be creative. They can allow students to have ownership of their work and to experience the thrill of genuine discovery. The problem is that investigations have to be assessed internally and moderated externally, which QCA seems not to be very keen on. There is a danger that the issue is decided by what is easiest and most convenient to assess. The QCA four-unit assessment model would see the end of student investigations because there are so many other features of a chemistry course competing for a place in the assessment line up. A model of two AS and three A2 units with an A2 unit devoted to assessment of practical skills would solve the problem.  

I also like the idea of a student portfolio taking the place of formal assessment of practical skills at AS. It seems to me it has much creative potential as well as ensuring that schools and colleges actually do practical work. A portfolio might include novel evidence such as still or moving images, individual, group and whole class activities, even collaboration in practical investigations with other schools or colleges in this country or abroad. The portfolio could be 'signed off' by the teacher with external sampling. This would be a popular move, less marking for the teacher and more time to spend on teaching and learning. 

I hope creativity will extend to the kind of questions we ask on written examination papers. If we want to produce chemically-literate students who are able to communicate with others about the ideas which they meet, then we need to provide opportunity for them to demonstrate these skills. The proposed merging of the synoptic element with the other assessment objectives should provide opportunity for questions which require students to see the bigger, interlinked picture at AS.  

Contemporary chemistry can be a stimulus and an inspiration both for students and their teachers. But how does a busy teacher keep up to date with vibrant examples to provide the context for AS- and A-level topics? The network of Science Learning Centres is seeking to play a role here. The RSC, with its bank of examples in Education in Chemistry, is also well placed to contribute in time for the introduction of the new AS/A-level specifications in 2008. 

No soft option 

My ideal chemistry course is no soft option. It is more challenging for students and teachers to focus on thinking about chemistry rather than on regurgitating it. Exploring student misconceptions takes time and skilful dialogue. Practical investigations can be scary. But the student experience is totally different.  

When we see the final decisions of QCA, will we have a framework and assessment strategy that will allow awarding bodies to develop specifications that will truly build on students' experiences at KS4, or will we look back on the review of AS- and A-level chemistry as a missed opportunity? 

Derek Denby teaches chemistry at John Leggott College, West Common Lane, Scunthorpe DN17 1DS.