FAQs
If you have a question about Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology please email curriculum@nuffieldfoundation.org.
The Edexcel GCE Biology specification and the exams
Questions about the Pearson resources for SNAB
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Where can I find the full listing with prices and ISBNs for SNAB resources to purchase?
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Can I use the concept-led Edexcel Biology book with the SNAB context-led online resources?
Finding out more about SNAB
Starting and running the SNAB course
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Can you mix the two approaches provided in the Edexcel GCE Biology specification?
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Is the A2 coursework hard to organise if you are a big centre?
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Do medical schools and traditional universities prefer traditional biology?
Questions about ICT access
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Do I need a projector and interactive whiteboard in my teaching room to teach SNAB?
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Is the cost of online subscription proportionately more for small centres?
Questions about the resources
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Can you use any biology textbook or do you have to buy the dedicated one?
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We don't see many tables of data in the students' book. We want our students to practise with these.
Evaluation
Are the context-led (SNAB) and concept-led approaches in the Edexcel GCE Biology specification examined in the same way?
The Edexcel GCE Biology specification represents two approaches leading to the same learning outcomes. All students sit the same exams.
By the end of the course the students will have covered the same biology, and there is one common assessment structure. Both courses are assessed through interesting coursework, and examination questions referring to biological contexts, applications and practical work.
There is a limit to how much context can be included in an exam question anyway, as you just add too much to the reading required.
See Edexcel biology specification for 2008
How does the Edexcel GCE Biology specification (SNAB context-led approach) address How Science Works?
How Science Works (HSW) is integrated into the specification statements, so teachers and students are clear about the way this will be assessed.
For AS level, the HSW is examined in the contexts provided in the topic specification statements, and through the coursework.
In A2, the HSW is exemplified in the topics, but can also be examined through other contexts.
Practical-related HSW content is assessed both through the written exams and teacher assessment. The idea is that all HSW content is developed over the AS course, and assessed formatively by the teacher or by peer assessment.
The formal assessment for AS HSW takes place through a visit or issue report, teacher assessment of using apparatus, recording results and presenting and analysing data, and through the written exams.
At A2, the HSW is assessed through an individual investigation drawing on the practical and investigative skills developed at AS, and though the written exams.
See this link to where you can download the Edexcel GCE Biology specification
SNAB revision tips
Revision tips for students from Nicola Wilberforce of Esher College
These revision tips are only relevant for the SNAB context-based version of the Edexcel GCE Biology course. They require access to the resources on www.snabonline.com.
Download this same text to give to students (61 KB)
Should I get a revision guide?
There are revision guides published for SNAB (that is, for Edexcel GCE Biology) and for many students they can provide a ‘comfort blanket’, giving a sense of security. However, beware - revision guides can encourage passive rote-learning whilst giving the impression that you are understanding. Many biology exam questions ask you to apply your knowledge to new situations and problems. If you have ‘learned’ and ‘revised’ but not fundamentally ‘understood’, you are less likely to be successful in these questions. Deeper understanding and more through learning requires ‘active revision’. The snabonline website and textbook provides all the resources you need for active revision - so let’s get started!
Know what you need to know!
You can only be examined on what is in the specification. The whole specification can be downloaded from the Edexcel website but even for teachers it is hard-going. Students will find it much better to use the 'Check your notes' activities. These are ‘student-speak’ versions of the specification and are cross-referenced to the learning activities available on www.snabonline.com and to the Checkpoint questions in the SNAB textbook. The 'Check your notes' activity sheet for each topic is always the last activity number in any SNAB topic. For example, for Topic 1 Lifestyle, health and risk it is Activity 1.26. The specification material is covered in the textbook, which along with your own work and notes, should be your first revision resource. The textbooks may also include information that is useful or interesting, but you can only be examined on what is specified.
Use the Checkpoint questions in the textbook
For each SNAB topic, make sure you complete all the Checkpoint questions in the shaded boxes in the text book. They get you to summarise key biological principles and highlight the really important stuff you absolutely must learn. These will provide the skeleton of your ‘revision notes’.
Redo the interactives
Redo as many interactive tutorials on snabonline as you can, completing another copy of the worksheet as you go. You can download the worksheets onto paper or complete the Word versions electronically using a different coloured font for your answers so they stand out better. Compare your answers with the original tutorial you did and your teacher marked. If you didn’t do it before, your teacher may be able to let you see the teacher’s answer sheet so you can self-assess.
Make your own active revision resources
Have you seen the hyperlink on snabonline to the SNAB glossary? This is an A-Z of the biological words and phrases you should know the meaning of. Click on a letter, then on a biological term and see the definition. Use this information to make revision cards, with a word or phrase on one side and the definition or explanation on the other. Group the cards into topic packs. Test yourself or get others to test you - they read out the word, you tell them the definition, or vice versa .
Use Mediabank to make more active revision resources
There is a link to a folder called Mediabank in the left-hand menu next all the Topic folders on snabonline. This contains all the artwork and images used in the student book and activity sheets, with and without labels. Use these images to make more revision cards. You can print off the unlabelled images (black and white to save ink) and label them, or use the labelled images to create mix and match or cut and stick revision activities. Here you can reinforce your learning in a visual and kinaesthetic way by ordering processes, making comparisons and describing and labelling biological structures.
For example, use image 1.10B to learn the structure of the heart. Print off the labelled image, cut away all the labels and stick the unlabelled heart to another background piece of paper. Separate and trim the labels, mix them up and then place them all in the right position. Use the labelled image in your AS student book to check you are correct. Repeat until you always get it right. Do it again the next day, just to make sure, and so on. Keep all the pieces in a large labelled envelope or plastic wallet and label it ‘heart structure’. Whenever you need to revise this topic, shake out the pieces and do it again!
You can do this with many different topics. It works particularly well for processes as well as structures as you can order the stages.
Do or re-do the end of topic tests
Ask your teacher to set or reset the interactive end-of-topic tests on snabonline. There are also exam style end of topic tests that your teacher can set you.
Complete past examination questions
and check them against the examiners’ mark schemes. Be strict with yourself and ensure you use the correct terminology in your answers. It is easy to say ‘Oh, that’s what I meant - I got that right’ when self-assessing your answers, but often your answer wouldn’t get full marks in an exam as you weren’t precise or detailed enough. Your school or college may allow you access to the past papers or you can download them yourself. Edexcel examination papers that are over a year old can be downloaded for free from the Edexcel website but more recent ones can only be accessed by teachers by a secure download. This is so they can be used for mock exams and tests!
Exam papers from the previous specification
The current specification started in 2008. It is very similar to the previous Edexcel GCE Salters-Nuffield Biology specification and past papers and mark schemes for that can be downloaded from the Edexcel website.
Material examined in the ‘old’ Unit 1 (Topics 1 and 2) and Unit 5 (Topics 7 and 8) papers will be similar to the 2008 specification. Topics 3 and 6 are also pretty much the same, but Topics 4 and 5 have been changed quite a bit. This means that you must use the old Unit 2 (Topics 3 and 4) and Unit 4 (Topics 5 and 6) with care. The synoptic style questions from the old Unit 6 paper will be examined in a similar form within the new Unit 5. The new unit 6 is coursework, which used to be part of the old Unit 5.
Where can we get hold of the specification?
Here are details from Edexcel of the Edexcel GCE Biology specification which started September 2008. Specification for 2008
How is the coursework assessment in the current course different in SNAB from other A-level Biology courses?
SNAB AS Coursework
In the Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology AS course, students complete a visit or issue report.
The written report may be a record of a visit to a site of biological interest, or a report of non-practical research into a biological topic.
In both cases the student identifies a relevant question or problem. The report concentrates on the application of biology to find a solution. The report should be between 1000 and 1500 words.
The report can be marked internally, or externally by Edexcel. Students complete the core practicals and other practical investigations during the course. Teachers verify that students have completed the core practical work to develop the practical biology skills identified in the specification. Knowledge of these techniques and skills may be assessed in questions on the written papers.
SNAB A2 Coursework investigation
Students devise and carry out an individual experimental investigation, and present a written report of their investigation. This report will be marked by the teacher, with moderation by Edexcel.
Please can you give me some ideas for SNAB Unit 6 student investigations?
There are a vast number of ideas on the Edexcel website
http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gce/gce08/biology/Pages/default.aspx
Look for tutor support materials. You'll need an Edexcel log on (achieved via your exam secretary) as this is secure material.
A rummage through the SAPS website
http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/secintro.htm (particularly
http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/prac_activ.htm is also a good starting point for thinking about investigations.
Thank you for Graham Hartland of Tomlinscote School for the SAPS suggestion.
Where can I find the full listing with prices and ISBNs for SNAB resources to purchase?
The resources are available from Pearson Longman.
See this Resources page
Contact your local Pearson rep or Pearson Customer Services
on 0800 579 579
or email customer.orders@pearson.com.
Discuss possible discounts with your local rep.
Can I use the concept-led Edexcel Biology book with the SNAB context-led online resources?
The concept-led and context-led (SNAB) approaches to Edexcel AS biology address the same specification and its learning outcomes. There is a student book for each approach.
Bear in mind that the snabonline resources were written to complement the context-led (SNAB) approach. The activities follow the order used in the context-led SNAB student book and the activity sheets will often refer to the SNAB student book.
For more information on the context-led approach see
The SNAB approach.
What is the interactive book (ActiveBook)?
The Activebook is an electronic version of the student book which can be installed onto a school or college network.
Centres have to purchase a one-off site license to install it on their networks. See the Pearson product list.
The Activebook has links between the student book and the specification from Edexcel (eSpec).
It does not provide access to the interactive materials available on snabonline.
How do I subscribe to www.snabonline.com?
Pearson are launching a new snabonline website in May 2010, and the information below will then be out of date. Look out for more details about this.
To place an order contact your local Pearson rep or Pearson Customer Services 0800 579579 email customer.orders@pearson.com Discuss possible discounts with your local rep.
To gain access to www.snabonline.com you need to register your details and set up a user account. During the registration process you will be required to input your Access Code. There are two types of access code:
- Student codes
- Instructor codes
When you purchase a standard pin code pack you will receive 2 instructor codes and 10 student codes. The instructor codes can also be used for Technicians and Teaching Assistants.
How can I get help with technical problems?
The best place to start is by using the online help button in the top right hand corner of the snabonline screen.
See also this information about contacting SNABonline IT support
Where can we learn more about SNAB?
This website is a useful source of information, with links to Edexcel the awarding body and the publishers.
For a Gateway page with links to lots of useful stuff see All about SNAB.
Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology is context-led. What is meant by this?
In many biology courses, the biological concepts are presented, and examples or applications are given at the end.
Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology introduces a context and then presents the biological concepts needed to understand what is happening. This makes the relevance of the biological knowledge immediately apparent to students.
For more about this see Introduction to SNAB
Can you mix the two approaches provided in the Edexcel GCE Biology specification?
The simple answer is 'yes' - although it would be better to do this by whole assessment units rather than by topics, because tracking the content covered might be complicated.
The SNAB approach and activities encourage development of skills not necessarily formally assessed. We think this means SNAB students develop a degree of autonomy and motivation as a result of following this course.
See this link to the Edexcel GCE Biology specification
How much practical work is there in SNAB?
Students should complete the core practicals identified in the specification.
Practical and investigative skills are developed formatively through all practical work in the course,but assessment of details of specific techniques is restricted to the core practicals.
There is no assessment of whole practical write-ups. Teachers verify that students have completed the core practical work to develop the practical biology skills identified in the specification. Knowledge of these techniques and skills may be assessed in questions on the written papers.
The A2 coursework involves an individual investigation.
The use of living materials is a central focus of the practical activities.Practical work includes the study of a wide variety of living organisms, including humans, plants and micro-organisms.
There are well-established practicals such as enzyme and microbiology experiments, plus less common ones such as strength testing of nettle fibres.
The approach mirrors the aims of the course, where investigation and process are emphasised rather than prescriptive methods.
See this link to the Edexcel GCE Biology specification.
Is SNAB appropriate for all abilities at advanced level?
All centres have different entry requirements for their AS and A-level courses.
Students with higher grade GCSE scores seem to be doing just as well with SNAB as on the other specifications. Students with lower GCSE scores tend to do a little better in SNAB.
A general observation of the course is that there is plenty of challenging material for the higher ability students, both biological content and within the social, moral and ethical aspects.
The lower ability students are more interested and involved in the course than their predecessors in previous specifications, and so stick with it and worked harder, succeeding where they might previously have dropped out or failed.
Is the A2 coursework hard to organise if you are a big centre?
No more so than the coursework option of any other specification.
The investigation is only 10% of the A level and needs to be kept in proportion.
There isn't a written test or exam alternative to the A2 coursework element.
Each student should complete a whole investigation themselves, taking the equivalent of two weeks of normal lesson and homework time, this may well be spread over a longer period. Larger centres often stagger when different teaching groups are doing the practical aspects of their investigation.
Every student in each teaching group completes an individual investigation, so that there is no collaboration during the investigation.
A centre with 200+ students doesn't need 200 unique investigations! It is possible for students to do similar investigations if they are in different teaching groups.
Some centres carry out A2 coursework on their field trip.However, large centres may find that it is difficult to find enough different investigations.
Could two teachers teach Topics 1 and 2 in parallel?
Yes, lots of our centres have two teachers running Topic 1 and 2 in parallel.
However, students may meet phospholipids in Topic 2 before they have covered the structure of lipids in Topic 1. The Topic 2 teacher would need to provide more depth than appears in the resources at that point.
See the teaching schemes for the SNAB course.
Do medical schools and traditional universities prefer traditional biology?
Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology students have successfully secured places in medical schools at top universities.
There have been reports from some centres that there is an increase in the number of students applying for medicine and related subjects. There are no reports that they have had difficulties at interview. We have had reports from teachers that their students found it useful to have done SNAB because they had a lot to talk about in their interviews.
When we started the pilot course we sent information about the course to medical school (and biology departments) admission tutors. We visited the University of Liverpool medical school, and their admissions tutor was very positive about the SNAB approach. They, like many other medical schools, are using a case-study based approach to teaching and learning, with students taking a more independent role in the process. The Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology course is useful preparation for this.
Our Advisory Committee had a very strong Oxbridge representation (including Professor Sir Tom Blundell from Cambridge and Professor Kay Davies from Oxford). Their influence helped to ensure that our course is sufficiently rigorous for able students.
How much ICT access do my students need?
At one extreme, you could actually teach the course with no computer access - but that would be a shame!
SNAB can be taught using a single computer with a data projector - in which case the online tutorials would be carried out as a collaborative, whole class activity. Some schools and colleges have access to a computer room where students are sat at screens individually or in small groups.
A combination of teacher-led whole class activity, work in pairs (in a computer room or with computers in the science lab)and setting tutorials for homework is ideal, and which of these dominates very much depends on the access in individual schools and colleges.
Many centres have found that certain pots of money suddenly become available when there is a specific request for more ICT in the science department to help deliver SNAB. If you can show senior management the type of activities SNAB students will using ICT for, they are likely to be keener to shell out than for a nebulous request for more computers.
Do I need a projector and interactive whiteboard in my teaching room to teach SNAB?
No, but if you have a projector and screen sometimes, that can be very useful.
An ordinary screen enables you (or a student) to show the introductions and go over some interactive tutorials. An interactive whiteboard just makes this easier. You can write over the top of the animations, click to the next screen without bending down to the keyboard, and so on.
Is the cost of online subscription proportionately more for small centres?
Access to the publishers' website www.snabonline.com is free is 2009/10 so the information below does not apply during this period.
The cost from 2008 will depend on the number of students.
The current resources are published by Heinemann, a member of the Pearson group. The 2008 resources will be published by Pearson. The pricing structure for the dedicated website will take account of the needs of centres of different sizes.
The cost may seem a lot at first, but when you see the vast range of well-thought-out resources for teaching, learning, and staff development you will see that the cost is realistic.
There are savings too: photocopying costs reduce, and you may use some of the interactive tutorials rather than practicals like DNA gel electrophoresis which use up expensive consumables.
Ready-done (but modifiable) schemes of work, masses of worksheets and practical ideas mean you do not have to devise everything from scratch.
Also, there is no real need to have any other ICT resource. When compared with the cost of some CD-ROMS covering just a tiny part of an A-level specification e.g. enzyme reactions or genetics, SNAB is good value.
Is SNAB expensive to run?
The costs of SNAB are mainly upfront: the textbooks and the subscription to give access to the resources. See Resources.
Practicals do not differ in cost from those required by other specifications. There are interactive alternatives for some of the more expensive practicals anyway: gel electrophoresis, measuring blood pressure, using a spirometer, etc so centres do not have to buy this kit if they do not have it.
There is an opportunity for a visit for AS coursework, but an alternative is to write about an issue.
Field trips are encouraged, but a residential trip is not essential.
What is the format of the resources?
The course is supported both by conventional printed materials and by more innovative web-based materials.
The publisher of the resources is Pearson Longman. See Resources for teaching SNAB.
Can you use any biology textbook or do you have to buy the dedicated one?
SNAB is organised contextually and not along biological topic lines. Therefore the dedicated textbooks published by Pearson Longman cover the context-led SNAB course most closely.
As an absolute minimum you must have at least one copy of the dedicated textbook for the teacher! Ideally every student would have their own textbook.
Centres must reach their own compromise between these two extremes, finances permitting. A few books in the library on reference only, and a class set of 1 book between 2 students to use in lessons would probably work.
Other textbooks, including textbooks published for the concept-led Edexcel specification can be used to support aspects of the course in general terms. A reading list for each topic is one of the resources available.
Is there a teachers' & technicians' guide?
On publishers' website there are downloadable teacher and technician notes to accompany activities, and guidance notes on presenting each topic.
See the publishers website www.snabonline.com
Why are there answers to questions in the back of the book?
The questions in the book are intended to encourage active reading of the text, not as homework activities. There are plenty of student activities provided as worksheets, and these have separate answers in the teachers' notes which are not accessible to students.
For student activities see the Pearson website www.snabonline.com
We don't see many tables of data in the Students' Books - we want our students to practise with these.
Data analysis activities are provided in the downloadable activity sheets.
See the publishers website www.snabonline.com
Is there an evaluation of the course?
The Project commmissioned an independent evaluation of the pilot course by Jenny Lewis of the University of Leeds. The evaluation, along with feedback from teachers and students, fed into the post-pilot revisions.
Revisions for the 2008 specification have provided a further opportunity for reflection and improvement.
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