WhAT CAN ThE ChIEf EXAmINER TEACh uS?

Each year in May after the ATAR examinations are complete and the candidates have their results, the School Curriculum and Standards Authority publishes a report on its website on each of the ATAR examinations. As part of the report the Chief Examiner offers advice gleaned from studying the examination scripts.

These comments might be applicable to any teacher and any student of an ATAR course so might be relevant to Years 10, 11 and 12 studies in that subject. Over the next few issues of SCIOS we will include a brief summary of some of the past few years’ advice for a number of ATAR courses. In this issue we provide a summary for Human Biology.

Human Biology

Human Biology was the fourth most popular ATAR course in 2022 in Western Australia.

Teachers: Designing a Teaching Course

Teachers are reminded that textbooks are not the syllabus. Supplementary teaching is necessary and learning with other references and resource materials beyond the textbook is essential.

Teachers are reminded that there is a list of required mathematical skills in the syllabus document. While basic mathematical and graphing skills have traditionally been well taught, there are many more mathematical skills included in the list. The question this year on percentage change proved to be challenging for a large number of candidates. Give students ample practise at applying all required mathematical skills in a scientific method context.

Teachers should ensure adequate coverage of these syllabus points in their lessons and assessments.

Teaching examination technique should be a key part of the teaching and learning completed throughout the year in the classroom. Candidates need to have ample time to practise constructing responses, particularly to extended response style questions. Teachers should be modelling how to break a question down to identify what is being asked and how candidates should go about it. An area to consider is for example, if candidates are asked to describe or explain then that style of question will generally be worth at least three marks. Candidates therefore need to be able to provide at least three components to their descriptions and explanations. Again, this should be modelled and reinforced throughout the year during classroom teaching and, in the assessments, candidates are completing at school.

Candidates need to be given ample practice at decoding extended answer questions as part of their schoolbased assessment program. They need substantial practice in breaking down a question and identifying what the question requires. Examination technique should be modelled and reinforced throughout the year during classroom lessons and assessments.

There were several specific syllabus points that were not answered well. These include:

• graphing and mathematical skills.

• treatment of Parkinson’s disease with cell replacement therapy,

• specificity of the immunity provided by vaccinations,

• causes of the changes to allele frequencies in gene pools,

• alpha and beta thalassemia,

• differences between hominin skulls

• trends in tool culture.

• application of the knowledge of index fossils to explain a scenario

• role of bacterial enzymes in DNA sequencing

• role of transgenic organisms in recombinant DNA technology

• application of the knowledge of blood glucose regulation to explain a scenario

• random genetic drift links between bipedalism, cranial capacity

Candidates: The Examination – classroom preparation

You should expect a comprehensive coverage of the syllabus content in the examination. Although the same syllabus points may appear in recent examinations, questions will be structured in new and different contexts.

Candidates require a detailed knowledge of all syllabus points and the ability to apply this to new and different contexts. Simple recall and rote learning of facts are not enough for candidates to gain full marks in the examination. Candidates must be able to think critically and apply their knowledge to unique scenarios.

Candidates: The Examination – preparing responses - strategies

You must read questions carefully to ensure you understand the meaning of verbs used in the question. You need to know the difference between a question requiring you to ‘name’ or ‘identify’ compared to one requiring you to ‘describe’ or ‘explain’. Refer to the Glossary of key words used in the formulation of questions, which is available online through the course page.

Candidates need to focus on interpreting the question and providing a concise answer, rather than simply writing down all they have learnt on the topic. Stating key terminology or memorised facts will often not answer the entire question. Instead, candidates need to engage higher-order thinking skills and apply their knowledge.

The most thorough and complete responses in the Extended answer section of the paper are produced by those who complete a plan. Take time to plan your response and ensure all parts of the question are addressed.

Candidates: The Examination – writing the responses - strategies

You are encouraged to attempt every question. You should always try to put something down as an answer, even if it is an educated guess. A non-attempted question means no marks can be achieved.

You are encouraged to present annotated diagrams, charts, or tables to construct responses to questions in the Short and Extended answer sections. This technique is particularly important in the Extended answer section to help you write clear and precise answers and ensure that markers can easily follow and award marks for responses.

Always write your best answer first. When questions state a numerical value of responses required then that number of responses will be marked. For example, if you are asked to provide two reasons in your answer and you provide three, the first two responses are considered by the markers to address the question and marked accordingly.

Candidates are reminded that no marks are available for restating information in their response from the question. Read the questions thoroughly and ensure the response covers the required question.