Back to school

Chemistry education has been something of a success story over recent years. A-level entries are rising year-on-year and there is an increase in the numbers taking up chemistry at university.

Despite these positive figures, less than 10% of students studying chemistry at A-level will go on to study for a chemistry degree. It is therefore essential that the courses enthuse and fully prepare as many students as possible to take the subject further, while also providing a solid understanding of the subject for those that choose to follow other paths. 

The UK curricula have been undergoing a change to meet the needs of today's students. In 2006, new GCSE science courses were introduced to ensure pupils study science that is modern and relevant, and provide choice in the courses available to prepare them for different career routes post-16. Following on from the reform of the science GCSEs, the A-level curriculum has also been revised.

Some of the first students to study the new GCSEs in science will now be entering their first year of A-level chemistry, studying a modern curriculum designed to build on what they have learnt at GCSE. 
The RSC was involved in the consultation to develop the new A-level curriculum for chemistry, resulting in revised GCE AS and A-level subject criteria for science, produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). 

Schools across the UK will teach the new specifications for AS level chemistry from this September, and the new specifications for A2 level (the second year of study) from September 2009. 

Whilst the specifications remain broadly similar to the old A-levels, there are some important changes. To help support teachers with additions to the curriculum, the RSC is developing innovative online resources with the help of funding from Reckitt Benckiser and Shire.

The new curricula

There are a total of five awarding bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and each of these have redrafted their specifications for A-level chemistry in response to the revised criteria produced by the QCA and its partner bodies.

These criteria describe the aims, knowledge, understanding, skills and assessment objectives for the qualification, and form the framework upon which awarding bodies build their specifications. This ensures there is a large degree of commonality between them (60% is core), while also allowing awarding bodies some freedom to choose what will form the remaining 40%.

The new specifications have been designed to build on the GCSE science curriculum. Students are encouraged to develop a deeper appreciation of the skills, knowledge and understanding of 'How Science Works'; this includes  scientific method, developing ideas and theories, the importance of evidence, and practical skills. Contemporary contexts are used to illustrate ideas, and students are given opportunities to appreciate how society makes decisions about scientific issues.

There is a greater emphasis on essential skills - communication, independent learning, team work, numeracy and problem-solving - and students are encouraged develop an interest in further study and careers in the subject.

Coursework assignments and practical examinations have been replaced by internally assessed practical tasks carried out under controlled conditions. This should prove less of an administrative burden to teachers, but ensure that  practical skills are still assessed.

New content

The key changes to the core content include the introduction of topics on sustainability and green chemistry (including looking at the atom economy of reactions), climate change and the atmosphere.

One notable addition is the renewed emphasis on thermodynamics, a topic that had dropped out of some curricula. All awarding bodies now include entropy and the use of energetics to predict the feasibility of chemical reactions. Colin Osborne, RSC Education Manager believes this is a crucial area for inclusion: "Those students who use chemistry as a service subject for other further studies, or who are finishing their chemical studies at A-level, will leave with a real understanding of why chemical reactions 'go'."

New resources

Reckitt Benckiser and Shire have each pledged £250,000 over five years to help the RSC produce online support material for teachers.

The work with Reckitt Benckiser focuses on physical chemistry and the main aim is to support the new additions to thermodynamics, especially as younger teachers may be more unfamiliar with teaching these topics. The online resources will include simulations to explain and demonstrate the principles of entropy and disorder, and the effect of temperature on the position of an equilibrium.

Ted Lister, a chemical education consultant, is helping to develop the new resources. He is excited about using Reckitt Benckiser's range of household products, such as Calgon, Veet and Nurofen, to put chemistry in context. "We can use these products to demonstrate topics such as ion-exchange, acid-base reactions and synthesis, helping students towards the end of their course pull what they have learned together."

The work with Shire will support organic chemistry by developing a web-based tool underpinned by a database of compounds. "For example," says Lister, "A student could examine something like ethanol, looking at its structure, physical properties and analytical spectra, then investigate what reactions it will undergo or is produced from - helping them build a clear picture of organic synthesis."

The new resources are being introduced over the course of the next year with the complete set being available for the start of teaching of A2 in September 2009.