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REPORT OF THE REVIEW COMMITTEE

9. The Panel received a printed copy of the report of the Review Committee meeting for CAPE®
Biology which was held on 22–24 November 2016. The members of the Panel were informed that the
Review Committee for the CAPE® Biology Syllabus, having reviewed the Technical Report of EDPD, and
having deliberated on the concerns of teachers, proposed the amendments summarised below.

(a) Revision of the Rationale and Aims to reflect the attributes of the Ideal Caribbean
Person, UNESCO Pillars of Learning and other areas for consideration based on the
political, philosophical and psychological considerations for syllabus development.

(b) Revision and refinement of the General Objectives for all Modules.

(c) Clarification and elaboration of Specific Objectives and Explanatory Notes.

(d) Addition of a third column in each Module for the Suggested Practical Activities.

(e) Recommendation that two new sections entitled Suggestions for Teaching the
Syllabus and The Practical Approach should be included in the syllabus to encourage
teachers to use the inquiry-based approach to teaching the syllabus.

(f) Revision of the Suggested Teaching and Learning Activities to help teachers cater to
the different learning styles.

(g) Revision of the format of Paper 031, the School-Based Assessment be changed to
include a research project.

10. The Assistant Registrar/SCD informed the Panel that these recommendations were
incorporated into a draft syllabus for CAPE® Biology that was circulated to teachers, subject specialists
and other stakeholders for comments.

THE PANEL’S RESPONSE TO ISSUES RAISED

Teacher’s Questionnaire

11. The Assistant Registrar/SCD informed the Panel that a seven-page, 13-item questionnaire
was posted on Survey Gizmo and the link was sent to teachers of CAPE® Biology in participating
territories. Completed questionnaires were received from 24 persons in five of the Participating
Territories (see the list of respondents at Appendix II). These territories were Barbados, Guyana,
Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Comments were solicited on the Rationale and Aims and
on all the other aspects of the syllabus, and also on the clarity of the objectives, the adequacy of the
content and the validity of the assessment procedures, including the School-Based Assessment.

12. An analysis of the comments on items of the questionnaire revealed that all of the
respondents agreed that the Rationale clearly articulated the reason for studying Biology. All the
respondents to the survey were also of the opinion that the Aims, and General Objectives, as stated,
adequately reflected the goals of the syllabus. They also agreed that the knowledge and skills covered
in the syllabus were appropriate for students in a post-secondary level programme and that the
Modules of the syllabus comprised a coherent Biology programme for the intended population.

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