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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®
Chemistry which was held on 26–28 September 2016. The members of the Panel were informed that
the Review Committee for the CAPE® Chemistry 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® Chemistry that was circulated to teachers, subject
specialists and other stakeholders for comments.

THE PANEL’S RESPONSE TO ISSUES RAISED

Teacher 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® Chemistry in participating
territories. Completed questionnaires were received from thirty (30) persons in six of the Participating
Territories (see the list of respondents at Appendix II). These territories were Barbados, Guyana,
Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, 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 Chemistry. 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 and that the knowledge and skills covered in the syllabus
were appropriate for students in a post-secondary level programme.

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