Designing an A-level Genetics course: I, Identifying the necessary concepts and considering their relationships

Abstract

This paper outlines the history of the teaching of genetics in A-level Biology courses and defines the candidates who are taught it, in terms of their prior knowledge of the subject, obtained both formally and informally. The JMB syllabus is used as an example of how to identify and define the necessary concepts. Current A-level texts are used to produce a glossary of necessary terms and consideration is given to problems that arise from the use of terms whose definitions are unclear. The terms are then used to represent concepts and are organized into concept maps. Finally different methods of sequencing the course are considered.