REVISED SYLLABUSES

HISTORY
At its meeting held in June and November 2016, the Panel reviewed all aspects of the syllabus, with the main aim of delineating the competencies, knowledge and attitudes that students might reasonably be expected to demonstrate. The Panel also revisited the Specific Objectives to ensure that they adequately reflect the expected competencies, knowledge and attitudes of the students; and revisited the Content areas to ensure that they were current and relevant.

The following is a summary of the actions taken:

  1. Revision of the Rationale and Aims to reflect a shift in focus from the Atlantic Region to the Atlantic World.
  2. Revision and refinement of the General Objectives for all Sections.
  3. Clarification and elaboration of Specific Objectives and Content. Major amendments to the content of the syllabus include the reintroduction of Slavery as a topic.
  4. Revision of the Suggested Teaching and Learning Activities.

The final draft of the syllabus along with the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes were approved by SUBSEC in April 2017. The approved syllabus and copies of the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes were distributed to schools in May–June 2017, for first examination in May–June 2018.

LAW
The Panel, at its meeting held in September 2017, revised all aspects of the syllabus, with the main aim of identifying the competencies, knowledge and attitudes that students might reasonably be expected to demonstrate. The Panel also revisited the General Objectives to encompass the scope of the revised Specific Objectives and Content. The Specific Objectives were clarified to delimit the breadth and depth to which the knowledge and skills in each Module should be covered; and the content areas revisited to ensure that they were specific, current and relevant. The Suggested Teaching and Learning Activities were revised to provide needed guidance to teachers.

The following is a summary of the actions taken:

  1. Clarification and elaboration of General and Specific Objectives, and Content.
  2. A list of Suggested Teaching and Learning Activities has been included in each section of the syllabus to help teachers cater to the different learning styles and to stimulate and maintain interest in the subject area.
  3. A Glossary of legal terms was included in the syllabus document and the list of resources was revised and updated.
  4. Revision of the structure of Paper 02, eliminating the current options to reflect the Council’s policy of giving all compulsory questions, thus rendering it more psychometrically robust.
  5. Revision of the guidelines for the School-Based Assessment to ensure that the teachers can adequately use the information to guide candidates to demonstrate competence in the skills and abilities identified in the syllabus as relevant to the field of law.
  6. To meet the requirements for the SBA, candidates may carry out the SBA Task and submit the Report in groups.

The final draft of the syllabus along with the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes was submitted to SUBSEC in October 2017, for approval. The approved syllabus and copies of the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes will be distributed to schools for teaching in September 2018, and first examination in May–June 2019.

LITERATURES IN ENGLISH
At its meeting held in August 2016, the Panel reviewed all aspects of the syllabus, with the main aim of delineating the competencies, knowledge and attitudes that students might reasonably be expected to demonstrate. The Panel also revisited the Specific Objectives to ensure that they adequately reflect the expected competencies, knowledge and attitudes of the students; revisited the Content areas to ensure that they were current and relevant; and refined the Assessment Outline to ensure that Paper 01 is psychometrically robust by conforming to the policy of Council which stipulates that all Paper 01s comprise of Multiple Choice items. Additionally, the SBA and associated Mark Scheme were revised to ensure greater alignment to the Council’s Policy regarding group work.

The following is a summary of the actions taken:

  1. 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.
  2. Revision and refinement of the General Objectives for all Sections.
  3. Clarification and elaboration of Specific Objectives and Content.
  4. Revision of the Suggested Teaching and Learning Activities.
  5. Revision of the Glossary of Literary Concepts.
  6. Updating the lists of prescribed texts for the 2018–2022 examinations for the Modules in Units 1 and 2.
  7. Changing the format of Paper 01 from a short-answer paper to one that consists of 45 multiple-choice items.
  8. Reduction in the number of questions set for Paper 02 to produce a more psychometrically robust examination. Since questions for Literatures in English were set on specific texts, each of the Modules will consist of TWO questions where candidates are required to do ONE. This represents an overall reduction of questions for the Paper 02 examinations in both Units 1 and 2.

The final draft of the syllabus along with the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes were approved by SUBSEC in April 2017. The approved syllabus and copies of the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes were distributed to schools in May–June 2017, for first examination in May–June 2018.

SCIENCES (BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS)
The revised syllabuses were approved by SUBSEC at its meeting in October 2017 and will be released to schools in May–June 2018, for first examination in May–June 2019.

The Rationale and Aims were revised to reflect the attributes of the Ideal Caribbean Person, UNESCO Pillars of Learning and other areas for consideration based on the twenty-first century skills, political, philosophical and psychological considerations for syllabus development. The General Objectives for all Modules were reviewed and refined. All Specific Objectives and the related Explanatory Notes were clarified. A third column was added to each Module for the Suggested Practical Activities. Two new sections entitled Suggestions for Teaching the Syllabus and The Practical Approach were included in the syllabus to encourage teachers to use the inquiry-based approach. The Suggested Teaching and Learning Activities were also revised to help teachers cater to the different learning styles. The format of Paper 031, the School-Based Assessment was changed to include a research project.

SYLLABUSES UNDER REVIEW

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The CAPE® Computer Science and Information Technology Review Committee will begin the process of reviewing the syllabuses at a meeting to be held in November 2017. The Review Committee will review all aspects of the syllabuses, with the main aim of identifying the competencies, knowledge and attitudes that students might reasonably be expected to demonstrate in the two subject areas. The committee will also revisit the General Objectives to encompass the scope of the revised Specific Objectives and Content for both syllabuses. The Specific Objectives will be clarified to delimit the breadth and depth to which the knowledge and skills in each Module of both syllabuses should be covered; and the content areas will be revisited to ensure that they are specific, current and relevant. The Suggested Teaching and Learning Activities will be revised to improve the quality of guidance provided for teachers.

The draft syllabuses will be submitted to the April 2018 meeting of SUBSEC to request approval to complete the revision of the syllabuses. The draft syllabuses will be sent to resource persons and other stakeholders for comments. A Panel meeting will be convened in May 2018 to complete the revision of the syllabuses. The final draft of the syllabuses along with the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes will be submitted to SUBSEC in October 2018 for approval. The approved syllabuses and copies of the specimen examination papers, keys and mark schemes will be distributed to schools in May–June 2019, for first examination in May–June 2020.
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