IAL Biology Edexcel – Evaluating Study Design

Complete lesson for Pearson Edexcel IAL Biology Unit 1 spec 1.16: judging health study design – sample size, validity, placebos and double-blind trials.

Save precious planning time with a complete, ready-to-teach Pearson Edexcel IAL Biology lesson: open the folder and teach.

Lesson 17 of 22 · Unit 1 (WBI11), Topic 1 · Spec 1.16: Judging a study: can we trust it?

What this lesson covers

• Teaches the study-design ideas examiners reward: sample size and selection, valid v reproducible, bias, controls, placebos and double-blind trials.
• A four-heading criticise checklist (sample, control, measurement, data) that turns comments into Level 3 answers.
• Three real WBI11 exam questions, including a six-mark levels-based “criticise”, with official mark schemes, model answers and examiner-report insights.
• Three active-learning activities — Flaw hunt, Trial in a bag and Design shop — for 1:1 or whole class, plus practice questions and homework.

Everything you need, in one folder

• Lesson PowerPoint (27 slides): retrieval starter, click-to-reveal teaching slides, quick checks with answers, real WBI11 exam questions with official mark schemes and model answers, and an exit ticket with answers. Full speaker notes.
• Detailed 3-page lesson plan: timed sequence with key questions, answers, misconceptions, differentiation and extension.
• Student notes (12 pages): knowledge organiser, revision-guide pages with answers, key terms and a “Can I…?” checklist, word bank and sentence starters, maths methods, double-sided flashcards.
• Practice questions (7 questions, 46 marks) with a separate mark scheme — each question on its own page, using only content taught so far.
• Homework (16 marks) with a separate mark scheme, including spaced retrieval of earlier lessons.
• Misconception check (2 multiple-choice questions) with a teacher key explaining every wrong answer.
• Active-learning printables (8 pages) for hands-on tasks, games and data activities, plus teacher notes with answers.
• Teacher notes: the starter and exit-ticket mark points and prompts, plus active-learning running notes and answer keys.
• Catch-up and Extension bank decks: 12 catch-up lessons on assumed GCSE knowledge (B1–B12) and 13 extension lessons (E1–E13).

Why teachers love it

• Complete and exam-focused: no prep; built from real Pearson Edexcel WBI11 papers, official mark-scheme wording and examiner-report insights.
• Strict teaching order and EAL-friendly: questions use only content taught so far; works 1:1 or with a whole class.

File formats: PPTX (PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides) and PDF.

Want the whole topic? See the Complete Topic 1 bundle in the bio_boffin_resources shop: all 22 lessons plus full-topic resources.

An independent resource by bio_boffin_resources, written by a Biology teacher with 10 years’ experience in a leading international school. Not endorsed by Pearson.