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|  | Excerpts from the AP Biology Teachers' Discussion Group
Question: "Do your AP Biology students also do research papers?"
Answer 1: "It has been a standard assignment for each science class at my high school: a brief research paper on a relevant topic. A different paper was assigned each marking period, usually with the exception of the final marking period (total number of papers equals three). It was generally assumed and encouraged that my AP Biology class -- new this year -- would continue the tradition. What I have been doing is assigning a topic in which the completion of the paper would serve as a substitute for my lecturing one or several chapters. The students do learn researching techniques and writing reports in proper scientific format."
-- Marianne Lapp, Burlington City High School, Burlington, New Jersey. 1/3/99
Answer 2: "I do a similar thing, but just one research paper. And I do it in the form of a poster presentation. They put their presentation on the bulletin board in the hall outside my lab. Everyone in the class is responsible for the content. I include a couple of questions on each person's topic, on whatever quiz or test I am giving that week. Each presentation stays up for about five class days. It works pretty well. They have to make the work up to date and must include references and a bibliography."
-- Barb Beitch, Hamden Hill Country Day School, Hamden, Connecticut. 1/3/99
Answer 3: "My AP Biology and pre-AP Biology students are always required to do a research paper, but it must be in conjunction with a project that involves original research. My students are also required to enter the school's science fair. Therefore, the research paper assignment spans several grading periods. It is a policy in our district that, if a student is enrolled in more than one advanced science course, he or she is required to do only one project, and it will satisfy the requirements in all of their advanced courses. Of course, we have high expectations as to the quality of the project. It would be hard for one student, no matter how good, to do two or three high-quality research investigations in a single year.
My regular students are required to do a book report on a non-fiction book on biology. I found that they read as little as possible, watch only MTV, and otherwise expose themselves to anything uplifting and educational to the least extent possible. That angered me a few years ago when, as a response to a test question, I had students tell me that kangaroos would eat rabbits. When I chewed the classes out, the students said, 'How are we supposed to know what kangaroos eat?' My then 3-year-old son knew, and that is when I started assigning the book report. I make it a test grade so that there is greater incentive to do the assignment. It can severely affect their grade if they don't. I don't think that I would have a great deal of success in trying to get the regular students to do a research project. I have a hard enough time convincing them that it is easier to take biology once and get it over with, instead of repeating it multiple times. Such are the trials and tribulations of a science teacher in a poverty-stricken public school."
-- Jo Ann Burman, Andress High School, El Paso, Texas. 1/3/99
Answer 4: "I'm with you about time constraints and research papers. While I have my first year students research issues, I simply think there's too much to do in the AP curriculum. I try to have them keep current by reading the Science Times lead articles in The New York Times on Tuesdays, but I assign no formal research for this class. After the exam, my students have a choice of activities and occasionally some choose a research-based project. Most choose a more 'active' project."
-- Mary Jane Roethlin, Glen Ridge High School, Glen Ridge, New Jersey. 1/20/99
Answer 5: "I compromise on the research idea -- my students write a 1000 word (max) paper for the Biotechnology Industry Organization essay competition. They are to choose a problem in our area that could be solved by biotechnology, then propose an original application of biotech to solve the problem. It has been a good experience for them -- not only do they have to look at problems in our area, but they have to master the biotech concepts and principles (that are part of the AP curriculum anyway) well enough to apply them to a specific problem. A side benefit is that this competition awards $1,000 scholarships to eight winners, and $500 to each of the winners' teachers.
I feel that it is important for the kids to be able to express themselves clearly, to be able to develop an idea, and to see that biology has applications beyond the classroom. So, although this doesn't require the depth of the classical 'research' project, it does require a solid grasp of biotech and a good deal of thought. Kids have finished (and been national winners!) in one night, while others have spent long hours in research. It's up to the individual -- and the AP English teachers here are happy to read papers for grammar and the like, so we do a little cross-curriculum stuff, too."
-- Ellen Mayo, Mills Godwin High School, Richmond, Virginia. 1/21/99
Answer 6: "Currently we are in the planning stages for the Fourth Annual Andress High School Science Mini-Symposium. We invite participants from all of the high schools in our district (one of three major and four smaller districts in our city) to come present their original research. It is a judged event, patterned after the Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposia for which is it supposed to be a dress rehearsal. The student who wins is awarded a Cross pen and pencil set, provided by our principal. My AP Biology students act as hosts, timekeepers, and ballot counters, if they are not participating as presenters. Our other science students act as voting delegates. I am proud to say that our students have been scrupulously fair, always voting for the best presentation, even if it wasn't by an Andress student.
Last year, when the symposium ended sooner than expected, my younger students played host to the visitors by taking them on a tour of the campus. Our school provides lunch for the students who have to travel some distance to get back to their home campus, so that they won't miss lunch. My AP students get experience planning and running science meetings and the benefit of being able to discuss their projects and research with other high-caliber students from other campuses. It benefits the younger students by getting them enthused about science and scientific research. I have one student who is doing a project this year because of his attendance at the symposium last year. He isn't even taking a science class this year! The symposium has been one of the best things we do in the school year."
-- Jo Ann Burman, Andress High School, El Paso, Texas. 1/21/99
Answer 7: "Another twist on this story, this time at a ninth-grade level. I've been teaching biology to ninth graders for almost 30 years. Over the years I have integrated more original experimental research into the course, in both honors and non-honors sections.
Currently, it is well orchestrated and integrated into the curriculum. We do a week-long team project in the fall, investigating the effect of crowding on growth of bean seedlings. The results are fascinating and the investigation well worth doing. The students are given the independent variable but are expected to choose the way in which they want to measure the effect. Moreover, they must determine the kind of containers they use, the number of seeds they wish to plant per container, and the number of repeats. They write up a joint report at the end of the project. Next, a month or so later, the students do some reading on microbiology and I demonstrate basic sterile transfer techniques. Then they work in teams designing and carrying out an experimental investigation of a couple of days to test any hypothesis of their choosing (providing I approve their experimental design and their topic). Somewhere along the way we spend a day in the computer lab learning how to use the Internet, and a day in the library learning about key words and discovering how to do a literature search. Each team later presents an oral report. For both the written bean report and the microbiology oral report they are given detailed written guidelines in advance. Finally, around November, they are assigned term projects, this time not team but individual. By this time they know quite a bit about designing experiments, searching the literature, including repeats and controls, and so on.
Many, but certainly not all, of the students choose something involving plant growth or microbes, based on their previous experience in the course. This project, unlike the previous two, is typically done at home, on their own time. They have a night or two off each week to work on these projects. In March they write a full scientific paper, including an abstract, they give a 10-minute oral presentation to the class, and they participate in an evening science symposium that is open to the school community. Time consuming? Yes! Cutting into the syllabus? Yes! We cover less material but teach more science, I think. And if they get fired up about doing science, maybe they'll take more science courses in the future. There's plenty of time, down the road, for 'getting the facts' of science. Am I completely happy with what we're doing? Of course not. But it's a 'work in progress'. My gut tells me that we're going in the right direction. Anyway, we have more didactic courses at the eleventh and twelfth grade levels, so that a student who wants to can get a pretty solid life science background by the time he/she graduates from high school."
-- Barbara R. Beitch, Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden, Connecticut. 1/21/99
Question: "How do you get your students to read the textbook?"
Answer 1: "At my site we have two AP Biology teachers (four sections) and we each have a different method for trying to get the students to read prior to class. I give periodic quizzes over the material. Usually 5 to 10 questions, a couple from the previous day's lecture and a couple for the current day's lecture. I only do this during the units that they tend to have problems with. That way they are reviewing and reading ahead of time. The responsibility for reading is on their shoulders. My colleague has students take notes on the chapter (outline the chapter) and he gives a participation grade for them. This is just not my style so I do not force my students to do this. The Campbell text has a Student Notes book (corresponds to Campbell 3rd Ed.) available from Addison Wesley that is essentially the same as the instructor's notes with some added lines in the margin for taking notes. I have my students purchase this at the beginning of the year. The majority of them find it useful. It's like getting Clone Notes/Note Taker notes in college."
-- David Knight, University High School, Irvine, California. 5/19/99
Answer 2: "At the beginning of the year, I will occasionally give a pop quiz over the assigned readings. I find that I need to do this less and less as the year progresses. If, for any reason, I feel that they are slacking off, I resume the pop quizzes. By and large these are highly motivated, upper-level students. They are only a year or two (inclusive of the current year) away from college. I point out to them that it is better to develop the study skills they need for college while they are still in the 'safe' environment of high school. I say 'safe' in that, in high school, all we can do is fail them. College takes their money, up front, and determines the course of their future careers. Failure there is much more devastating than in high school.
I sometimes ask to see their notes from their reading. The class notes book to which I refer is a paperback resource book put out by the publishers of the Campbell book. If you are using Raven and Johnson, you can go online to their Web site and download notes from their book, or you can order a three-and-a-half-inch floppy with the notes on it. I especially like the way Campbell does it, putting lines around the chapter outline so that the students can add to the notes. It also inserts vocabulary into those lines for the students to define as part of their reading notes. I had a student this year who wrote as small as she could and still ended up using the margins on every page to write all of her notes. The instructor's guide and lecture notes is another book altogether.
I encourage my students to form study groups. Several years ago, Reader's Digest had an article called 'Secrets of Straight A Students.' I condensed it and I hand out a copy to each and every one of my students, from AP to regular biology. I tell my college-bound students to get it laminated and take it to college. I think you could go to your library and look it up in the Reader's Guide to Periodic Literature. It was published in the late 1980's or the early 1990's. I think it should be required reading for all incoming freshmen students."
-- Jo Ann Burman, Andress High School, El Paso, Texas. 5/20/99
Answer 3: "I make sure they are reading the assigned pages by assigning a 'Chapter Picture Essay' for each chapter. I assign them to make a drawing that is representative of the chapter (I give them specific assignments, e.g., for the chapter on muscles I might ask them to draw and label a sarcomere). Then they have to summarize some major point that they have read (again, I give them direction on this, like 'Describe in your paragraph how contraction occurs in skeletal muscle'). These are due at the beginning of the period in which we will be discussing that chapter. I just walk around quickly at the beginning of the hour and initial those that are done. If they don't have them completed, I still allow them to do them and turn the assignments in late, but I assess a late fee.
This is an assignment I borrowed from another teacher, and it is a great way to ensure that the students come prepared, and to help them review for their tests. I require all the pictures to be in color, and I think that helps them to remember the structures they have drawn. It also allows them to spend time diagramming complex mechanisms at home, and then we can spend time discussing those mechanisms, not just in copying them into their notes. The students have said that they are very helpful in review for the AP Exams as well."
-- JoAnn Burman, Andress High School, El Paso, Texas. 6/19/99
Question: "How many of you have your students do science projects or research papers as a part of the AP course?"
Answer 1: "My kids do two: A molecular genetics library research paper (including using some primary sources) in December, and an 'Adopt a Tree Project' in April and May. In this one they have to observe a deciduous tree coming out of hibernation and its growth during that time. I still manage to get most of the ETS curriculum completed including most of the labs. But I have eight periods a week to do this."
-- Bruce Faitsch, Guilford High School, Guilford, Connecticut. 5/17/99
Answer 2: "I have my AP Biology students write and submit essays for the Science and Technology DuPont Essay Challenge. I generally assign it sometime in October and collect them in January. It gives students the opportunity to do literary search on a topic they are interested in, and in the past four years five of my students have earned awards. That is always exciting for all of us."
-- Andrea Prybylski, Westminster Schools, Atlanta, Georgia. 5/17/99
Question: "I assign the chapters on chemistry during the summer and am considering assigning ecology also, as we never seem to get to it. Do others of you have summer assignments?"
Answer: "I assign the plant chapters -- they have to make vocabulary 'decoder cards' -- all new terms on a large index card that they refer to as they read (of course in the summer, all of the words are new!). One sentence may have six or more. They also have to answer questions for each chapter. And they have to grow plants, and record seed germination -- monocot vs. dicot root structure, stems, and leaves. They can write, draw, and photograph (I haven't had a video yet, but it is an idea), plus there are several (they can choose two) projects: flower collection, seed collection, leaf collection, experiment with germination conditions, draw flowers, photograph flowers, locate ferns, mosses, angiosperms, gymnosperms, and make a terrarium¿. In September we have some green beans, corn, grass, peas (though most die of too much heat). We compare notes. We cover those chapters in three weeks and immerse ourselves in molecules. The movement of materials in roots and phloem provide a great reference point when we get to osmotic pressure/sodium potassium pumps.¿ It is not a project that they can put off until the last week of summer, however! They get it in early June. Most like it, as it is a way to introduce them to the subject on a macroscopic level, and most have never nurtured anything; they become very attached!"
-- Pam Tidswell, Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Mt. Holly, New Jersey. 5/17/99
Question: "Are there AP biology teachers out there who teach their course in a way that is not centered on teacher lectures? If so, what method or methods do you employ to cover the material in the course?"
Answer 1: "I do a mix. Students feel more secure with a traditional teacher-lecture format but are not as actively involved. I share your concern that it doesn't 'take' as well as if they do more themselves. Tests usually reinforce a lot of the concepts, so they eventually master the concepts. Anyway, in a class of 12-16, typically, it's not really lecture but rather class discussion. Naturally, labs are interspersed -- a different way of learning. Also, I sometimes have the students do team activities that involve them teaching themselves and each other. Yes, it's time-consuming. A mix is probably the best way to go, at least for me; it is an overall compromise, a sort of Abe Lincoln (can't please all the people all the time) kind of situation."
-- Barbara Beitch, Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden, Connecticut. 5/16/99
Answer 2: "I've been using the Campbell book and I photocopy the class notes that come with the text. I then pass those out to the students to use. They are also required to read the text and take notes in the margin of the Campbell notes. When the class meets, I run it more like a college seminar course. Anything that the students couldn't understand from the reading gets covered then. I find that in this way we can cover maximum material. I don't have to cover the stuff that the students comprehend. I also work in terms of units, not chapters. I pass out all of the material for an entire unit. The students then have the option to keep going with the material. If you can forego the easy material (i.e., the material that is covered well in the first-year course), then you can concentrate on the more complicated issues in biology. You can also go faster than if you get bogged down in the basic material they should remember from first-year biology. I also use the Internet a lot, especially the University of Arizona's The Biology Project."
-- Jo Ann Burman, Andress High School, El Paso, TX. 5/16/99
Question: "Has anyone had to deal with two teachers handling the AP Biology classes?"
Answer: "For the past three years we have had two teachers and up to six sections of AP Biology. When I started teaching the class I came into a program with an excellent pass rate established by the teacher. I brought to the program a different philosophy of teaching and accountability. This has made some difficulties. With two teachers you will undoubtedly have a comparison of grading standards, methodologies, and pass rates. My philosophy has produced great results for my students but more rigorous standards. As a result students that want a higher grade in the class would rather have the other teacher. Students that want to learn, retain information, and do well on the exam would rather have me. We have been able to compromise on some things to make the course a little more uniform but the need for identical courses taught by each of us is not the goal. We want to retain our individuality. I say all this as a warning. I have found that it requires a thick skin at times, and I must remind myself of what my goals are. The advantages are that you have a partner to act as a sounding board for ideas and to help in the setup and breakdown of labs."
-- David Knight, University High School, Irvine, California. 6/18/99
Tip: "Like you, I teach AP Biology during a seven-period day. I meet with each AP Bio class a single period each day. During the beginning several weeks, my seventh period AP class is cut to 30 minutes due to the pep rally schedule. When I first began I was positive it couldn't be done. However, I've been doing this for three years now and my students perform reasonably well on the exam (some 5's, 4's, 3's, and a few 2's).
My method of approaching the course is as follows: - Students do a summer reading project over the first three chapters (Campbell, 4th Ed.). I still end up re-teaching some of it but this saves me at least one or two weeks.
- Some AP labs I split between two days.
- I require students to attend one night lab per six weeks during which we do some of the more complex labs. I thought the kids would rebel when I first started this but most of them seem to love it. They like the fact the lab is laid-back and not rushed.
- I require students to buy Cliff Notes and we make extensive use of it.
- Students do an outside study packet on ecology. Biology 1 hits this hard so the packet just reviews them.
I actually end up having time for additional labs. I also teach a non-majors biology course at night at a local college. I do not teach my AP class as I teach the college class. They are not ready for college yet. They are, however, ready to learn college material."
-- Sue Erwin, Richland High School, North Richland Hills, Texas. 11/17/99
Tip: "I agree about the importance of covering ecology. I always plan to spend the first half of my teaching year covering what I call the basics: cell biology, genetics, evolution, and ecology. Then I concentrate in the second half of the year on organisms. I have been teaching AP or advanced biology for college credit for many years, and this seems to be best. You need the evolutionary and ecological relationships to fully understand each group of organisms and their relationship to all other groups of organisms. Besides, it sure makes the going smoother. During the summer each year I take the time to plan out my entire year, including labs and time for review for the AP Exam. Then I force myself to stick to my plan. It's the student's responsibility to keep up or consider dropping the course. Getting a one-semester credit in 'advanced biology' is still a nice option for some students if they drop AP Biology mid-year. All my students are required to take the AP exam if they complete the course."
-- Susan Loedel, Manlius Pebble Hill School, Dewitt, New York. 3/24/00
Question: "I am a first-year AP Biology teacher and am having some difficulty with presenting the material, both time-wise and interest-wise. Right now I am handing out lecture outlines, assigning study guides, and completing the required labs. It's pretty boring and the kids are starting to show their boredom. Also, they have difficulty understanding the lectures. What does everyone else do to really help them grasp the topic and truly understand the material?"
Answer 1: "This is also my first year teaching AP Biology. Our school has three sections of AP Biology. I have two of the classes, with a total of 18 students (there had been six more, but there was a mass exodus about two weeks in when the kids realized just how much time they would have to devote to this course!). I have the great luck to be teaching the course with the head of our science department, who has taught it for several years. One of the things that he and my predecessor worked on was cutting the boredom factor by interspersing different topics. For example, we did a careful study of protein structure, and then jumped to the end of the book (we're using Purves, et al) to hemoglobin. We discussed basic respiratory function there, addressed sickle cell disease, worked on O2 binding curves, and so on. Having learned about this specific protein in substantial depth made our hemoglobin protein electrophoresis much more interesting! After working our way through the cell, and the protein trafficking and sorting story (Alberts has such a fantastic chapter on this) and looking at the membrane, we again jumped to the end of the book to neurons. With integral membrane proteins and ion channels fresh in their minds, we learned about the Na-K ATPase pump, voltage gated channels, and more. By giving the kids at least one specific topic in physiology to go along with each topic in biochemistry and cell biology, we are keeping things interesting, and I think, helping the students to digest the information better.
I don't know if this would cut down on the chaos any, but it might help with your boredom problem. I find that my students are rarely bored, since the quantity of information is so huge. Our classes are only 35 minutes long, and I feel as if I talk at high speed the whole time! How I wish we had even two double periods a week. Unfortunately, the rest of the school is very fond of this schedule, and I doubt that we'd ever change to 90-minute blocks."
-- Cindy Anne Lutz, Friends' Central School, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. 11/10/99
Answer 2: "I have six contact periods with each class each week. Even so, I still feel pressured to get through all of the material. I find I have to lecture in order to cover the curriculum. This is my seventh year teaching AP and each year I alter my methods. When I have students write out their own notes based on my lectures it takes longer so I often give them a copy of my outlines, which they can follow during the class. I use the overhead transparencies that accompany the text, Campbell et al, 5th Ed. I encourage students to visualize processes as they occur in cells and organ. Last thing, for most chapters I assign take-home multiple-choice quizzes. Students have to work independently on these quizzes but can use their notes, chapter outlines, and texts to find the answers. I usually ask difficult questions that force them to read/study their texts carefully. I have been doing this for the past two years and I think it makes quite a difference."
-- A. Prybylski, Westminster Schools, Atlanta, Georgia. 11/14/99
Answer 3: "I would tell them that you are preparing them for taking the AP Exam and for college! By challenging them now, the AP Exam may be less stressful. Besides that, my students tell me they pretty much sit back and listen in freshman biology courses, looking at their notes from AP class as a reference. There is a lot of review. They'll be ahead of the game when it comes to college courses. After all, the first year is the one in which students have to make the most adjustments. Improving their writing skills is not a bad idea, either. Tell them it's a win-win situation.
I try to have a student-centered classroom, and while it is difficult in an AP class, it's not impossible. I don't cover the ecology because we hit it hard in first year bio, but I have my students create multimedia projects in place of a midterm exam. They choose an ecosystem within a biome and have a whole series of questions that must be answered about the ecosystem, covering everything from food webs and population studies, to succession and conservation. This project brings together all the ecology and conservation stuff they should know. They enjoy it and they get to be creative. They give oral presentations in class during the week of midterms, using their project as a visual.
I also use a lot of cooperative learning. It doesn't have to be something complex, it can be as simple as a think-pair-share activity that takes five minutes. I also use Jigsaw activities in my AP classes. This is good for factual info that is straightforward. No way would I use this to teach photosynthesis or something else that is complicated! As a culminating activity/review I have my students act out the steps in photosynthesis and then write an essay about what their role was in the process. I did this last year for the first time and the students did better than previous classes! They told me that they understood it better. To cover the chapters on plants and animals, I have my students do independent study assignments -- one each marking period. The information they must find is pretty extensive, like body plan, number of cell layers, type of digestive system, and so on. I know that I can't get to that stuff and it would be boring to teach. However, I might have them do a scavenger hunt using their assignments to identify specimens and pictures later in the year after we do evolution and taxonomy.
I give my students my home e-mail address so they can get in touch with me and we can communicate outside of school. That works nicely, especially before a test! My students also get summer reading assignments and must write essays on the books they read. I really stress critical thinking skills and writing skills. Throughout the year I give them articles to read from Scientific American and other sources, and ask them to write essays (with guidelines given to them). I firmly believe that good writing skills and success in science go hand in hand. I hope that I haven't overwhelmed you, but I try new things every year. Start out with one thing, then build on it, expanding your repertoire every year."
-- Cheryl Hollinger, Central York High School, York, Pennsylvania. 11/16/99
Answer 4: "I've handed out notes to students for years, which they fill in with latest research, Internet dabbles, and research journals. We move quite fast with this method; like your students, they like this methodology. Along with the notes, I give charts, graphs, and diagrams (without labels), which we fill in together to keep them on task. Pop quizzes are normal for the course, in between student study guides that they complete to ensure the chapters have been read. I swear by this technique, and like your returning students, mine state they often times have to purchase the professor's notes at college. With the Cliffs Notes book, the stage is set for moving quite fast."
-- Dale Morejon, Gilroy HS, Gilroy, California. 2/15/00
Question: "I am having problems in my approach to teaching the class. For those of you who teach in a 'seminar' style, how do you do it?"
Answer: "How I do it: I type out all of my lecture notes and then don't give the lectures. It occurred to me that I was spending time that I don't have transferring my notes from my notebook into theirs. As far as falling behind, I avoid that this way: Each day is assigned a topic -- which is the day for that topic. We can backtrack if we find time later, or we can talk before or after school, or during lunch. Usually, we find time within a day or so. The only time we've had to do the after-school thing is when someone's absent. What if the majority of students aren't prepared? We keep moving -- they've got to learn sometime. I make them stumble and mumble their way through the 'discussion' --- the embarrassment just about kills them. Also, I give a 10-question quiz on yesterday's topic at the beginning of most days. They have a chance to ask 'last-minute' questions before the quiz. Keep in mind that this whole plan is for a 4x4-block schedule. I see the students for 85 minutes daily for one semester. We just don't have time to mess around. When the discussion breaks down, or slows down, I open up a test-bank book (one of the four I use) and ask questions -- we dissect the questions and answers, explaining why each is or is not correct."
-- Amy Lee Myers, New Richmond High School, New Richmond, OH. 3/14/00
Question: "How detailed and how fast? These are my biggest two dilemmas as a first year AP Biology teacher: How detailed should I be for each chapter I cover? How fast should I be covering each of the chapters? Would Cliff Notes (for AP Biology) be the best guide for how much detail, or are they not detailed enough? What have you set up for your time schedule for the year?"
Answer 1: " ... I do not know how others do it, but what I do is correlate the amount of time I spend on a topic with the percentage focus on the topic according to the AP Biology syllabus in the Acorn book. For example, if the syllabus says a topic is 'worth' 10 percent coverage, and I have a 180-day school year, I devote 18 days to that topic. Those 18 days would include exams and any lab that might be part of this portion of the curriculum. This way, I can ensure that I have in fact covered all the topics in a year. This also means that sometimes we move what I would consider too quickly through a subject area, but I feel that a quick covering is better than never getting to it at all. I create my year's syllabus in advance, and it is available on the Web for the students, beginning in August. Sometimes the administration schedules something that messes up all my careful planning, and then I have to 'punt,' but pretty much this works well for my students and me. They always know when they should be reading a new chapter, even if we haven't quite finished discussing the old one.
As for detail, I always go for the big picture first (concepts) and then add as much detail as time allows. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on how long it takes to teach the concept well. My feeling is that the AP Exam itself is more concept-oriented, and I push that in my classes. There will always be the 'fact' questions (although not many) that students either know or don't know, but a firm grasp of the concepts will better serve them in the long run, whether on the AP Exams, or in subsequent courses."
-- Linda Wichers, Birmingham Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Michigan. 10/22/00
Answer 2: "Let me rephrase your questions.
- How detailed should the students be for each chapter I cover? The students should be able to take the details at the level of the Baby Campbell and apply them to the major themes.
- How fast should the students be covering each of the chapters? Here is where you divide the year. You may find that several chapters will have to be assigned for the students to read on their own. The ecology chapters are popular for this. I don't review the biomes and specific cycles in class, but I do test on them. So, once you have divided the year by working backwards from May 17, allowing a week or two for review and practice, you need to make sure the students are working on the pace. When they complain, you need to explain two things: 1. I'm not the one who picked May 17 to test on this stuff. I'm sympathetic, but my hands are tied regarding schedule.' 2. 'Why do you complain when studying hurts, but you believe 'no pain, no gain' in sports practice? If you don't raise a mental 'sweat,' have you really had a good study session?' As we are doing a college-level course, we are trying to develop certain skills in the students, including, but not limited to (my lawyer said to include this) essay writing, organizing material, note-taking, and actually using the textbook."
-- Israel Solon, Greenhill School, Dallas, TX.10/23/00
Answer 3: "I've been interested in following the thread of 'how to get through the syllabus', in recent AP Biology postings. While I agree that it is expedient and perhaps even appropriate to spend time in the course that is in direct proportion to the percents given in the Acorn book, I do not do it quite that way. Rather, I teach what I love. That is mostly molecular and cellular biology, and genetics. I get in the other topics, as well, of course, but not in nearly the same depth or breadth as the other parts of the syllabus. My students do just fine on the exam. The breakdown/analysis that ETS sends out each fall indicates that my students do splendidly in parts I (Molecules and Cells) and II (Genetics and Evolution), and not as well in part III (Organisms and Populations). That's fine with me, and it's fine with my students, as long (a) they learn a lot of biology, (b) their love of the subject is deepened, and (c) they do well on the exam. One does not have to take the students on a whirlwind, nonstop express trip through the study of life; to me, that would be exhausting and frustrating."
-- Barbara Beitch, Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden, Connecticut. 10/23/00
Answer 4: "Here's my two cents regarding pre-AP texts and also with scheduling for the year. There are so many variables to what text you choose to use and also to how you plan your year in AP. What works for one school may be a disaster for another. If you are teaching first-year biology in the ninth grade, I agree BSCS Blue is very good. However, if you have designated the class as an Honors or pre-AP class, the students have some pretty good science background, and they are tenth grade or above, maybe your students could use a text that is more challenging.
Eight or nine years ago, we switched our science curriculum to physics first -- not a conceptual course, but a real, algebra-based physics course. All ninth graders (no matter what their math background) start here. Tenth grade is chemistry. In eleventh grade, they have a choice of Molecular Biology or an Ecology-based Biology course. (Students can also choose to take AP-Physics or AP-Chemistry at this time) We have chosen the Baby Campbell for both courses. This also helps tremendously when it comes to the AP course the next year. The students get such a good background in cells, respiration, photosynthesis, and genetics that they can fly through the material in the AP course. It is more of a review for them, with a few added points. We also spend time on some botany, human systems, and population dynamics. The Molecular course gets into quite a lot of detail in genetics -- we do the AP Lab #6, and we also have time some years to do some PCR. The Eco-Biology course does not spend quite as much time on genetics, but more on ecosystems, communities, and populations. The AP course uses the Campbell 5th Ed., which uses many of the same or similar diagrams. The course has become very un-intimidating, and we have tons more time to cover the book, and also instill an enjoyment of studying Biology.
We also have more than doubled our AP Biology enrollment. There is another text -- Life, by Ricki Lewis -- that is also an excellent choice for a pre-AP course. For those of you on block scheduling, either of these texts (Life, or the Baby Campbell) might be an option. They are very good and they are not watered down. They are solid first-year college texts for non-majors. I have thrown practice AP tests at my juniors at the end of their pre-AP year and they do very well -- some even make 5's! We don't have to teach to a test anymore.¿ We teach biology!"
-- Cher Callahan, The Savannah Country Day School, Savannah, GA.10/23/00
Answer 5: "First, take a look at my Web page, AP Biology at Guilford High School (under "See also.") This should give you an idea of what is covered. The listed chapters in Campbell indicate the topics that the students learn. The teacher styles should be dictated by the learning styles with which the students are comfortable. Many learning styles are usually present in most classes and require the teacher to address them with a variety of teaching strategies. Lab work, including quantitative labs, is essential for the students to have a good foundation in biology. Some teachers prefer to lecture, because they 'cover' the most material in the shortest possible time. (But are the kids learning? 'Covering the material' should not be a teaching goal -- the idea here is student learning. ) Other teachers include a variety of learning activities -- small group work, individual projects, computer-based activities, -- even artwork. For example, tomorrow my students will be making posters that summarize all the steps in aerobic respiration. Yesterday I lectured. Last Friday the students completed an interactive lesson that is on the Internet in the computer lab. Today I will only ask questions in class -- they must provide the answers. Thursday they will complete the AP Respiration Lab. Friday's the test. And so it goes."
-- Bruce Faitsch, Guilford High School, Guilford, Connecticut. 10/24/00
Question: "How do you handle teaching AP Biology in one semester for 90 minutes a day? I have AP Biology first semester and am not covering nearly what I should be. I am using Campbell 's 4th Ed. The students can't even get through reading what they need to read before a test. They truly don't have the amount of time needed. Any suggestions?"
Answer 1: "You can't do it without extensive student work outside the classroom. I doubt if even a fraction of one percent of high school kids could be successful learning biology with those limitations. In addition, if you are teaching it now, you won't have the students with you during the crucial few weeks before the test. You would greatly improve student learning (and test results) if the course were extended for the full year. Your administration may call this course AP, but it cannot truly be AP with that schedule, even though you have an excellent textbook to use. It is schedules such as these that make colleges leery about accepting credit, as was discussed last week. The most you can do is pick out some of the most important topics so that students will have a clear understanding of the fundamentals of biology. Some of the bio courses we teach at GHS (not AP) have the same schedule. We have picked out biochemistry, energetics, cell bio, cell reproduction, genetics (including molecular), and evolution for this survey, and our students are barely able to learn the essentials and do the lab work in these topics within that timeframe. We also offer a second 'year' biology course for these kids which covers organisms and the environment."
-- Bruce Faitsch, Guilford High School, Guilford, Connecticut. 10/24/00
Answer 2: "I teach at Santiago High School, which has a two-hour even/odd block schedule. We have the students for the entire year. We have two semesters per year. Each week we still have the five hours of class time. We have two types of class days; one is the 60-minute period and the other is a 120-minute period. The difference is as follows: - Monday is the one to six hour normal day. I use this day for exams
- Tuesday and Thursday are the odd block (one, three, and five).
- Wednesday and Friday are the even block (two, four, and six). This allows for labs to run the entire period. It works well for our school and many other schools as well.
Your problem will be with the union and getting the staff on board to handle the two-hour class. We do not allow for a mid-class break since that would defeat the block. We pick up six minutes due to no passing period and an additional 10 minutes since we do not start up and slow down when you have the one to six Day. My problem is I lose 20 hours of class time since the test is in mid-May and we graduate in mid-June. I agree that I cannot see how one can teach only one semester for 90 minutes (90 days times 90 minutes equals 1,800 minutes, or 135 hours; 180 days times 60 minutes equals 10,800 minutes or 180 hours). As stated earlier, go to the College Board Web site and look into the different programs being taught across the country."
-- Tony Poleti, Santiago High School, Corona, California. 10/24/00
Answer 3: "The Campbell book comes with a wonderful set of class notes, study guides, an instructor's manual, lecture notes, and test bank. I make copies of the class notes for every student. They are assigned reading in the book and they are to take notes over the material. The class notes from Campbell have lines for the students to take notes from their readings on the same page as the class notes. I then get together with the students and we go over any part of the reading/notes that they feel needs clarification. I often give them reading quizzes to make sure that they are doing the reading and to assess their comprehension of the material. That way, we don't have to cover the topics in which they are strong but, instead, can explain and re-teach the areas of weakness. There simply is not enough time to cover everything.... If you can reinforce the areas they are comfortable with and strengthen their knowledge in the areas where they are weak, I think that you maximize the time spent with the students. An added bonus to this technique: You are teaching them how to study for college classes. When they are responsible for their learning, they tend to take it more seriously."
-- Jo Ann Burman, Andress High School, El Paso, Texas. 10/24/00
Answer 4: "The College Board publishes a booklet entitled Teacher's Guide to the Advanced Placement Course in Biology which includes information and ideas for beginning an APB course. It also includes eight syllabi from APB teachers at a variety of schools in different parts of the country. You can order it (for $12, I think) from the Web site or by using the order blank in the middle of your Acorn book. Better still, attend a Beginning Teacher's Workshop in your area and you will get it free (at least we do in New England) as well as some valuable advice and information. Using many different people's ideas, you should be able to get a sense of proportion on pacing, organization, depth, and so on.
Too often questions deal with how much I, the teacher, need to 'cover.' (This usually can be translated to mean 'how much do I lecture on?'). Keep in mind that you are dealing with how much your students can learn, not how much you can 'cover.' It takes experience to get a better feel for the answer to this question for your students, but remember that American schools, in general, underestimate teenagers' abilities. In addition, I found that teenagers are often hungry for an intellectually challenging and interesting course in school.
Your job as teacher is not to regurgitate the textbook. As the college professor remarked, students must learn how to read independently in order to be successful in college courses. You must help them learn how to do this, help them through the confusing and complicated processes, and remind them of what the 'big picture' is. I find that reemphasizing themes of biological systems the entire year helps them considerably. You should also make it clear that science is not an accumulation of facts, but, rather, a way of trying to figure out how things work. Do as much lab work as possible."
-- Fred Brown, William Hall High School, retired, West Hartford, Connecticut. 10/28/00
Answer 5: "I also type up all student notes and hand them out to class. They use highlighters to emphasize what they feel are important key words in addition to writing down any class conversations they feel would add to their notes. It most certainly helps but they must also do much on their own in regard to readings out of class and lab write-ups (using the lab book was helpful, just fill in the blanks). Prior reading during the summer is also a necessity. I must admit that I never worked harder than when I taught AP last year. Many hundreds of hours went into prep time but in the end it was all worth it. Would I change a thing? Yes. I would have a list of books that must be read over the summer, more out of class time together after school and possibly weekends, and students must take chemistry prior to taking the class (half of my class was taking chemistry at the same time as AP). All in all I know it was a good experience for me as well as the students! As with all good teaching practices."
-- Gina Sourwine, Lyme Central School, Chaumont, New York. 10/29/00
Answer 6: "I have provided information to students in a variety of ways in the seven years I have been teaching AP. First, I had students write/copy notes off the board which was very time-consuming. Next, I gave students copies of my lecture notes so they could focus on the lecture and ensuing descriptions/demonstrations. I could get through the material quicker but, for some students, skipping the writing part is detrimental. Next, I made up outlines for students to fill in during lectures. That seemed to work very well. This year I have a Web site students can access (still under construction) and they can choose to print the lecture notes or not. I do, however, encourage all students to actively participate in class by adding to their printed notes or by writing a separate set of notes during class to complement the information on my Web site. My students this year are very strong and it seems to be working well for them."
-- Andrea Allio Prybylski, The Westminster Schools, Atlanta, Georgia.10/31/00
Answer 7: "AP Biology is getting unmanageable even if you follow the thematic approach that the College Board recommends. In my school, we also have the IB program and they (the School District/Governing Board) allow the HL level of Biology to be taught over two years. The second year class has approximately seven to nine students. The HL level is equivalent to the AP level. They comply with this rule because IB headquarters demands enough 'seat time' hours for the course that it can't be accomplished in one year. Of course, students receive two credits for the HL course. The other way would be to teach AP Biology in a block format (double periods) for a full year."
-- Marcia Fischer, Desert Mountain High School. 2/23/01
Answer 8: "I teach AP Bio to tenth graders who have not had high school biology or chemistry. Last year was my first year teaching AP and I was very concerned as to how the students would do. There has been a 10-year tradition at this school of allowing approximately 10 to 15 percent of the tenth graders to take what is really a combination of AP Biology and NYS Regents Biology in one course. There has been an almost 100 percent pass rate (3 or above). My 10 students last year all passed, with a class average of 4.5.
We have an AB block schedule on an eight-day cycle. AP Biology students meet an equivalent of 12 40-minute periods per cycle. In part, because kids did so well last year, the school district decided to allow 30 percent of the tenth grade to take AP this year (two sections with 15 students each). I didn't want to deny kids the opportunity of a challenge. I also knew there were traditional mechanisms in place to weed out kids who either didn't do the summer work or weren't keeping up with the course work in the first quarter. A letter is sent to parents and students in the spring and summer clarifying the coursework and the parameters. Yet, when several students clearly hadn't done the summer work and/or weren't keeping up with the coursework, the superintendent and the principal sided with the parents. The students remain in the class for better or for worse.
There are a number of stories related to this AP group, some of which would probably not be appropriate for the ListServ.¿ My main concern has been that students are not stressed out by the experience. The biggest academic issue is that some of the kids who are slower to catch on to the concepts are also slower at seeing the forest for the trees. They are unable to ferret out the most important info -- even if that's mostly what I try to provide for the class. I introduce each unit with a Regents level talk and give SAT II review work. Then students read Campbell. There are help sessions after school everyday and I strongly encourage certain students to come to Regents review sessions on two of the five days. I hope I haven't totally discouraged you. The good news is that most of the kids are working hard, learning a lot, and enjoying themselves, and they are an absolute pleasure to teach. Two-thirds of these kids would not be challenged in the Regents course so some sort of alternative is a good idea."
-- Donna Light-Donovan, Croton Harmon High School, Croton-on-Hudson, New York. 3/1/01
Tip: "When I moved from a school with a 55-minute-per-day schedule to a block/90-minute every other day schedule, I had to figure out a way to reclaim those lost minutes. It was a painful soul-searching process. I believe in the value of note-taking skills. I developed my own skills in high school and definitely refined them in college! I issue an apology to my students that I am not addressing that skill with them and then promptly hand out the notes! I'm not proud and still feel guilty, but it's the only way I can address all the topics and have any time left at the end for review. I am in a minority since I use Raven & Johnson. One of the reasons I chose that book was that it had the notes (with too much detail!) online. (See the Web site under "See also.) You can download them or simply copy and paste. Select a chapter and then select the extended lecture outline. If you don't want your students to have them, they may at least help you! This year, I gave the students the site and they come to class with the notes printed -- it saves me quality photocopying time."
-- Rene McCormick, Carroll High School, Southlake, TX.11/01/00
Tip: "I have my students complete a chart each marking period on those chapters of the book. I call it an 'independent study assignment' and it counts as a quiz. For the first marking period, they start with bacteria and progress through the various kingdoms. They have to answer questions. For example, name a representative organism, type of symmetry, body plan (coelem present, absent, modified, and so on), method of gas exchange, or type of reproduction. It has worked for the past six years I have done it. The kids take the charts to college with them. Some have told me they've used them in their college bio courses and they don't have to take many notes. I know I can't cover everything and this is the best solution for me."
-- Cheryl Hollinger, Central York High School, York, Pennsylvania. 2/8/01
Tip: "In the 10 years teaching it, and the last seven years on block schedule, it is nearly impossible to cover everything. With all the distractions occurring at our public, comprehensive high school, it is a fact of our existence that students have to study some aspects of the course on their own. New state testing has taken an additional eight to 10 days of instructional time away from our high school so that we may 'practice taking the SAT-9' in an effort to raise our state scores. After the first year of teaching, I found that we sped up considerably when I copied my notes for the students. They read them the day before the 'real' introduction, and we zip right through them. Each year I add items to them. Students spend little time writing, trying to catch up to the teacher. We can spend more time analyzing the concepts rather than writing them down. Students always ask why more teachers don't do the same thing."
-- Dale Morejon, Gilroy High School, Gilroy, California. 2/16/01
Question: "How can teachers approach the AP Biology committee concerning the fact that the course covers too much material?"
Answer 1: "I, too, am unable to cover the all material in appropriate depth. In addition, the amount of material included in the course is increasing. The College Board has not changed the categories in its literature, nor the assumed percent of the course to be in each category. But realistically the course is getting unmanageable in a typical school year. Has anyone thought of ways to approach the College Board with the idea of splitting AP Biology into two courses? My thought on the possibility would be a microbiology/biotechnology/biochemical course, and an ecological/population/taxonomic course, with appropriate overlap in genetics and cellular biology."
-- Robert F. Griffin, Eaglecrest High School, 2/16/01
Answer 2: "It seems that every week someone is saying, 'Help, there is too much information to cover,' in one form or another. In fact, if you read the introduction to Campbell 's text, he says there is too much for any single one-year course. And yet that is exactly what the AP syllabus asks us to do. The amount of information known goes up year by year, so the amount we are expected to teach also goes up. There has to be a limit. Large universities often have several introductory biology courses, to meet the needs of different specialties. The focus needed for pre-med (anatomy/physiology) is not the same as that needed for agriculture or environmental studies (biosystems and interactions), and so on. The SAT 2 now has a choice of two specialties, recognizing this. Other AP courses also have different forms (e.g., Physics), to allow different specializations. Why not AP Biology? There could be a core curriculum (biochemistry, genetics), with two or more options for the rest of the test. I suggested this last year when the College Board surveyed all of us to find out what our greatest needs were, but got the standard, 'thank you for your ideas' response. Does anyone else on the ListServ agree, and if so does anyone know how to communicate this strongly to the powers that be?"
-- Gerry Rau, Lincoln American School, Taichung, Taiwan. 2/22/01
Answer 3: "To Whom It May Concern: I am one of an army of AP Biology teachers who wish to request that AP Biology be divided in some way. The knowledge in biology is increasing at amazing speeds, so our content continues to increase while the time that we have to teach it actually seems to be decreasing. Most high schools are taking five to six days out of the year for mandatory state testing, and we have weather and other delays that eat away at our time. Some of us have insufficient prep time to set up labs and create lessons that will truly teach in the minimum amount of time. Please hear us and split AP Bio into two sections in some way.
I truly believe that it will actually increase the number of students that take the AP classes because it won't be so intimidating. When kids sign up now I do everything to let them know that the course is very demanding and that they will have to study at least one-third of a college text without me! This scares off many good students and potential test-takers. Thank you for reading this and please begin working on splitting AP Biology as soon as possible to help everyone enjoy biology again and to increase the number of candidates. If there is someone specific whom I could contact, please forward me that information."
-- Julie Smiley, Winchester Community High School, Winchester, Indiana. 2/23/01
Answer 4: "To AP Biology teachers: I always read with great interest discussions on this site, and have chosen not to participate. However, with the current discussion concerning splitting the AP Biology course in full force, and with questions concerning whom to contact, I am writing to clarify the position of the AP Biology Development Committee. As Chair of this committee, I can tell you we are charged with the awesome responsibility of developing the best curriculum possible within the framework of a growing body of scientific knowledge. At nearly every workshop I attend, the question of course splitting arises. We have dealt with this issue numerous times at our committee meetings (there are three schoolteachers on the committee) and have decided that the course is a unit held together by the themes and concepts. Attempts to split sections out of the theme and concept format undermine the unity of the entire course, and in our opinion it compromises the curriculum.
We are painfully aware of the difficulties that you as teachers have in covering the vast amounts of material, but our traditional response is that you should continue to teach to your strengths. One cannot at any level cover the vast array of materials in current texts. When we develop the exam, we keep this in mind by writing questions that are conceptually oriented and less fact-based. Our free response questions are written with internal choice, and are generally broad enough to encompass several areas around specific themes. We will continue as a committee to grapple with this question. Our ultimate goal is to develop the best curriculum for our students and for you, the AP teachers. We do not consider ourselves 'the powers that be.' We consider ourselves caretakers of a tremendous educational endeavor.
When I read answers to essay questions from your students, I am amazed at the outstanding training that they have received by you, their teachers. On behalf of the development committee, I thank you for your efforts. I will continue to monitor this conversation, but feel free to e-mail me directly, if you wish. I will bring your concerns to the full committee."
-- John Smarrelli, Chair, AP Biology Development Committee Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois. 2/24/01
Answer 5: "It seems to me that the AP syllabus is a) a composite of what all college courses teach, so it must include everything, and b) an outline of what the test will cover. But it is clear that a student does not have to know all parts of the outline to make a 5 and get credit. And this is good, because everyone acknowledges that most college courses don't cover every single thing in that outline. Nevertheless College Board/ETS is in no position to delete any particular part. So, if a student knows most of the parts he/she is likely to get credit. I administer the placement test for our dept. I put on that test items that I don't cover in my class but that my colleagues do. Yet, I know (from trying it out) that my students can pass the test at the placement level. It is, of course, not my students who are taking the test, but yours! So I need to put 'everything' on the test to give every student a fair chance to get questions right. But then I have to set the passing score so that a student just has to know a reasonable amount, not everything, to pass. Isn't that how the AP situation works?"
-- Jean DeSaix, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2/24/01
Answer 6: "I have followed this strand with interest for the last year or so. It seems to me, however, from listening to everyone that the problem is not with the College Board so much as with the universities. They are the ones who insist on these insane requirements. Each of them is afraid their program will be diluted by AP. How we convince them this isn't so is a question that needs to be addressed, in my opinion."
-- Mike McNabb, Ballard High School, Louisville, Kentucky. 2/26/01
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