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Teaching AP Environmental Science to Large Classes
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by Ben Smith
Palos Verdes Peninsula High School
Rolling Hills, California
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Introduction
Teaching a course involving the breadth of topics and the depth of information that AP Environmental Science (APES) does is a considerable task in itself, regardless of class size. The variety of topics and the interdisciplinary nature of the course, combined with a laboratory/field component, create countless possibilities for course design, labs, fieldwork, projects, readings, and other activities. Teaching an APES class of 35 to 40 students will clearly differ from teaching a class of 20.
In this 2003-2004 school year, I have 225 students in six sections of AP Environmental Science, marking the greatest number of APES students I have ever taught at any one time. In eight years of teaching this course, I have had the opportunity to teach 38 sections and more than 1,100 APES students.
I've found the following strategies particularly useful in working with large APES classes:
- discussion
- group work
- student-designed lab and field work
- student presentations
- variety
- frequent quizzes
- multiple-choice exams
- free-response questions (FRQs)
Discussion
The interdisciplinary nature of the course lends itself quite well to class discussions. I emphasize this significant component from the beginning. The dynamic of every class is somewhat different because of the personalities involved. However, it is always important to make students feel as comfortable as possible and let them know that their questions, comments, views, thoughts, and perspectives are important. Doing so from day one establishes a solid foundation for valuable class discussion during the entire year.
Group Work
For most of the labs that I do, groups range from four to six students. Using cooperative groups, whether in a lab or other activity, can be an effective way to share information and explore topics. In addition, group work can decrease the number of lab set-ups and amount of materials needed.
Student-Designed Lab and Field Work
I find it useful to give students opportunities to design, set up, and carry out experiments, beyond the usual labs that have a specific, preexisting procedure and for which students carefully follow the established plan of action. Inquiry-type lab and field investigations clearly involve an investment of time, but they are one of the best methods of exploring lab topics and they work well for cooperative student groups. The "degree of design" involved may vary from lab to lab. I typically use topics such as grass decomposition, eutrophication, ecosystem columns, salinization, plastics degradation, wastewater treatment apparatus, and a solar cooker/oven design. Labs that are carried out over several days or weeks and that require frequent observation and data collection can be an excellent way to work with a large class or classes.
Student Presentations
Oral presentations, done individually or in groups, are an effective way to engage all students in course topics and can further enhance the overall class discussion component of your APES course. Student presentations are also an efficient way to gauge a student's knowledge and understanding.
Variety
Using a varied approach in teaching is always a good idea, but it is particularly important in large classes in order to keep students and their instructor as "fresh" as possible. Varying class activities over the course of a unit, chapter, week, and day generally enhances students' (and their teacher's) ability to stay focused, engaged, and interested. A varied approach in a single class period might look like this: 15 to 20 minutes devoted to making observations and collecting lab data, 20 minutes of lecture-discussion, a 10-minute video clip, and two brief student presentations on recent news about environmental science.
Frequent Quizzes
I find that giving short (5- to 15-question) quizzes, announced or unannounced, encourages students to keep up with text and supplemental reading assignments and to remain attentive and involved during lecture-discussions, student and guest presentations, videos, and other course activities. Frequent quizzes, one to three per chapter, can be even more valuable when working with large classes, where consistency and responsibility in coursework is critical. Generally, frequent quizzes lead students to ask more questions about course material and to become more involved on a daily basis. I often have students score other students' quizzes, as I state the possible answers aloud.
Multiple-Choice Exams
The majority of the exams that I give are multiple-choice, composed of 30 to 100 questions worth two points each. With Part I of the May AP Exam consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions, it is helpful to give comprehensive and challenging multiple-choice questions on the exams students take leading up to the AP Exam. I use Scantron exams for most of these, significantly decreasing the time it takes to grade the multiple-choice portion of the exam. I will often include fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions (similar to quiz questions) on exams as well.
Free-Response Questions (FRQs)
In my eight years of teaching AP Environmental Science, I have usually given students one FRQ as part of every exam, with each FRQ worth 30 points. Depending on the nature of the particular FRQ and, therefore, the complexity of the rubric, grading a class of 32 students takes 45 to 90 minutes, or a total of four and one-half to nine hours of grading if you have six sections of 32 students each. Therefore, an APES instructor may want to give only one FRQ every two, three, or four chapters, or one every unit. This has a number of advantages over giving an FRQ on every exam. It keeps students "on top" of concepts, processes, and information they have explored in previous chapters. When FRQs deal with material covered during the last few weeks or months, students have greater incentive to truly understand and keep this information in their long-term memory. This approach generally encourages students to ask questions about concepts when clarification is needed. Another potential advantage of this approach is that it cuts down on the small (or not so small) mountain of papers that the instructor faces.
Another strategy I recommend highly is to provide at least two or three opportunities for your students to score FRQs. Students can score sample papers from previous AP Exams; however, scoring peer FRQs can be valuable preparation for the four FRQs on the AP Exam. When I use this approach, I have students write their student identification number rather than their name on their FRQ, so the two or three students who will be scoring the paper will not know who the author is. The major benefits of utilizing this strategy are:
- It provides an excellent opportunity for students to become familiar with the "inner workings" of a rubric by applying it to an FRQ.
- It serves as a good illustration of how important it is to present a clear, neat, organized, specific, and thorough response. The student can "experience" the FRQ from the reader's perspective and more fully appreciate how the qualities mentioned earlier (clarity, neatness, organization, specificity, and thoroughness) can make a significant difference.
- It decreases grading time and enables the instructor to devote more energy to other aspects of teaching the course.
Finally, it is important to keep in mind the opportunities AP Environment Science offers both students and teachers, regardless of class size. APES increases environmental science literacy through a challenging laboratory- and field-science-based course. It teaches sustainability and the idea that individuals can bring about positive change and work toward solutions to many environmental problems and challenges in front of us.
Ben Smith has taught in public and private schools in California for 17 years, and has taught more than 1,100 students in AP environmental science at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School over the last eight years. He has led many one-day and week-long APES workshops, and has served on the AP Environmental Science Development Committee and as a Table Leader and Question Leader. In November of 2001, Ben received the Siemens Foundation Award for Advanced Placement teaching.
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