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Congratulations,
One of the higher academic classes you selected was Advanced Placement Biology. AP courses are considered college level classes taken during high school and consequently they provide a significant challenge to the motivated student. You will be reading from a college level textbook, taking challenging tests, and thinking critically about how biology connects to the world we live in.
One of the advantages to this class is that it offers you the chance to earn up to 15 college credits if you score well on the national exam given in May. The test is composed of four essays and a hundred-question multiple choice section. We spend many class (and homework) hours refining writing and test taking skills. Due to the increased academic preparation required of an AP Biology student, one to two hours of homework a night, I ask that you discuss your decision with your parents. Please preplan for any possible conflicts (vacations, etc.) next year-particularly in early May as this is when the national exam is given. If you use the internet and want to know more about the test and the Advanced Placement programs go to the following address:
http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/students/subjects.html
This page provides a list of subjects. There is a section on the left side called "FAQs" (Frequently Asked Questions) that might answer some questions you have about the national program. You can also go to the Biology link to find more about what the exam looks like.
AP Biology is designed for the highly motivated student, one who strives for excellence in learning. Characteristics include: enthusiasm for biology, a willingness to ask questions and participate in class, ability to balance your schedule and complete your assigned homework and reading on time, and good attendance. The pre-requisites for this course are successful completion, a “C” or higher, in both Biology and Chemistry. Students, who had a difficult time with Chemistry, scoring a “D” or below, should consider enrolling in one of our other science elective courses.
The Science Department requires that AP Biology students maintain certain standards for retention in this course. Any student earning a "D" grade or below for a semester grade will be asked to transfer to another regular science class. Please be aware, this is a college level course.
Students who are accepted into the program will not be allowed to simply drop the course because they realize one month into school that the work requirements are greater than the typical high school science course. Students can receive additional help with the course before school as well as during the after school study sessions.
This year will be a full and exciting year. I am glad that you have requested this placement, and that your teachers have recommended you for this course
If you have any questions please
contact me via email PERSONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION This year is my 18th year
of teaching science, the last 10 of which have been here at
Lynnwood High School.
I taught at Cleveland High School in Seattle for 7 years prior to
coming to LHS. I have taught a variety of subjects in that time
including AP Biology, Chemistry, Biology I/II, and Life
Science.
In addition to teaching, I served for 9 years as a Chemical Officer
at Fort Lewis in the Army Reserves. I have a wife, Cheryl, and two
children Charles and Nicholas. My wife is also a teacher in the
district at Beverly Elementary School here in
Lynnwood.
My main goal in teaching AP Biology is to develop your problem solving strategies and to help you think critically about your place in this world. By exposing you to advanced biology through a variety of mediums, academic journals, current events articles, labs, discussions and lecture, I hope to relate local, national and global issues in biology to events that you can relate. This will give you a greater appreciation for how your actions, or lack of actions, influence not only your life but the lives of all other living organisms.
At the beginning of each unit I will hand out a unit plan sheet that identifies the unit objectives, the expected readings, the lecture topics, articles, and the labs and activities that we will be covering in that unit. AP Biology is a 55 minute class, and meets 5 times a week. I offer an hour study/ question period once a week after school. This gives extra time to students who need it to understand the concepts. Most classes are a combination of discussion/ lecture. I use a computer projector to display notes and images on the main screen in the front of the class. This enables me to reference visuals from the text as well as display current research from the internet during class. Hopefully this will help you streamline your note taking during class. Because I present the information in this format you do not need to bring your textbook with you to class. Please get used to doing the assigned reading prior to coming to class. It is also a good idea to take notes about the important information you read while you are reading. If you bring these notes with you to class you will be able to ask questions about the information you did not understand.
Lab Component
There will be 12 major labs as well as additional activities that I have added to enhance the material that you will be responsible for completing. During these labs, you are the problem solver. You will need to analyze the problem, come up with a hypothesis and then solve the problem and tell me what you think. This will require that you read and understand the laboratory before the lab begins. There will be a lab quiz given prior to the start of each lab. In order to pass the quiz you will need to be very familiar with the lab prior to the start of the lab. In order to allow you enough time to read and understand the labs, I will hand out the labs at least two days ahead of the day that you will be dong the lab. AP Biology is offered the first hour of the day so that on lab days I utilize the 25 minute Tutorial Period before the day starts and run the labs in an 80 minute block. On lab days you will need to be in class ready to start the lab at 7:05 am. Please note that this will only happen about 12 times through out the year but, that it is very important for you to plan accordingly and be on time to start the labs on those days.
I use lab quizzes, lab reports, student study guides, homework, unit tests, projects, presentations, and research papers to assess your learning. I also incorporate the Released Exams, note taking skills, test preparation books, and Student Study Guides. |