Description
Lab Biology
In-person class Tuesdays, 9:00-10:25 am with an additional approximately 3 hours of work to be done between classes (approximately 9-10 hours/week for Advanced Placement). (Parents may opt to enroll in our Flex Work Time to contribute toward completing work done outside of regular class time)
Registration is for the entire school year (35 weeks).
- Observation and experiment – The scientific process of observation and inquiry, experimentation and fieldwork are fundamental to lab sciences.
- The science of life – An understanding of living organisms and their varied processes including concepts such as genetics and ecology which in turn affect the diversity and sustainability of living organisms.
- Cells are basic building blocks of life – Learning about how cells work—and what happens when they don’t work properly—teaches us about the biological processes that keep us healthy. It also uncovers new ways to treat disease.
- Biological processes are complex and integrated – understanding how life is structured, created and sustained requires elements of other major science domains.
Major content areas covered in the course include:
- Biochemistry (including macro-molecules & enzymes)
- Cell biology (including cell metabolism, diffusion and photosynthesis)
- Genetics (including meiosis and natural inheritance)
- Ecology
Additional content may be covered depending on the pace of student learning and the direction their discovery moves.
There is an AP track option for this course that has extended learning, materials and support for AP students.
Required Course Materials:
- Large (2″-3″) 3 ring binder with 5 dividers (more dividers are fine, but fewer will be difficult)
- Standard lined/”filler” paper
- Graph paper
- Two different colored pens
- One set of colored pencils (at least 4 different colors)
- Basic calculator
- Flash/thumb drive OR easy access to a Google Drive under the student’s own e-mail address
Additionally, students will need technical ability to access Zoom, Discovery Education Streaming, OERCommons, Study.com and Canvas (our learning management system).
At home, students will need access to the internet (home or library) to look up information, related published materials and/or videos and do work through our class learning management system. Some videos will be subscription-based and issued by illuminat-ED (all students will have accounts for Discovery Streaming and Study.com for additional video support). Some videos will be freely available.
Students pursuing AP level coursework: should allocate approximately 9-10 hours/week to completing a broad range of tasks including online work in AP Classroom and other resources. Keep in mind that AP Biology is a college level course that covers two college semesters of biology. AP students will be offered an additional hour/week of Zoom-based “office hours” that can be scheduled based on the instructor’s and student’s mutual availability.
This course has 2 pre-scheduled Asynchronous Learning weeks during Fall Pause & Mid-winter Pause; but does not have additional assigned work during Thanksgiving Week, Winter Break or Spring Break.
Combined with our live class time, the regular version of these courses are a total of 4-1/2 hours/week (except for our 2 asynchronous weeks which will have 2 hours of work) for a course total of approximately 75 hours per semester. This equates to a half credit per semester using the Carnegie unit methodology.
Course time will be devoted to lab work and discussion related to the content that is the culmination of the students pre-reading and other assigned activities for the week. Pre-reading and asynchronous work is an essential component for this class. In addition to listening and taking notes, students are expected to actively participate in the course, through asking and answering questions and doing research to expand on the material.
Ecological, Evolutionary, and Physiological systems will be discussed in-class and the students will need to participate in these discussions in a respectful and mature manner.
