Class Overview
About (AP Biology) 
The main course goal is to prepare each of you for the AP Exam that will be taken in May; and you will be eligible to earn college credit. The goal is to make you aware of important information, new techniques, turn you on to the study of the world around you, and the relevance Biology has in your life. Throughout this class, you will develop analytical skills, be introduced to new laboratory techniques, and refine your written communication. The AP Biology Curriculum is framed around eight units:
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- Chemistry of Life
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- Cell Structure and Function
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- Cellular Energetics
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- Cell Communication and Cell Cycle
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- Heredity
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- Gene Expression and Regulation
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- Natural Selection
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- Ecology
We will tie these eight units every single day throughout the entire year. This course is very rigorous and requires much time and effort to succeed. As a result, I hope that you develop a passion for the subject matter, as well as discover a real world connection. It is my expectation that you come to the class prepared, so you can be actively involved in classroom discussions and activities.
Class Learning Skills (Science Practices)
The AP Biology units are connected with the following six skills or science practices:
- Concept Explanation
- Visual Representations
- Questions and Methods
- Representing and Describing Data
- Statistical Tests and Data Analysis
- Argumentation
Expectations
- Classroom Materials: Morris, Castigenetti, Lepri, Relyea, Biology for the AP Course. Bedford, Freeman, & Worth Publishers, chromebook, classroom notebook, pencil, pen, college-ruled paper, colored pencils or markers, ruler, index cards (3 x 5), and 4-function calculator or graphing calculator.
- You will need to attend classroom meetings at the appropriate time and days of the week ready to learn and participate in discussions. A lecture class will include a mixture of PowerPoint presentations, discussions, case studies, lab activities, and problem solving questions.
- You will be doing AP labs as well as observing demonstrations to help enhance your knowledge and understanding of the topics of the year. You will be asked to answer analysis questions after all of the laboratories, as well as graphing and manipulating data. For each of the AP labs, you may be asked to write a full lab report, mini-poster presentation, or Google slide presentation, take a pre-lab quiz, or take a post-lab quiz. The laboratory experience will give each of you the opportunity to learn new physical skills, learn to work with others, find out how biology really works, and create student driven experiments. You will be given the laboratory instructions several days in advance so you can be prepared to do the work. You will find that on the AP labs, you will be required to “design your own experiment” in order to ask a question. This student-driven learning will carry over into other activities done in the classroom.
- You will be required to keep track of your work either written or turned in through Canvas, which involves all bellringer questions, notes, assignments, handouts, labs, and activities. To keep track that you are completing the assigned work, I will be doing audit checks at the end of each unit to ensure efficiency.
- Test questions will be similar to the AP exam that involve both multiple-choice questions and free response questions. You will be given several AP practice exams prior to the AP Biology exam taken in May. The Personal Progress Checks (PPC) will be assigned to check for understanding of concepts and to practice taking AP style questions.
- You will be required to log into the AP Classroom Links to an external site. to complete AP Daily Videos, Topic Questions, Personal Progress Checks, and Unit Exams.