Advanced Biology Course Description and Expectations
		Assignment Pages

Advanced Biology Honors, 2009-10
www.courses.ma.org/sciences/apbio/

Instructor: Mark Stefanski
mstefanski@ma.org

Because your classmates and teacher depend on you:

1. Show up to class prepared and on time.

• Do your homework.
• Get enough sleep the night before.
• Bring your book(s) to class.

2. Participate.

• Be open, honest, and true to yourself.
• Respect and support one another.
• Share your ideas and questions.
• Listen when others are speaking.
• Constructively challenge the status quo.

3. Stay organized.

• Keep a three-ring binder.

4. Respect the lab environment.

• No eating, drinking, or smoking.
• Wear your shoes.
• Leave the room cleaner than you found it.

5. Absolutely no whining.

The following is a breakdown of how your semester grade will be determined:

• Daily quizzes count for approximately 15% of your grade.
• Individual and group write ups for labs and investigations count for approximately 20% of your grade.
• End-of-the-unit take home essays count for approximately 20% of your grade
• Projects count for approximately 20% of your grade
• A final semester exam (fall) or project (spring) counts for approximately 15% of your grade.
• The quality of your class participation affects all aspects of your work and counts for approximately 10% of your grade.

Standards upon which you will be evaluated:

The standards of learning upon which you will be evaluated include the following. I expect students in Advanced Biology to:

• Develop a deeper conceptual understanding of living systems and the ways in which biologists study them.
• Construct an understanding of science as both a body of knowledge and a process.
• Develop a deep conceptual understanding of the major unifying themes in biology, especially evolution and interdependence in nature.
• Construct questions that further understanding.
• Precisely observe phenomena and accurately record findings.
• Evaluate the soundness and relevance of information and reasoning.
• Identify unexamined cultural, historical, and personal assumptions and misconceptions that impede learning.
• Develop skills in using technologies that further awareness and understanding.
• Recognize, pursue, and explain connections within and among areas of biology, other sciences, and other areas of knowledge.
• Construct and support judgments based upon evidence.
• Communicate in a respectful, compassionate, and supportive way with other learners within the class and members of the wider community.
• Write and speak with power, economy and elegance.
• Identify, understand, and accept the rights and responsibilities of belonging to a multicultural community.
• Develop awareness and appreciation of the human place within the natural world (in other words, appreciate that biology is really about you and your place in the world!).  
• Make reasoned decisions that reflect ethical standards, and act in accordance with those decisions.
• Have a good time doing all of this!

A Brief Summary of Course Content:

Advanced Biology Honors will cover 3 major areas of biological science in depth:
I. Evolution and Behavioral Ecology
II. Cellular Biology, DNA, and Biotechnology
III. Plants, Food, Nutrition, and Sustainable Agriculture