Biology

Dates: July 10 - 13, 2023 (Monday-Thursday)

Instructor: Cheryl Gray Mitchell

Over the course of this 4-day (online/virtual) workshop, new and experienced teachers alike will become familiar with the recently updated Course and Exam Description (CED) in AP Biology (2020). The updated CED organizes the course into eight commonly taught units:

1: Chemistry of Life; 2: Cell Structure and Function; 3: Cellular Energetics; 4: Cell Cycle; 5: Heredity; 6: Gene Expression and Regulation; 7: Natural Selection; 8: Ecology.

The major focus of this Advanced Placement Summer Institute will be on the changes to the CED, lab investigations, and the new resources available to teachers. The updated course framework clearly connects each learning objective to specific essential knowledge and includes biology – specific science practices that build skills to help students learn to think and act like biologists. Particularly important will be the time and skill set necessary to support teachers in implementing more inquiry-based investigations and participants will be given tools and strategies for modifying traditional experiments into inquiry-based models

Participants will become familiar with hands-on lab investigations in the updated lab manual, AP Biology Lab Investigations: An Inquiry-Based Approach (2020) as well as explore creative alternatives to these labs. We will also examine the new AP® Biology exam design and essay grading. There will be time carved out for teachers to begin working on their AP® Biology syllabus specific to their school’s daily schedule and calendar so the AP® Course Audit process will be made easier.

Participants will need to bring a calculator, camera (phone or digital), laptop computer, and a favorite investigation activity to share on our Google folder (invitations emailed the first day of the workshop).

AP® Central AP® Biology Updates:

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-biology/course/updates-2019-20?course=ap-biology

4-day Course Outline/Workshop Agenda:

Day 1: AM

Welcome, K-W-L Sharing

Key Takeaway 1: Understanding the Course and Exam Description (CED)

Building conceptual understandings by linking Learning Objectives (testable) and Essential Knowledge (content) in each Big Idea.
Applying content in new, relevant, and unfamiliar contexts using Science Practices (Skills) and Essential Knowledge.

Activity: Teaching for Transfer by Applying the Science Practices

Practicing the Practices
Investigation #11 Transpiration Set-Up
Investigation 13 Enzyme Catalysis using Yeast or Potatoes and Hydrogen Peroxide

Activity: Teaching for Understanding of Content and Skills

Activity: Understanding the Course Framework and Big Ideas

Planning Your Course Using Unit & Pacing Guides (plan the first few weeks of your course on your own or with teachers who have similar schedules – 2 hours)
AP® Biology Exam Structure and Scoring
Prep Sucrose Solutions

Checklist for the day:

Required Topic 1 - Course and Exam Description (CED) (2 hours):* Examine
each section of the CED and make connections to the Curricular Requirements
Required Topic 2 - Course Introduction (1 hour):* Outline the instructional plan by Unit and Topic in an academic calendar
Activity: Exploring the Unit Guides (and treasure hunt map)
Applying the Science Practices to design, conduct & analyze two lab investigations

Day 2: AM

Transpiration Data Collection Day 2 via Small Scale/Balance
Lesson 9: Scaffolding and Spiraling the Practice
Lesson 11: Instructional Approaches & Strategies

Practicing the Practices

Lesson 12 (p. 97 workbook) Lab Experience #2: Investigation 4 - Set Up Diffusion and Osmosis in Potatoes or Carrots
Investigation 9 - DNA Gel Electrophoresis: Foodborne Outbreak (MiniOne kits supplied free of charge with return labels)

Key Takeaway 2: Planning the Course

Sequencing, Pacing
Activity: Analyzing Science Practices and Learning Objectives on Exam Questions
Activity: Scaffolding and Spiraling the Science Practices

Lessons 10 & 13 (1 hour): Instructional Strategies & Planning Your Course
Assess and Reflect (1 hour): Practice interpreting data within the Instructional Planning Report to identify student strengths and weaknesses and reflect on implications for instruction
AP® Classroom Deep-Dive (2 hours): Learn how AP® Classroom can be utilized to develop each skill/practice using example student data provided by the College Board® and develop lesson plans that reinforce topic and skill connections.

Checklist for the day:

Required Topic 5 - Strategies and Pedagogical Tools - Identify various instructional strategies and tools that teachers can incorporate in their lesson plans to teach the content and skills in the Course and Exam Description
Applying the Science Practices to design, conduct & analyze two lab investigations
Required Topic 3 - AP® Classroom Deep Dive
Required Topic 4 - Assess and Reflect - Practice interpreting data within the Instructional Planning Report to identify student strengths and weaknesses and reflect on implications for instruction

Day 3: AM

Practicing the Practices

Lesson 12 Lab Experience #2 (p. 97 workbook): Wrap up Investigation 4 - Osmosis and Data Analysis with Water Potential & CER
Lesson 20 Lab Experience #3 (p. 149 workbook): Investigation #3: Using BLAST to Determine Evolutionary Relationships

Lesson 17: AP® SP #5 Statistics and Data Analysis

Lesson 18: AP® SP #6 Argumentation

Key Takeaway 3: Teaching the Course

Teachers need a deep understanding of content and applications
Using effective instructional strategies to help develop course skills and content knowledge
Practice make perfect
Creating community within a classroom

Transpiration Data Collection via Small Scale/Balance Day 3

Lesson 14: SP #2 - Visualizing Info. (0.5 hour)
Lesson 15: AP® SP #3 - Questions and Methods (0.5 hour)
Lesson 21: Connecting the Exam to the Curriculum (0.5 hour)

Activity: Planning Your Course Using Pacing Guides (plan the first quarter of your course with teachers who have similar schedules) (1.5 hours)

Investigation 8: pGLO Bacterial Transformation

Checklist for the day:

Required Topic 5 - Strategies and Pedagogical Tools - Identify various instructional strategies and tools that teachers can incorporate in their lesson plans to teach the content and skills in the Course and Exam Description
Applying the Science Practices to design, conduct & analyze two lab investigations

Day 4: AM

Practicing the Practices

Alternative to Investigations 5 & 6: Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis in Algae Beads (Biorad kits supplied free of charge)

Lesson 25 Lab Experience #4 (p. 201 handbook): Wrap up Transpiration Lab and Analyze Results in CER Format
Lesson 28 Lab Experience #5 (p. 219 handbook): Investigation 12 - Animal Behavior with Pillbugs

Activity SP 5 – Statistics and Data Analysis

Activity SP 6 – Argumentation

Investigation 2 Overview: Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (if time permits)

Key Takeaway 4: Assessing Student Progress and Understanding

Aligning assessments and instruction to learning goals and performance standards
Challenging students to apply their knowledge and skills in different contexts for deeper understanding
Time, practice and feedback
Understanding is earned over time

Lesson 23: Formative Assessments vs. Summative Assessments

Lesson 24: Scoring Free Response Questions

PM Asynchronous

Key Takeaway 5: Becoming a Member of the AP® Community

Lesson 27: Course Audit and Curricular Requirements
Lesson 29: AP® Teacher Community and Additional Resources

Evaluations

Checklist for the day:

Applying the Science Practices to design, conduct & analyze two lab investigations
Required Topic 4 - Assess and Reflect: Practice interpreting data within the Instructional Planning Report to identify student strengths and weaknesses and reflect on implications for instruction
Required Topic 5 - Strategies and Pedagogical Tools: Identify and explain various instructional strategies and tools, in addition to AP® Classroom, that teachers can incorporate in their lesson plans to teach the content and skills in the Course and Exam Description

Happy Teaching!

About the Instructor

Cheryl Gray Mitchell is a native of Southern California and graduated from the University of California - San Diego with a B.A. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. She has invested 20+ years in the classroom, and her teaching experience encompasses all levels of biology and chemistry (AP®, honors, grade level). After spending 10 years teaching AP® Biology and Honors Chemistry at The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, PA, Cheryl moved to Tower Hill School in Delaware where she currently teaches AP® Biology, AP® Chemistry, and Honors Chemistry.

Cheryl has been a faculty consultant for The College Board® since 2003, serving on the senior leadership team as a Question Leader for the AP® Biology exam, and she teaches workshops and summer institutes in AP® Biology and Quantitative Skills.

Cheryl has been active in the annual AP® National Conferences, presenting at pre- and post-conference workshops for experienced AP® Biology teachers at the 2018 conference in Houston, and previously in Las Vegas. Cheryl’s publishing work as a freelance author for McGraw–Hill Higher Education includes revising the test bank that accompanies Peter Raven’s Biology textbook (2014) and the creation of an updated, standards-correlated AP® Biology practice exam for Sylvia Mader’s Biology textbook (11th ed.).

In 2015, Cheryl became a content author for the online STEM platform Albert.io and she began working as a consultant for the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) in 2016, providing Student Study Sessions and mentoring new AP® Biology teachers in different regions of the country. Most recently, Cheryl became a contracted writer for ETS, writing test items for the official AP® Biology exam, and she earned certifications in 2021 for Learning to Teach Online (UNSW Sydney, Australia) and Building Community in an Online Classroom (National Institute for Stem Education - NISE).

*College Board®, AP®, Advanced Placement Program® and Pre-AP® are registered trademarks of the College Board. Used with permission.