AP Science Laboratory Curriculum

AP Science Laboratory Curriculum
St. Ignatius College Preparatory

Enduring Understandings

In experimental science, all theories -- no matter how elegant -- can be rejected if in conflict with the results of a single experiment. All theories are conditional, never "proven."
There is no "right" answer in a lab setting -- either a hypothesis is supported by your data, or it is not supported. Accepted or expected outcomes can always be refuted with a well-designed experiment.
Laboratory work allows us to interact with the world in a simplified, controlled way. There is a place in science for calculations and abstract mathematical manipulation, but this kind of effort should lead to a deeper understanding of the real world.
The scientific method requires that communication of scientific ideas (for instance, in the writing of lab reports or research papers) be honest, transparent, exhaustive, reliable, and useful. Anybody with sufficient effort and resources should be able to replicate a theoretical argument or experimental result from the original paper.
It is more useful to discuss why an experiment may not have come out as planned than it is to "fudge data" - such discussion generates better understanding of additional variables that may affect experimental results.

Haste makes waste: scientific research should be carried out thoughtfully, carefully, and with ample time for rework and revision
Correlation does not imply causation: just because two things happen together doesn't mean that one caused the other -- both could be due to a single underlying cause, or be unrelated. Thorough analysis of experimental error requires a thoughtful approach to cause & effect.
Measurements are meaningless without an understanding of experimental error.
A theory is in conflict with an experimental result only if the prediction of the theory lies outside the range of results allowed by measured experimental error.
Scientific processes are iterative, meaning that you repeatedly move back and forth throughout the scientific method many times, reformulating hypotheses and reanalyzing data repeatedly. It is not a "linear" process as presented in textbooks.
There is no single, short definition of the "scientific method" - it is a large body of assumptions, methods, and analysis tools; it may take years to master and understand the method.
Study of the nature of the scientific method is an open and fascinating topic among scientists and philosophers.
The phenomena we deal with in the laboratory can be explained and reproduced without recourse to supernatural phenomena such as luck or divine intervention.

Essential Questions

How can I tell if my data is 'good enough'? When does an experiment 'end'? How could I extend my research in this area?
What should I do if my data does not confirm my prediction or hypothesis? Does my hypothesis have to be correct?
Is there a place in science for the concept of a 'real' or 'right' answer? In other words, if I measure X and the book says Y, is Y the 'real' answer? What place does dogma have in science?
Under what conditions may (must?) we throw out an existing theory and replace it with a new one?
How important is it that my laboratory reports and scientific research papers conform to the standards of the discipline? Is it important that my writing be aesthetically pleasing, charming, clever, humorous? How does scientific writing differ from persuasive or other types of writing from other disciplines like English?
How do I prevent myself from seeing "what I'm supposed to see" and instead see a phenomenon for itself?
What is the difference between a mistake ("blunder") and scientific error?
What are the expectations of the discipline regarding clean & accurate record-keeping during laboratory work?
What ethical guidelines do scientists work under - and are they appropriate even for high school students doing classroom laboratory work?
Who do scientists (and science teachers) believe that hands-on laboratory experimentation is crucial for understanding the content material of the course? Can't we just learn all this from books?
What is the scientific method? Is there a single definition for it? Why is it so effective? What does it purport to accomplish? What makes the method so effective? What things cannot be decided through the method?

Course Outcomes

Students should be familiar with the process of designing experiments, so they can
- Describe the purpose of an experiment or a problem to be investigated.
- Identify equipment needed and describe how it is to be used.
- Draw a diagram or provide a description of an experimental setup.
- Describe procedures to be used, including controls and measurements to be taken.
- [above from the College Board]
- Take necessary care in the measurement of phenomena and the fabrication and/or use of equipment or materials

Students should be able to make relevant observations, and be able to take measurements with a variety of instruments appropriate to the relevant discipline. [from the College Board]
- Students should learn to keep a neat, organized, and useful laboratory notebook.

Students should understand how to analyze data, so they can:
- Display data in graphical and/or tabular form.
- Fit lines and curves to data points in graphs as needed.
- Perform calculations with data.
- Make extrapolations and interpolations from data.
- [above from the College Board]
- Analyze the relationship(s) between different experimental variables
- Look at their data from several different perspectives

Students should understand measurement and experimental error, so they can:
- Identify sources of error and how they propagate.
- Estimate impact (magnitude and direction) of errors.
- Determine significant digits.
- Identify ways to reduce experimental error.
- [above from the College Board]

Students should understand how to summarize and communicate results, so they can:
- Draw inferences and conclusions from experimental data.
- Suggest ways to improve experiment.
- Propose questions for further study.
- [above from the College Board]
- Determine if a hypothesis is supported by relevant data; specifically, identify which data supported and which data did not support the hypothesis

Students will learn how to plot, format, and analyze data and errors in Excel or a similar spreadsheet program.
Students will gain experience and familiarity with laboratory safety expectations and techniques equivalent to that of a first year college laboratory student.
Students will gain experience and familiarity with laboratory cleanliness expectations. Student will take ownership over their lab environment.
Students will learn to present laboratory results orally (in poster session format) and in writing (in formal laboratory report format) equivalent in scope, detail, and reliability to the expectations of a first-year college science student
Students will learn the importance of using/creating a procedure that can be redone precisely and the necessity of sharing data/information with fellow researchers
Students will learn how to create and run a successful experiment within the framework of the scientific method

Acceptable Evidence / Performance Tasks

Students will write at least one major research report each of the first three quarters of the course graded according to a rubric shared among the three AP Science courses. Each research report will include at least one graded & commented draft so that the process of revision and rework is emphasized. The topic of the research report need not be novel: it could be one of the regular labs that would normally be assigned through the year; the difference is the high degree of revision & rework required of the student.
- AP Science Laboratory Summer Curriculum Grant Rubric & Scientific Method [.pptx] -- DRAFT

Students will design at least one experiment in the second semester, choosing their own (discipline-appropriate) hypothesis, technique, equipment, methods, etc. Students from among the three AP Science classes will share their results with one another at a science faire - results will be presented in 'poster' form, and students will be asked to present their material orally to passers-by at the session. Awards & recognition will be given to high quality work. The topic of the experiment can be related to one of the mandatory labs (for AP Bio & AP Chem) so as to not generate additional expectations - what's different about this particular experiment is that the student has an unusually high degree of choice in the design of the experiment.
- Example of student handout(s) announcing the project to go here
- AP Science Laboratory Summer Curriculum Grant Poster Rubric Draft [.pptx] -- DRAFT

Students will be evaluated according to lab practical quizzes & exams throughout the course. In the lab practical (which can consist of a pre-lab quiz if needed), students will be asked to demonstrate familiarity with equipment, methods, and discipline-specific subject material relevant to the design and execution of a laboratory measurement.

Examples by discipline:
- AP Biology
  - Pre-Lab Quiz
  - Lab Essays in AP format
- AP Physics
  - Lab equipment, data acquisition & analysis
  - Excel, computer programming & simulations
- AP Chemistry
  - Students will be tested individually on how to set up and perform a titration, proper methods of massing chemicals, identification of equipment, safety precautions of chemicals and waste products, safety rules of the lab, chromatography techniques, ...

Student will be asked to keep a neat, organized, and useful laboratory notebook. This notebook will be spot-checked routinely and formally submitted for review at the end of each quarter.
- Link to DRAFT laboratory notebook rubric will go here!
- Note: AP Bio has its own laboratory notebook provided by College Board -- this is a distinct difference and might lead to different uses of rubric between sections

Quarter and semester grades will be assigned as follows:
- Note that the different teachers use different grading systems so these will differ. However we agreed on the following priorities for grading:
- Example distributions

Quarter and semester grades will represent the end-state of the student's acquisition of knowledge, so each part of the grade should be subject to student revision & improvement [Marzano]

Laboratories and Projects

AP Biology

Lab 1: Diffusion and Osmosis
- Relate osmotic potential to solute concentration and water potential.
- Measure the water potential of a solution in a controlled experiment.
- Determine the osmotic concentration of living tissue or an unknown solution from experimental data.
- Describe the effects of water gain or loss in animal and plant cell
Lab 2: Enzyme Catalysis
- Measure the effects of changes in temperature, pH, and enzyme concentration on reaction rates of an enzyme catalyzed reaction in a controlled experiment.
- Explain how environmental factors affect the rate of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
Lab 3: Mitosis and Meiosis
- Recognize the stages of mitosis in a plant or animal cell.
- Calculate the relative duration of the cell cycle stages.
- Compare and contrast the results of meiosis and mitosis in plant cells.
- Compare and contrast the results of meiosis and mitosis in animal cells.
Lab 4: Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis
- Compare photosynthetic rates at different light intensities.
- Separate pigments and calculate their Rf values.
- Describe a technique to determine photosynthetic rates.
- Explain why the rate of photosynthesis varies under different environmental conditions.
Lab 5: Cell Respiration
- Calculate the rate of cell respiration from experimental data.
- Relate gas production to respiration rate.
- Test the effect of temperature on the rate of cell respiration in non-germinated versus germinated seeds in a controlled experiment.
Lab 6: Molecular Biology
- Use plasmids as vectors to transform bacteria with a gene for antibiotic resistance in a controlled experiment.
- Describe the biological process of transformation in bacteria.
- Calculate transformation efficiency
Lab 7: Genetics of Organisms
- Investigate the independent assortment of two genes and determine weather the two genes are autosomal or sex-linked using multigeneration experiment.
- Analyze the data from your genetic crosses using chi-squared analysis techniques.
Lab 8: Population Genetics and Evolution
- Calculate the frequencies of alleles and genotypes in the gene pool of a population using the Hardy-Weinberg formula.
- Discuss natural selection and other causes of microevolution as deviations from the conditions required to maintain Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Lab 9: Transpiration
- Test the effects of environmental variables on rates of transpiration using a controlled experiment.
- Make thin sections of stem, identify xylem and phloem cells, and relate the function of these vascular tissues to the structures of their cells.
Lab 10: Physiology of the Circulatory System
- Measure the heart rate and blood pressure in a human volunteer.
- Describe the effect of changing body position on heart rate.
- Explain how exercise changes heart rate.
- Determine a human's fitness index.
- Analyze cardiovascular data collected by the entire class.
Lab 11: Animal Behavior
- Describe some aspects of animal behavior, such as orientation behavior, agonistic behavior, dominance display, or mating behavior.
- Understand the adaptiveness of the behaviors you studied.
Lab 12: Dissolved Oxygen and Aquatic Primary Production
- Measure primary productivity based on changes in dissolved oxygen in a controlled experiment.
- Investigate the effects of changing light intensity on primary productivity in a controlled experiment.
Additional Labs
- Paper Labs: Transformation, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and restriction enzyme analysis
- Virtual labs: reinforcing the above mandatory labs (cell respiration in mice, gel electrophoresis virtual simulation, mitosis/meiosis onion root)
- Microscope labs reinforcing the unit on classification
- Dissections to reinforce concepts of animal anatomy
- Hands-on lab demos to prepare students for labs: amylase enzyme in saliva, genetics of organisms.

AP Chemistry: This is a list of possible labs that can be covered, however, not all of these will be covered each year.

Lab Exercise	Description	Goal	Time	Inquiry
Student Inquiry Project	Students select and investigate a topic of their choice in which they ask and answer a testable question using an experimental, well-designed investigation.	Demonstrate the skills and process of conducting a well-designed experimental investigation, and develop a deeper understanding to a topic of interest, selected by the student.	3 weeks	Student-conducted
Identification of Substances by Physical Properties	Students determine the physical properties (density, melting point, boiling point, solubility) of a solid and liquid unknown, and then identify it from a list of substances and their properties.	Learn procedures to evaluate physical properties, and use them to identify substances.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted
Separation of the Components of a Mixture	Students are given a mixture of NaCl, NH₄Cl and SiO₂ and separate them by heating, subliming, extraction and drying, and determine the % of each.	Learn the separation techniques of decantation, extraction and sublimation.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted
Chemical Reactions	Students investigate the reaction between Cu and S, an oxidation-reduction reaction (Zn, HCl), and a metathesis reaction (Na₂CO₃, HCl).	Observe typical chemical reactions, identify products, and summarize chemical changes using balanced chemical equations.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted
Chemical Formulas	Students react Zn in HCl, mass the product and determine the balanced chemical equation. Students repeat a similar process for Cu and S.	Become familiar with chemical formulas and how they are determined.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted
Chemical Reactions of Copper and Percent Yield	Students use Zn or Al to reduce Cu from solution and determine % yield.	Determine the % yield of a copper reaction.	2 hrs	Student-conducted
*Gravimetric Analysis of a Fertilizer	Students use gravimetric analysis to determine % Cl in AgCl.	Learn typical techniques of gravimetric analysis by quantitatively determining Cl in an unknown.	3 hrs	Student-conducted
Hot/Cold Pack	Students construct a cold/hot pack and determine how much heat is loss or gained.	Measure energy changes of endothermic or exothermic reactions using a calorimeter.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted
Molecular Geometries of Covalent Molecules: Lewis Structures and VSEPR Theory	Students make models of covalent molecules, deduce whether geometrical isomers are possible, predict ion structure, state the hybridization of central atoms, and suggest how given species would distort from regular geometries.	Become familiar with Lewis structures, principles of VSEPR theory, and 3-D structures of covalent molecules.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted


Colligative Properties: Freezing-Point Depression and Molar Mass	Students observe and record the cooling curve for naphthalene and a naphthalene-sulfur mix. They then determine the molar mass of S and repeat the process to determine the molar mass of an unknown substance.	Observe colligative properties and use them to determine the molar mass of a substance.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted

Rates of Chemical Reactions II: Rate and Order of H₂O₂ Decomposition	Students investigate the effects of temperature and a catalyst on the rate and order of reaction for the decomposition of H₂O₂.	Determine the rate and order of reaction for the decomposition of H₂O₂.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted
Reactions of Aqueous Solutions: Metathesis Reactions and Net Ionic Equations	Students mix a variety of solutions to observe metathesis reactions. They then use solubility, temperature and crystallization data to determine products and write molecular, complete ionic and net ionic equations.	Observe metathesis reactions and write their net ionic equations.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted

Determination of Dissociation Constant of a Weak Acid	Students observe and record pH during a titration, create a titration curve of pH versus mL titrant to calculate the ionization constant.	Operate a pH meter, and understand quantitative equilibrium constants.	3 hrs	Student-conducted
Introduction to Qualitative Analysis	Students perform basic qualitative analysis techniques of the sulfuric acid test and specific test for anions of know anions, and then identify the anion of a solid salt unknown.	Learn the basic principles of qualitative analysis and the chemistry of several elements.	3 hrs	Student-conducted
Titration of Acids and Bases	Students will standardize a NaOH solution and use this to determine the amount of acid in an unknown solution.	Practice the techniques of titration, and determine the amount of acid in an unknown.	3 hrs	Student-conducted
Hydrolysis of Salts and pH of Buffer Solutions	Students investigate the hydrolysis of salts by measuring pH, determining [H⁺] and [OH^-], and calculate K_a or K_b. They then measure and observe the effect of acid and base on buffer pH.	Learn about hydrolysis and the behavior of indicators and buffer solutions.	3 hrs	Student-conducted
Le Chatelier’s Principle	Students will disturb different equilibrium systems to observe the effects based on Le Chatelier’s Principle.	Learn and predict the basic effects of disturbing an equilibrium reaction based on Le Chatelier’s Principle.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted

Electrochemical Cells and Thermodynamics	Students construct electrochemical cells and measure their potential at various temperatures. Students then calculate ∆G, ∆H, and ∆S from the temperature variations of the measured emf.	Become familiar with the fundamentals of electrochemistry and the Nernst equation, by constructing voltaic cells.	3 hrs	Student-conducted
Activity Series	Students compare the reactions of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Sn, and Zn in HCL. Students then compare the reactions of Ca and Cu to metal-cation solutions. This information is used to rank order the relative chemical reactivities of the tested metals.	Determine the relative activities of metals in chemical reactions.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted
Colorimetric Determination of Iron	Students use a spectrophotometer, and observed absorbance and calibration curves to calculate the mass and % of iron in a sample.	Become familiar with the principles of colorimetric analysis.	3 hrs	Student-conducted
Preparation of Ester	Students use laboratory techniques in the synthesis of different ester compounds.	Synthesize organic compounds.	2.5 hrs	Student-conducted

Preparation and Reactions of Coordination Compounds: Oxalate Complexes	Students prepare representative coordinate compounds and observe their typical reactions.	Become familiar with coordinate compounds.	3 hrs	Student-conducted

AP Physics

First Semester

Lunar Lander Project

Students will simulate, in Excel, an Apollo-style launch into Earth orbit, followed by an insertion into a lunar trajectory and orbit, a lunar landing, and a return to and splashdown on Earth. This project also encompasses many of the typical in-class laboratory activities expected in an AP Physics course.

Analysis and Presentation of Data

Students will learn to collect data through the Vernier Lab Pro system, analyze and plot data, use significant figures & do error analysis, and make aesthetically pleasing tables and plots (note: it isn't important that students learn any particular system, just that they learn some system for computer-based data acquisition)
(Note: website is a work in progress)

Second Semester

Stirling Engine Project

Students will build from cheaply and widely available parts a tin-can engine that runs off the heat supplied by a single small tea candle.

Particle Physics Project

Students will explore and critically evaluate proposed extensions to the Standard Model of Particle Physics

Use of Class Time

SI has maintained a 50-minute bell schedule for a very long time. In order to fit full laboratories in, AP Science teachers have often asked students to stay in class during lunch, etc., which has lead to unhealthy behavior and rushed work. Due to the nature of some labs (dissections, live organisms, and the use of bacteria) students are strictly prohibited from eating during this time. The creation of an AP Science Laboratory course formalizes this extra time by requiring students to attend a double-period session by coming to class a period early before school (blending with the first period of the day) OR by staying in class a period late after school (blending with the last period of the day). This should generate one double-period for laboratory work per week for each student. This ad-hoc solution to a time problem will hopefully be made unnecessary by an overall change to the bell schedule.
In addition to the primary use of the double-period lab time -- direct experimentation -- some of the lab time for this course will be set aside for:
- training students in the writing of formal research papers
- training students to use data acquisition and analysis tools (such as Excel) in the lab room and in the computer lab
- providing students with in-class computer time to work on writing up laboratory reports with each other and in the presence of an instructor (this will dramatically reduce out-of-class time on this work)
- allowing students sufficient unstructured time to design and implement experiments of their own design (particularly in the third quarter, in advance of the science faire)
- time for discussion of results and allowing students time to gather class data
- "virtual" labs (& other online/computer based activities that are not specifically replacing a regular laboratory - which is dangerous because science should have a strong connection to reality)
- "paper" labs (working with and creating models not involving experimentation)
- lab clean-up and safety instruction day
- 90-minute exams in preparation for the full-length AP exam in May.
Sample schedules

AP Biology
- Week 1
  - Workshop: Introduction to Excel (excel tutorial)
    - Manipulating cells
    - Making graphs & tables
    - Scaling graphs
    - Aesthetics
    - Linearization of data
    - Circular logic errors
- Week 2(partial)
- Week 3 (meeting day 90 min only)
- Week 4 (meeting day 90 min only)
- Week 5 (meeting day 90 min only)
- Week 6
- Week 7: Midterms
- Week 8
- Week 9
- Week 10
- Week 11
- Week 12(meeting day)
- Week 13: Thanksgiving week
- Week 14
- Week 15
- Week 16: Final Exams
Sample Second semester
- Week 1 (partial)
- Week 2 (Meeting Day)
- Week 3 (partial)
- Week 4 (Meeting Day)
- Week 5
- Week 6 (Meeting Day)
- Week 7 (partial)
- Week 8
- Week 9
- Week 10: Midterms Week
- Week 11
- Week 12
- Week 13 (partial)
- Spring Break
- Week 14 (partial)
- Week 15 (Meeting Day)
- Week 16
- Week 17: AP Exams
- Week 18: AP Exams (AP Biology on Day 1)
- Week 19 (partial)
- Week 20 (partial)
- Week 21: Final Exams
AP Chemistry
Sample First Semester
- Week 1
- Week 2 (partial)**
- Week 3
- Week 4
- Week 5
- Week 6
- Week 7: Midterms
- Week 8
- Week 9
- Week 10
- Week 11
- Week 12
- Week 13: Thanksgiving week
- Week 14
- Week 15
- Week 16: Final Exams
Sample Second semester

Week 1 (partial)**
Week 2
Week 3 (partial)**
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7 (partial)**
Week 8
Week 9

Week 10: Midterms Week

Week 11
Week 12
Week 13 (partial)**
Spring Break
Week 14 (partial)**
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17: AP Exams
Week 18: AP Exams (AP Biology on Day 1)
Week 19 (partial)
Week 20 (partial)

Week 21: Final Exams

AP Physics

Sample First Semester Schedule
Week 1
- Lecture/workshop: Introduction to Excel
  - Manipulating cells
  - Making graphs & tables
  - Scaling graphs
  - Aesthetics
  - Linearization of data
  - Circular logic errors
- Doing physics in Excel with time-steps
Week 2
- Lecture/workshop: Using Excel to model motion (UAM and non-UAM)
  - Time steps
- Launch of a rocket (per Lunar Lander project)
- Plotting the acceleration, velocity & position of the rocket during launch
Week 3
- Demonstration: Introduction to the Vernier LabPro system for data Collection
- Lab - Precision Measurements of Acceleration
Week 4
- Lab - Newton's 2nd Law
Week 5
- Lab - Centripetal Motion
Week 6
- Lecture/workshop: Error Analysis & the Scientific Method
- Ample time for work on lab writeups

Week 7

Midterm week
Lab practical exam: use of Excel & Vernier-based data acquisition

Week 8
- Computer Lab: Lunar Lander Project work in Excel
  - Earth orbit
Week 9
- Computer Lab: Lunar Lander Project work in Excel
  - Lunar trajectory
Week 10
- Lab - Collisions in One Dimension
Week 11
- Lab - Force & Impulse
Week 12
- Lecture/workshop: Introduction to video analysis software
- Lab - Collisions in Two Dimensions
Week 13: Thanksgiving week
Week 14
- Time for work on lab writeup & Lunar Lander project
  - Re-entry to Earth's atmosphere
Week 15
- Lab practical exam
- Time for work on lab writeup & Lunar Lander project
  - Wrap-up
Week 16: Final Exams

Sample 2nd Semester schedule
Week 1 (partial)

Introduce Stirling Engine project

Week 2

Introduction to Visual Python

Week 3 (partial)

Stirling Engine project - work time
Visual Python project - work time

Week 4

Programming project in Visual Python

Week 5

Stirling Engine project - work time
Visual Python project - work time

Week 6

Lab - topic depends on special topic(s) for this year

Week 7 (partial)

Stirling Engine project - work time
Visual Python project - work time

Week 8

Lab - topic depends on special topic(s) for this year

Week 9

Stirling Engine project - work time
Visual Python project - work time

Week 10: Midterms Week

Lab practical exam: Stirling Engine performances

Week 11

Lab - simple harmonic motion

Week 12

Lab - physical pendula (part 1 of 2) - student designed

Week 13 (partial)

Lab - physical pendula (part 2 of 2) - student designed

Spring Break
Week 14 (partial)

Computer lab - differential equations and integral methods

Week 15

Computer lab - begin poster presentation for physical pendula laboratory

Week 16

Practice AP exam

Week 17: AP Exams

Grading practice AP exams

Week 18: AP Exams (AP Physics on Day 1)

Review for AP exam

Week 19 (partial)

Particle Physics project
Continue work on poster presentation

Week 20 (partial)

Particle Physics project
Continue work on poster presentation

Week 21: Final Exams

Poster session - Science Faire

Bibliography

Department Mission

Our mission is to teach students the scientific method so they can understand modern scientific descriptions of the universe and come to objective conclusions about the natural world. Like all members of the SI community we aim to educate the whole person, emphasizing the academic, extracurricular, and spiritual development of our students.

We would like to see graduates of SI ...

● knowledgeable about a broad range of scientific topics

● confident and proficient in the use of the scientific method

● able to use core science knowledge to assimilate new ideas and discoveries

● aware and appreciative of the universe and its inhabitants

● able to effectively communicate scientific principles, theories, and historical discoveries in both qualitative and quantitative language

● proficient in laboratory techniques and experimental apparatus

● conscious of the environmental and ethical consequences of scientific progress

● dedicated to acting as a "person for others" in accordance with Catholic faith, Jesuit tradition and our school's mission

● well prepared for future study in any academic discipline

... and eager to continue to enjoy, learn about, and practice science throughout their life.

To this end, we strongly advise students to take all three of our core classes (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) as well as a 4th year elective course.

Summer Curriculum Grant Proposal

Introduction

Beginning this Fall, 2009, students enrolling in an AP Science course will also be automatically enrolled in a second course, AP Science Laboratory. The course catalog description is as follows:

ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCIENCE LABORATORY

Grade Level - 10, 11, 12

Length - One Year

Type of Course – Elective (half-credit)

Prerequisite – Concurrent enrollment in AP Biology, AP Chemistry, or AP Physics

Criteria for Enrollment – Students who qualify for and enroll in the AP Science courses listed above are required to enroll in this course as well

Course Description – AP Science courses such as AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics require an intensive laboratory component extending beyond the regular class meetings. Students enrolled in this class will meet at least once, and at most twice, per week with their class either at zero period or at 8th period. When the corresponding AP Science course is scheduled, zero and 8th period meeting times for this course will be scheduled so that 100-minute “double periods” are created before and after school. Students need only meet before or after school, not both. Students receive a separate grade for the laboratory course.

This course brings our AP courses into accordance with the College Board’s recommendations regarding time spent in lab (per the AP Audit). This is the first year that we will have access to a formal double period; in past years, students have been informally required to attend lunch-time labs.In order to recognize the extra time and work put in by students, a separate half-credit lab grade is offered. Currently, lab grades make up just a part of the overall course grade. Withlab a separate grade, it is important to determine - through backwards design - appropriate curricular goals, student expectations, and grading criteria.Although we meet as a level regularly during the school year, due to the busy nature of the AP sciences it is hard to find time to collaborate on such a broad project.

Purpose

Clarify and codify our lab curricula for AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics. In particular, we will:

Identify enduring understandings, essential questions, course outcomes, breadth of topics, depth of study, and overall standards associated with laboratory work.

Determine what we will accept from students as evidence that they have met these goals; review our methods and breadth of assessments

Identify other, new activities that reinforce these goals

Determine how the extra time will be utilized for the AP science courses

Clearly identifying in each of our specialized curricula what the extra time will be used for and what the AP Lab grade will consist of; allowing AP science students to see a commonality in expectations among the AP Science courses.

Create documentation that effectively communicates to new teacher, veteran teachers, student, administrators, regents, trustees, parents, and other stakeholders (i) what we are doing; (ii) how we are doing it; and (iii) how we can make sure what we are doing is effective

Build collegiality, a sense of common purpose, and a solid AP Science Laboratory expectation in our disparate topics (AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics)

Continue to develop a AP Vertical Teaming framework amongst the AP sciences

Need

This work differs from the usual curriculum review we all do as professionals in the following ways:

It takes some existing curriculum and some new curriculum and conforms it to the UbD framework

It consists of three separate curricula designed in parallel with common and distinct parts

It will consist of a lab curricula that shares commonality across three distinct disciplines of science, each with its own very different laboratory experience

Outcomes & Deliverables – Summer 2009

Before the start of the 2009-2010 school year, we will deliver:

Online, written, backwards-designed, common curricula for the AP Science Labs. These curricula will include all of the following pieces:

Course-wide topics for enduring understanding *****

Course-wide essential questions *****

A course-wide list of topics for each course *****

Application of each of the above to each individual class *****

Included in the common curricula

Topics of enduring understanding

Essential questions

Outcomes in terms of applicable knowledge and skills *****

Outcomes in terms of fundamental understanding *****

Clear explanation of the flexibility of the Lab curricula, allowing it to be used across the entire AP level

A set of performance/assessment tasks that can be shared as a common resource *****

A bibliography with references to educational research & strategies as they impact the design of the curricula*****

A set of common (but flexible) laboratory & scientific method rubrics and expectations *****

A set of new, additional assessments and performance tasks that will allow students to demonstrate understanding of laboratory skills and principles *****

A written plan for the additional class time that was approved for the AP Sciences; specifically indicating how the new class time will reduce informal/outside of class time on major projects *****

A set of guidelines for assessing and grading based on the new laboratory curricula ******

A department feedback document, formulated at the end of the summer, which describes our satisfaction with the delivered work and our personal commitment to implementation of the results