Education is the lighting of a fire, not the filling of a bucket. Education is the lighting of a fire, not the filling of a bucket. William Butler Yeats
S449 AP Biology Sharon McCoy (847) Office Hours 7:20 – 9:00 AM 12:00 – 5:00 PM
About Me In my 22 nd year of teaching Illinois State University B.S. Biology Education Northern Illinois University M.S. Secondary Education 12 and 10 year old daughters and a 4 year old son Have taught Accelerated Chemistry, Chemistry, Accelerated Biology, Biology Seventh year teaching AP Biology
My Approach Taught as a freshman level college course –Main focus is to prepare students to be successful on the AP Exam in May Lectures Small group activities Individual work Laboratory Activities Field Trips Projects
Grading 50% Labs, Quizzes, Abstracts 50% Labs, Quizzes, Abstracts Twelve prescribed labs as recommended by the College Board plus other lab activities Vocabulary quizzes Abstracts Book journal 50% Tests 50% Tests Two to three tests per quarter Grades posted to district electronic gradebook
Other thoughts… Investigate what type of credit a college or university will give for AP scores Main focus is to prepare for the AP test in May which I hope every student will take Focus and work hard consistently throughout the year AP review guides and the value of an AP course Get organized! Learn time management Develop responsibility Develop good study habits