Trevor Gallant
Trevor teaches at a public high school in New Brunswick, Canada close to the world famous high tides of the Bay of Fundy on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. He teaches all levels of biology at the grade 11 and grade 12 level and has been teaching AP Biology since 1999. He brings with him an enthusiasm for all things biology as well as a passion for teaching. Trevor started attending the AP Biology reading in 2001 and has served as a reader and in a variety of leadership roles and is currently a question writer for the AP biology exam. He has been delivering AP workshops for the College Board for 13 years. Outside of the classroom he loves hiking and camping and can occasionally be spotted playing bass in the pit orchestra in local musical theatre productions.
Course Description
Trevor’s APSI in Biology will focus on aligning your teaching with the AP Biology curriculum framework and preparing for the final summative exam. The focus will be on understanding the curriculum framework, the organization and teaching of the course, and introducing students to the concept of inquiry. We will explore many activities used to help students learn how to articulate their understanding via modeling as well as mastering the science practices required. Institute participants will analyze the 2015 free response questions and student samples to establish an understanding of student weaknesses and develop recognition of the needs of the students in achieving success on the exam
Agenda
Day 1
- Overview of Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings, Essential Knowledge, Science Practices, and Learning Objectives
- Exploring AP Central: A look at resources
- FRQ Sample: An in-depth look
- Making and using a scoring standard
- Recognizing the science practices
- What about lab work? Lab activity 1 (Enzyme Activity)
Day 2
- FRQ Sample: An in-depth look
- Can students actually do this? Exam preparation
- Scoring FRQ
- How do I cover all this? A pacing guide
- Math in biology: Graphing and Standard Error of the Mean
- What about lab work? Lab activity 2 (BLAST Lab)
Day 3
- What is Inquiry and how do I include it in my teaching?
- How can I use “dry labs” to teach inquiry?
- Preparing students for multiple choice questions: A closer look
- Math in biology – Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
- What about lab work? Lab activity 3 (Hardy-Weinberg and Population Genetics)
- Using Case Studies
Day 4
- Short FRQ Sample: An in depth look
- Helping students with common misconceptions
- Yeast: A model Organism for Lab Work
- Overview of Suggested Labs and Alternatives
- AP Course Audit
- Getting ready for the school year: Planning and Pacing
- Q&A about any topics we didn’t cover
Goals and Objectives
- To familiarize participants with the AP Biology curriculum.
- To develop an understanding of the AP Biology exam.
- To share classroom activities that include a focus on inquiry.
Participants should bring:
- Laptop or iPad
- USB flash drive or Google account for accessing materials via Google Drive
- Two or three tried and true classroom activities for conversion to increased inquiry
- 2020-2021 School Calendar for planning
All of the science courses are conducted in labs equipped with state regulated safety equipment.