Biology

1. What should a student know before taking this course?

   You should have completed a junior high school level course in life science that covers the description of a cell and its method of reproduction, concepts of classification of organisms, some evolution theory, and some human anatomy and physiology (i.e., human organ systems and their functions). We cover all of these topics in detail, and students have an easier time if they have been exposed to the basic concepts before starting my course.

   It is also useful to have some physical science experience, especially with the concepts of atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, and thermodynamics or heat energy. We do a very quick review of these in early part of the course, then depend heavily on the concepts when we discuss cell structure and functions.

   Both areas are covered in the second-year Scholars Online Natural Science course.

2. What level of mathematics is required?

   You should have completed a first year algebra course and be able to solve a simple expression for one of its components. For example, you should be able to rearrange the equation y + 2x = 3y to solve for y in terms of x.

   You should understand how to read a graph and a table of numerical data. Many of the exercises involve interpreting experimental data presented in table form.

   Toward the end of the course, we will also discuss the logistics equation, an equation in exponential form, such as

   y = x².

3. How much preparation time is necessary?

   This is hard to answer without knowing how fast you read. For each chat discussion meeting, you will need to prepare

   • 7-10 pages of text (which may include a lot of graphics which will require study)
   • 5-8 study guide exercises
   • the CD-ROM presentation (there isn't one for every unit)
   • a short on-paragraph essay to present in class

   My experience is that this will take you 2-3 hours to finish properly. In addition, for each chapter (usually 1 per week, but with some short chapters, we will do one per chat meeting), you will need to finish

   • a 15-20 multiple choice quiz in the study guide (probably 1/2 hour)
   • a 20-30 question multiple choice drill on the CD-ROM (repeats some of the SG questions ( 10-15 min)
   • a 10 question on-line quiz at the website (15-20 minutes)

   You may also opt to take do labs, which will involve another 2-3 hours per week of your time, depending on what equipment you need to build or collect.

   So each week, you should plan to spend 3 hours in class, 4-6 hours in preparation, and 1 hour in testing, or a total of 10 hours a week. A normal high school course requires a minimum of 4 hours of class time and 4 hours of homework. This course is somewhat more intense that a normal high school biology course, so it requires somewhat more effort on your part.

4. What is a passing score?

   My examinations tend to be very thorough, since I am interested in assessing what you have actually learned and understand. The tests are written as though you were a college student (because that is the level of the material we cover), and so are more challenging that a high school biology test would be. Because of this, I tend to actually grade rather easily: passing for the course is 50% or better on each of the fall and spring semester finals. Scores in the past have ranged from below 30% to above 95%. However, if you aim to take either the SAT II biology exam or the Advanced Placement exam, you should aim to get at least 70% regularly on the online quizzes.

5. What kind of grade will I get?

   Scholars Online science students do not receive conventional grades. All courses are pass/fail.

   I do send evaluations at the end of each semester that describe your performance on quizzes, homework, class participation, and the final examination. In the past, these have been adequate for most state or local school district reporting requirements. If you have more specific requirements for reporting your progress in this course, please let me know well in advance of the reporting deadlines.

   However, I realize that some government agencies, accrediting institutions, and scholarship committees require more standardized grades. When you receive your raw grade scores, I will include links to tables that will allow you to map to a conventional score based on your grade level. Your parents are responsible for assigning and reporting a final grade to any school or college authorities, and ISLAS will report the normed grade in your transcripts.

   However your scores are reported, the best way to establish your competence in chemistry for college admission or placement is to take the SAT II examination or AP exam.

6. How have other students done on the SATs or AP exams?

   Most students in Scholars Online biology are at the beginning of their high school career and are either freshman or sophomores, so many of them do not take standardized tests. Since homeschooled students receive their scores directly from the testing agency, I do not know all the results for all of my students, and obviously, those with lower scores tend to be more reticent about reporting their results. In the last three years, however, I do know that two of my students from each year have taken the AP exams and received scores above 3; they or other students have also taken the SATs and received scores above 750. These scores are the result of diligent preparation on the part of each student.

7. What is your position on evolution theory?

   Please see my evolution page where this question is answered in detail.

8. How are ethical issues involving genetics and reproduction addressed?

   In order to meet the requirements for Advanced Placement consideration and provide an adequate preparation for standarized tests in biology, we use a secular college level text which discusses, among other things, genetic engineering and human reproduction. As with any secular text, ours sometimes presents material in a morally ambiguous manner.

   While this is not a course in ethics, when students raise questions and objections to the text materials, I may briefly try to clarify the material in a way consistent with my understanding of Biblical teaching. I believe and teach that human life begins at conception, and that the zygote is fully human; that all human life is precious to God, and that we must respect the dignity of all human beings when considering the possible applications of medical technology. I am not a theologian, however, so for any more thorough discussion of the ethical issues involved, I refer students back to their parents, and encourage our Catholic students to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part III, Section II, on the Sixth Commandment. If there is enough interest, we will try to make arrangements for a session where Father Jim can answer questions as well.

   Parents will be notified several weeks before we are scheduled to cover the chapter on human reproduction, so they can review the material. Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns about how we cover these topics.

9. Do I have to attend both sessions each week?

   Yes. The two sessions are not different sections of the class with different students. Because of the material we need to cover, the class must meet twice a week. All students must attend both sessions or make alternate arrangements to submit homework assigned.

   If you have a conflict with the scheduled sessions, you will need to review your priorities and decide whether or not you can commit to the class. If your outside conflict is short term, I will work with you through the period, but you must plan to attend most of the year's sessions. Students taking the AP Option will attend additional sessions, meeting 4-6 times during the fall semester, then regularly during spring semester for review and test preparation.

10. What kind of grade will I get?

    Scholars Online students do not receive conventional grades. All courses are pass/fail.

    I do send evaluations at the end of each semester that describe your performance on quizzes, homework, class participation, and the final examination. In the past, these have been adequate for most state or local school district reporting requirements. However, since many students now request transcripts for NARHS credit, I will also supply a conversion table to translate your raw numerical score into something that more accurately reflects your work compared to normal high school grading practices. This converted score will be reported on any transcripts provided for official use by Scholars Online.

    If you have more specific requirements for reporting your progress in this course, please let me know well in advance of the reporting deadlines.

    The best way to establish your competence in biology for college admission or placement is to take the SAT II examination.

11. Will you be able to write me a letter of recommendation for my college (or secondary school) application?

    Yes, I do write letters of recommendation for students on occasion. However, I cannot write such a letter on the basis of a few months' work. I require that you finish a complete year of instruction with me first, so that I have a basis for making an evaluation that reflects your true strengths and weaknesses. If this is your first Scholars Online class and your senior year, I will not be able to write your letter. Please see my policy on letters of recommendation for further information.

12. How does the AP option work?

    If, after reading my AP Exam description, you decide that you still want to take the AP option for this course, you will need to make a commitment to spending even more time on biology. You will attend the regular biology sessions twice a week and do all the homework assigned for them. Additionally, you will have additional homework (essays or experimental simulations) per chapter which are specially chosen to exercise more sophisticated thinking. We go over these assignments in special chat sessions scheduled at our mutual convenience (in the past, they have been early on Friday mornings), at least once a month. During the second semester, we will chose an AP prep book and work through examples and procedures so that you are comfortable with the mechanics of the text as well as the material.

    Please note that because of the extra work involved, there is an additional charge for the AP option.

This course is offered through Scholars Online, a non-profit organization supporting classical Christian education through Internet-based courses. Permission to copy course content (lessons and labs) for personal study is granted to students currently enrolled in this course for the Academic Year 2008/2009 or Summer 2008. Reproduction for any other purpose, without the express written consent of the author, is prohibited.