This was my experience: I took many different AP classes in high school, and while maybe I was just lucky enough to have a good public school, the classes were rigorous and my classmates were bright. Most importantly, we were in those classes because we wanted to be and were interested in the subject material. The class sizes were small and I received a high amount of personal attention.
I will never forget my first college-level science class. We were in an auditorium. I didn't know my professor and he didn't know me. My classmates were there to check off a requirement. I went from an interactive learning environment to trying to stay awake. I didn't receive any personal attention; I felt completely anonymous. I lost my enthusiasm and interest in a matter of weeks. I can't tell you how much more enjoyable and easier it was to learn basic science in high school. I wouldn't recommend the college 101, auditorium-style approach to anyone. Merran Owen On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 10:14 AM, joseph gathman <jpgath...@yahoo.com>wrote: > Personal anecdote: > > While conducting part of a workshop for HS teachers, I gave them 20 > minutes of my freshman Intro Bio lecture on basic chemistry concepts > (what's an atom, what are the types of molecular bonds, the really simple > stuff that I shouldn't have to cover in college). > > After the 20 minutes, there was silence. The teachers were astonished - > not that I would lecture on such elementary ideas (as I had expected), but > that it went so fast. One of them said, "What you just covered in 20 > minutes is a third of my semester", and the others nodded. My turn to be > astonished. I can't even imagine how you could stretch that stuff out for > more than a week. > > The point: if a student takes AP Bio, they MIGHT just be getting what you > and I consider a proper HS bio class. Certainly not college-level biology. > > Joe > > > Subject: Re: Treatment of Ecology in AP classes > > > > I can't speak directly to the question of whether the > > classes provide adequate > > coverage of any given topic. Consulting the AP web > > site confirms your suspicion that ecology coverage comes > > last in the course. And of course, whether any given > > topic is covered adequately is strictly dependent on the > > school and the teacher, not the topical listing on the web > > site. I can say, from having served as a grader for > > the AP Biology exam, that ecology is well covered on the > > exam. > > > > That said, I also suspect that ecology may be a subject > > that gets less than full > > coverage in some of the classes because of > > sequencing. Also, it is typically > > covered in most intro biology courses late in the second > > semester if a two > > semester course. So, if you are wanting to assign > > credit according to coverage > > (seems to make sense), the proposal to give credit for the > > ecology portion of > > your course may be out of sync with the sequencing in the > > AP course. > > > > FWIW, I have long had a problem with AP coursework. > > Many schools likely do a > > good job with it -- but, and I know, I am an old school > > curmudgeon -- if these > > kids are ready for college, just send them to > > college. If they are not ready, > > don't let a high school offer them college level > > courses. But of course, that > > is a fight long ago lost. > > > > mcneely > > > > >
