AP Environmental Science Teacher's Guide - College Board

AP? Environmental Science

Teacher's Guide

Dean Goodwin

Kimball Union Academy

Meriden, New Hampshire

connect to college success?



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Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

I. Introduction: The Context and Role of

AP Environmental Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Course Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

The Role of the AP Environmental Science Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Preparation for Students Taking AP Environmental Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Textbook Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Supplemental Resources and Resource Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

Laboratory/Field Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

The Importance of Field Trips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

Equipment and Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

Preparing Students for the AP Environmental Science Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

Obtaining College Credit for the AP Environmental Science Experience . . . . . . .

9

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

II. How to Begin an AP Course in Environmental Science . . . . . . . . . . . 11

The Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Teacher Selection and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

AP Central? ¨C apcentral. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

AP Electronic Discussion Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Ensuring Student Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Other Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

III. Techniques and Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Selecting a Textbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Laboratory and Field Investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Laboratory Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Fieldwork and Field Trip Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Basic Equipment Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

iii

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Table of Contents

What to Do After the AP Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Sample Handout: Typical Format for Writing a Lab Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

IV. The AP Exam in Environmental Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

The AP Environmental Science Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Format and Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Encouraging Students to Take the AP Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Preparing Students to Take the AP Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Sample Handout: Tips for Students Taking the AP Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

V. Sample Syllabi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Syllabus 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Nita Ganguly

Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Syllabus 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Dean Goodwin

Kimball Union Academy

Meriden, New Hampshire

Syllabus 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

David Hong

Diamond Bar High School

Diamond Bar, California

Syllabus 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Michele Morek

Brescia University

Owensboro, Kentucky

Syllabus 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Thomas Mowbray

Salem College

Salem, North Carolina

Syllabus 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Arthur N. Samel

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio

iv

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