AP Environmental Science (APES)
Ross Blank-Libra
E-mail:
http:/bl-whs.sfinstructionalresources.wikispaces.net
“Office” hours: Before and after school
Welcome to college! By enrolling in this class you have agreed to complete the requirements of an introductory level, college environmental science course. I will be treating you as college level students. My job is to prepare you for the APES exam in the spring. In order to learn all of the material that you will be tested over, I will require a fast pace and extensive assignments. You will be asked to do much of the work independently, as is the case with most college courses. Along the way, I hope to provide a number of experiences that will enhance your understanding of the environment and how human actions can impact the world we live in. By the end of the course I hope you will have an understanding of our environment, a grasp of the major environmental issues and will be able to think critically about these issues.
The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.
Environmental science is interdisciplinary; it embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study. Yet there are several major unifying constructs, or themes, that cut across the many topics included in the study of environmental science. The following themes provide a foundation for the structure of the AP Environmental Science course.
1. Science is a process.
o Science is a method of learning more about the world.
o Science constantly changes the way we understand the world.
§ Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes.
o Energy cannot be created; it must come from somewhere.
o As energy flows through systems, at each step more of it becomes unusable.
§ The Earth itself is one interconnected system.
o Natural systems change over time and space.
o Biogeochemical systems vary in ability to recover from disturbances.
§ Humans alter natural systems.
o Humans have had an impact on the environment for millions of years.
o Technology and population growth have enabled humans to increase both the rate and scale of their impact on the environment.
§ Environmental problems have a cultural and social context.
§ Understanding the role of cultural, social and economic factors is vital to the development of solutions.
§ Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems.
Goals:
· Learn to study at the college level.
· Learn to make connections about environmental issues and human actions.
· Score well on the APES exam.
· Get a good grade in this course.
Expectations
v Take responsibility for your education. I will not hold your hand through this course, but I will give you a helping hand whenever you ask for it.
v Time investment of at least ½ hour outside of class for every hour in class.
v Communicate with your peers and instructor
v Participate beyond your comfort level.
v Find out if the school you are planning to attend, offers credit for AP Environmental Science. If they do not, it is your responsibility to contact them and argue your case for getting credit, should you pass the exam.
Requirements
¨ Willingness to work independently and solve puzzles
¨ Curiosity
¨ Ability to do math WITHOUT a calculator – calculators are not allowed during the APES exam.
Materials
Ø Post-it notes – As you read and take notes in the text, these will be used to make notations, “highlight” subjects and note questions.
Ø Smaller 3-ring binder for APES exam material – Throughout the course you will be given material that will help you prepare for the APES exam. When it is complete you will have a fairly complete study guide for the APES exam.
Assignments
§ Assignments must be completed by the “crunch day” posted. Work turned in within a week of being assigned, will receive extra credit.
§ Since you will often have many days or weeks to complete assignments, no work will be accepted late.
§ Each individual will turn in each assignment. Even though you may be working with someone, you each must do individual lab reports. Copied lab reports or lab reports with copied sections, will be given zero points, regardless of author.
§ All assignments, etc. will be counted as points and will, therefore, have an impact on your grade. Since these assignments are also intended to help you prepare for the APES exam, any missed assignments could impact your performance on the exam, and will definitely impact your grade.
Make-up work
q Excused absences will be allowed to make up work or do alternate assignments if group lab work is missed. Unexcused absences will not be given any points.
q There will be a couple of “crunch” (deadline) dates each quarter, after which all uncompleted work will be counted as a zero.
Grading
ü Participation: Since this is a college course you will be graded solely on your academic performance. As much as I value participation and feel it is a key component in achieving the goals in this course, I will not be basing any portion of the grade on participation. However – should a student be “on the fence” with a grade, at my discretion, the student who participates will receive the higher grade.
ü Your grade will be determined by performance on tests, quizzes and lab reports. Tests will be weighted so they are worth more than the assignments. Since one of the main goals of this course is to prepare you for the APES exam, a higher priority will be given to taking tests. All tests will be given in the format of the APES exam with a multiple choice section and a free response section. There may be quizzes over reading assignments. Lab reports will normally follow a prescribed format, although there may be occasions where alternate formats are acceptable. Daily work will be assigned in an effort to help you understand the material, however it will count for very little of your grade.
ü All work is to be completed independently. While collaboration and discussion is encouraged between you and your classmates, turning in the same paper or version of the same paper will constitute a zero for the assignment, for all parties involved. The only exception to this is when a group assignment is specifically given.
ü The grading scale is the standard school district scale. 65%, 76%, 85%, and 93%.