Do you have to cover the entire science textbook?

[Connections]

If you use textbooks to cover standard high school science subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics, do you have to read and test on the entire science textbook to constitute a high school credit? Would it be sufficient to read, say, half of the textbook closely and study those topics more deeply with outside resources (assuming that you work for the required number of hours to constitute a credit)? If you read half of the textbook (with exams and problem solving) and study the topics in greater depth is it misrepresenting the class when you label it Biology and provide 1 credit for the work?

 

Is there a standard of topics that must be covered before you should label something Biology or Chemistry or Physics and assign a full credit?

 

Please share your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[regentrude]

No, the entire textbook does not have to be covered. I teach at a  university, and nobody covers the entire introductory text - instructors choose which material to focus on, which to skim, and which to skip (because it may not be as vital, or will be covered in a different course.)

There is, of course, some material that is considered foundational, and a course that omits it should not be labeled as "physics" or "chemistry" or "biology". For example, for a "physics" course it is expected that mechanics and electromagnetism are covered; a student who only studies black holes and the formation of the universe should give his course a different title to reflect that.

 

But there is nothing wrong with giving a course a certain focus. For example, I can envision a biology course that focuses on microbiology, cellular processes and genetics, just skims classification of organisms, and entirely omits the chapters on ecology at the end of the text. Or another student may focus strongly on form and function of organisms and shorten the cell biology part.

 

I strongly believe that a thorough understanding and mastery of selected foundational content is more valuable than a superficial coverage of an entire text just in order to complete a book.

[klmama]

If you are using a standard text from a standard publisher typically used in schools, you won't need to cover the whole thing.  Classroom teachers pick and choose what they think are the most important topics to cover.  If you use Apologia, you'll want to cover the whole thing, as it's been condensed for you already.

[Connections]

Thanks. Anyone able to share the foundational elements of biology and of chemistry as Regentrude has for physics?

[WishboneDawn]

Thanks. Anyone able to share the foundational elements of biology and of chemistry as Regentrude has for physics?

This would be soooo helpful. I think this is whet my own lack of education shows. My daughter is reading Biology: Concepts and Connections and working with the study guide and I just don't know what to suggest she prune because there's so much.

 

I had a similar issue with the Ck-12 chemistry flexbooks. I can't make the best use of them because I don't know what I don't need.

 

BTW, thanks Regentrude. We went with that bio text because of your posts about it onthe forum. My daughter loves it.

[flyingiguana]

I'd do a search for some syllabuses.

 

E.g.: http://general.physics.rutgers.edu/203/syllabus.shtml

 

but find  several so you know you're not just getting one professor's pet area.

 

Then trim it down for high school, because a college course will likely cover more ground.

 

Or search just for high school syllabuses.  Here's one for Biology:

http://www.p-t.k12.ok.us/highschool/brunker/Biology%20Syllabus%202009.pdf

 

But think about substituting topics too.  I notice in that bio one they do molluscs, annelids, and arthropods toward the end.  Those were probably just the animals that teacher either knew a lot about, or found the most fascinating, or thought might be most interesting to the students.  But maybe your student is interested in something else.

 

 

[lewelma]

Thanks. Anyone able to share the foundational elements of biology and of chemistry as Regentrude has for physics?

 

Evolution is the only foundation element of biology.

 

My recommendation is to chose 1 topic within each of the 5 major scales (obviously there is overlap!):

 

within a cell: biochemistry, molecular biology,

cell: cell biology, genetics, microbiology

systems: human anatomy, plant and animal physiology, health/disease

individual: evolution, plant and animal diversity

system: ecology, environmental science, conservation biology, population genetics

 

There has been a push recently to focus on the within the cell and cell level, but from the point of view of an ecologist (PhD me) I think that this is a narrow focus.  For students without a biology focus, the main goal IMHO  is to make students educated voters, and ecological, environmental, and conservation issues are clearly political and worthy of focus.  However, if you are taking an external exam of some sort, clearly you should research what its focus is and make sure to study those topics.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Connections]

Excellent! Thank you!

 

Now all we need is the foundational topics (or a strategy for choosing topics to focus on) for Chemistry.

 

Anyone?

[Dicentra]

Well...  These are the "big ideas" from the Ontario high school chem curriculum documents:

 

For Grade 11 University-prep:

* Matter, Chemical Trends, and Chemical Bonding

* Chemical Reactions

* Quantities in Chemical Reactions

* Solutions and Solubility

* Gases and Atmospheric Chemistry

 

For Grade 12 University-prep:

* Organic Chemistry

* Structure and Properties of Matter

* Energy Changes and Rates of Reaction

* Chemical Systems and Equilibrium

* Electrochemistry

 

In Ontario, we have all the high school sciences split into two grades - if a student takes both the 11U and 12U courses, he/she will have the equivalent of an honours course.  If you covered both of the above lists, you would have covered what's required for honours.  If you choose to only cover the Grade 11 list, it would be more or less the same as a Reg Chem course.