José Vázquez,
General Studies Program,
New York University New York, NY 10003
THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER,VOLUME 67,NO.4,APRIL 2005: |
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“Senior
Biology 1 and 2 is an updated Biozone series that includes
numerous organizational changes, making it ideal for AP,
IB,or Honors Biology courses. The nature of the series goes
beyond what materials targeted for the U.S .normally include
and provide a challenging set of materials for students of
various ability levels.
The CD-ROM includes a wide range of support material such as:
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Student Resource and Activity Manual as PDF files
•
Model Answers as PDF files
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Alternative Activities
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Glossary Worksheets
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Software & Video Resources
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Excel® Spreadsheets for Statistical Analyses
The range of the nearly 200 activities begins with developing scientific
inquiry and ends with highly sophisticated exercises in both plant and
animal physiology, with genet-ics and evolution activities along the
way. These are not the traditional touch-and-go type of biology lessons.
For instance, scientific inquiry is covered in so much detail that the
section (Skills in Biology) should be mandatory reading in any high school
science course. The various stages include planning an investigation,
data presentation, linear regression, the structure of a report, and
writing a discussion; this section might seem intimidating to many students
at first, but the topics are so well-explained that each objective could
be readily accomplished.
The diversity of topics might be virtually impossible to cover in an
academic year, particularly in those schools under state-mandated tests.
However, this series requires teachers to exercise a high degree of facilitation
and consequently many students could work at their own pace. The scope
of the approach embraces a perspective that is primarily exercised abroad
or at independent schools here in the U.S. Nevertheless, many traditional
teachers could benefit tremendously from the contemporary approach presented
by the team from Biozone.
In terms of resources, there is plenty to choose from. For instance,
references are provided separately for students and teachers (many are
from The American Biology Teacher). In addition, there are Internet-based
resources. Given the progressive nature of this series, the authors have
not shied away from controversial topics. The Ethics of GMO Technology
and Edible Vaccines are examples of how current the series is. The coverage
of The Origin and Evolution of Life might be too controversial for some
public schools in various states where evolution is censored. However,
it is well-covered and very thorough; it even includes endosymbiosis
in somewhat great detail, and birth control is covered as well.
This series is perhaps the best biology series I have ever encountered
in my teaching career. It is my hope that many biology teachers will
take advantage of what the Teacher Resource Handbook has to offer for
such a modest price.Life science teachers in the U.S.now have one more
resource avail-able to embrace the dynamic and socio-relevant nature
of biology in their own classroom teaching approach.
José Vázquez General Studies Program New York University
New York, NY 10003”
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