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AP Environmental Sci

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Online for the 2023-2024 School Year

Teacher: Dr. Lavin

Email: talavin@udel.edu

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Updated Jan 24, 2023 - by Terrianne Lavin, Ph.D.

AP Environmental Science

Registration: Open for 2023-2024. 

Instructor Information:

Recently, I returned to the University of Delaware, where I have taken a position as Environmental Science Teaching Professor. Prior to this, I spent the last 2.5 years to serve as a Physical Geography Teaching Professor at the University of Kansas. I have a Ph.D. in Climatology, an MS in Geography both from the University of Delaware, and a BS in Meteorology from the University of Kansas. I have more than 25 years of experience developing and teaching climatology, physical geography, and environmental science courses at three institutions: University of Kansas (KU), University of Delaware (UD), and Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

In addition, I have enjoyed many years of homeschooling by teaching both my own two children and many of their homeschooled friends.

Through APES, I look forward to bringing science and leadership by mentoring, advising, and teaching environmental science, with equity and inclusion, to a diverse homeschool population. I do this by creating space for my students to explore environmental science, sustainability, and policy concepts in-depth while encouraging independent, diverse, and respectful discourse. I always seek new ways to educate via creating new courses and exploring innovative teaching methods including video and online courses.

Course Information and Pedagogy: 

My basic ideal is for all to learn the subject matter to a mastery level, and that everyone's achievement of mastery will occur at their own pace. Specifically, this results in a three-fold practice:

  1. students may master and move forward - if they master quickly, there is no need to continuously repeat a mastered skill. 
  2. students are never penalized for late work (life happens). To this end, parents are responsible to review their students' work and timeliness, to ensure they do not fall behind. I do not police students falling behind; I do require parents' to take on this responsibility (see Parent/Student Requirement).
  3. there is a weekly, live session throughout the 2 semester where I work with students on comprehension, understanding, test skills, and current environmental issues. These sessions are recorded and uploaded to a private, shared with the class, google drive.
Each week (sometimes 2 weeks depending on the chapter), students are asked to read, complete a series of interactive quizzes, complete a chapter "test," and attend in-person class (or review online recording). In addition, there are 8 College Board Unit tests ~ every 3 weeks. All of these assignments can be repeated as frequently as the student (or parent) wants in order to achieve their desired score (I do not average scores, but take the highest only; again, I do not have late penalties).  We spend the last 3 to 4 weeks reviewing for the exam.
 
During weekly live/recorded sessions, we have impromptu labs, real-life decision making, and we do timed FRQs followed by interactive, self-grading including explanations of how they would have gained or lost points. These are not formally scored, but work to teach the students how the college board will score them.
 
I am including a link to review the e-book and demo of the interactive quizzes. The chapter quizzes are taken from this text. All Unit tests and FRQs are from the College Board. 

Parent and Student Requirement: Please read and agree to the following document - APES Application

Text Required: Environmental Science and Sustainability, Sherman and Montgomery,Ed. 2, 2022. After the class opens, you will be able to directly purchase material from publisher for ~ $70.00 - Environmental Science and Sustainability

Technical Requirements:

Who Should Apply:

The course is open to students in 10th through 12th grades. All students should be prepared for a college-level course and be ready to commit at least 8 hours a week to this course. Completion of high school level Biology, Chemistry, and Algebra I are highly encouraged before taking AP Environmental Science.

Course Schedule: September 2023-May 2024

Course Format: Classes will meet weekly for 1.5 to 2 hours (TBD). All assignments will be given as a unit with a unit due date, so that students may work at their own pace. Students are strongly encouraged to attend the live classes, though I will record them so students can view them during the unit time period. I will be available for questions throughout.

Course fees:

Class Description:

The primary units, as tested by the AP College Board, will be covered. Assignments will be online and consist of reading, writing, multiple choice, and short problems. Each section may include an online or documented lab.

Unit quizzes will be given in order for students to assess their understanding prior to the unit tests.  Unit tests will be given in a similar style to the AP exam. Students will work at their own pace and schedule to meet unit deadlines.  

Topics (a min of 2 weeks per topic)

Unit 1: The Living World: Ecosystems

Unit 2: The Living World: Biodiversity

Unit 3: Populations

Unit 4: Earth Systems and Resources

Unit 5: Land and Water Use

Unit 6: Energy Resources and Consumption

Unit 7: Atmospheric Pollution

Unit 8: Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

Unit 9: Global Change

Unit 10: practice exams

 

 

Click here to read class reviews from past participants