Active Biology Addresses Key NSES Recommendations

Scenario-Driven
Each chapter begins with an engaging scenario or project assignment that challenges the students and sets the stage for the learning activities and chapter assessments to follow. Chapter contents and activities are selectively aimed at providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to address the introductory challenge, thus providing a natural content filter in the “less is more” curriculum.

Flexibly Formatted
Chapters are designed to stand alone, so teachers have the flexibility of changing the sequence of presentation of the chapters.

Multiple Exposure Curriculum
The thematic nature of the course requires students to continually revisit fundamental biology principles throughout the year, extending and deepening their understanding of these principles as they apply them in new contexts. This repeated exposure fosters the retention and transferability of learning, and promotes the development of critical-thinking skills.

Constructivist Approach
Students are continually asked to explore how they think about certain situations. As they investigate new situations, they are challenged to either explain observed phenomena using an existing paradigm or to develop a more consistent one. This approach can be helpful in including situations to abandon previously held notions in favor of more powerful ideas and explanations offered by scientists.

Authentic Assessment
For the culmination of each chapter, students are required to demonstrate their ability to use their newly acquired knowledge by adequately meeting the challenge posed in the chapter introduction. Students are then evaluated on the degree to which they accomplish this performance task. The curriculum also includes other methods and instruments for authentic assessments as well as non-traditional procedures for evaluating and rewarding desirable achievements.

Cooperative Grouping Strategies
Use of cooperative groups is integral to the course as students work together in small groups to acquire the knowledge and information needed to address the series of challenges presented through the chapter scenarios. Ample teacher guidance is provided to assure that effective strategies are used in group formation, function, and evaluation.

Minimal Reading Required
Because it is assumed that the target audience reads only what is absolutely necessary, the entire course is activity-driven. Reading passages are presented mainly within the context of the activities, and are written at the ninth-grade level.

Problem Solving
For the curriculum to be both meaningful and relevant to students, problem solving related to technological applications and related issues is an essential component of the course. Problem solving ranges from simple numerical solutions where one result is expected, to more involved decision-making situations where multiple alternatives must be compared.

Challenging Learning Extensions
Throughout the text, a variety of Inquiring Further exercises are provided for more motivated students. These extensions range from more challenging design tasks, to enrichment readings, to intriguing and unusual problems. Many of the extensions take advantage of the frequent opportunities the curriculum provides for oral and written expression of student ideas.