Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools Report of the Content Panel for Chemistry (2002) / Chapter Skim
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3. Quality and Content of the Learning Experience for Students
3. Quality and Content of the Learning Experience for Students
Pages 11-22
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From page 11... ...
Completing an AP chemistry course and passing the examination at the minimum level designated by individual colleges and universities may make a student eligible to earn college course credit, to place out of first-semester or first-year college chemistry, or to receive credit for completion of a general education or distribution requirement in science. Depending on the options available at the receiving institution and which option is selected, a student may be able to reduce the amount of matriculation time required for a degree, thereby saving tuition and other fees.
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From page 12... ...
Although there is variation among schools, the first-year chemistry course has generally been offered during the junior year. However, schools offering a range of AP science courses have helped foster a national shift toward offering biology to ninth-grade students and chemistry to tenth-grade students so the final 2 years of high school can be used for advanced work, including AP chemistry.
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From page 13... ...
The College Board recommends that students taking AP chemistry previously have completed 2 years of algebra and 1 year of geometry in addition to having taken the first-year chemistry course. To take AP chemistry as a junior, a student must complete these mathematics prerequisites by the end of the sophomore year.
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From page 14... ...
The broad scope of these textbooks contributes to an emphasis on breadth of coverage at the expense of depth of understanding. Because of the unique structure of the IB chemistry courses, the IBO maintains that there are no suitable textbooks that can serve as the basis for its courses.
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From page 15... ...
Investigative laboratories can occupy large amounts of time, and the amount of time recommended by the College Board for more traditional laboratories may not be sufficient for these new paradigms and approaches. In addition, college and university chemistry courses typically have affiliated weekly 3- or 4-hour laboratory periods during which students can perform actual investigative experimentation that includes multiple trials, replications, and the examination and evaluation of varying methodologies.
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From page 16... ...
The chemistry panel heard anecdotal accounts of AP chemistry teachers who omit or defer laboratory activities to review previous AP examinations. In such circumstances, laboratory work, if done at all, is crammed into the course after students have taken the AP examination.
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From page 17... ...
The fact that a number of colleges and universities require proof of sufficient chemistry laboratory work before granting credit or placement out of the general chemistry course indicates that laboratory work is a weak link in the AP course because of the variability in the way the laboratory component is administered. In contrast, the IBO requires that teachers assess student work, with samples being sent to the IBO for moderation.
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From page 18... ...
17oeAPand IB chemistry courses also do not yet recognize the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of modern chemistry; its incorporation of highly important relatedfields, such as materials science and biochemistry; and the opportunities presented by such fields to teach related chemical concepts in a contextual manner. It is important to note that the College Board established the Commission on the Future of the Advanced Placement Program (CFAPP)
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From page 19... ...
students who earn specific scores on AP examinations have indeed mastered subject matter at a level equivalent to that of students who take these courses in college. In contrast, before a school is authorized to offer an IB chemistry course, the school must be authorized to offer the complete IB Diploma Programme.
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From page 20... ...
Consequently, the percentage of those students taking an AP chemistry course who do not take the AP exam is not known. Accordingly, the panel believes that statements by the College Board about the quality of AP chemistry courses are suspect because they fail to account for the many AP courses nationwide in which large numbers of students may not take the examination.
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From page 21... ...
COURSE CONTENT AND EXAMINATIONS The 75 multiple-choice questions on the AP chemistry examination (Section I) match closely the objectives stated in the Acorn Book for an AP chemistry course.
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From page 22... ...
By using the approaches illustrated by these types of questions, the AP and IB programs would encourage teachers to teach in less algorithmic ways and students to learn in a different, more inquiry-based manner as recommended by the NSES. The AP examinations have yet to address the shift in increasing numbers of introductory college/university chemistry courses toward including applications in biochemists, materials science, or environmental chemistry.
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