Project Advance Biology: An Alternative to Advanced Placement Biology SalvatoreTocci Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/44/5/286/39719/4447505.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 FORTHE PAST 25 years,the AdvancedPlacement lege-level courses, identical in all important respects to (AP) Program has given high school students the op- those taught at Syracuse University, are offered in bi- portunity to undertake college-level work while in a ology, calculus, chemistry, English, psychology, religion, secondary environment. More than 1,000 colleges and and sociology. (The Project Advance biology program is universities grant credit and/or advanced placement to offered only in New York and New Jersey.) those who obtain a grade on the AP examination that is Having offered the AP biology course as part of our acceptable to the college. By offering college-level science curriculumfor five years, we examined the Syra- courses in 15 differentsubjects, the AP program has even cuse University program to determine if it provided any enabled some high school seniors to earn enough credits advantages compared to the AP course. Based on the to fulfill their freshman requirements for college. Con - informationwe obtained, we decided to switch to the Pro- sidering the rising cost of college tuition, this acceleration ject Advance biology course and have taught this pro- represents a significant savings, while giving the student gram for the past three years. The purpose of this article time for more advanced work or for taking electives. is to discuss the advantages it offers over the AP program Recently, another program that enables high school to both the teachers and students. seniors to take college courses for credit has been imple- mented; this is the Syracuse University Project Advance InstructionalMethods Program (Wilburand Chapman 1978). Since its incep- The primary benefit derives from the method of in- tion in six pilot high schools in 1973, the Project Advance struction. With seven class periods per week, little time program has grown so that it now serves over 4,000 was available for laboratory investigations in the AP students in nearly 90 schools located in New York, New course, especially in view of the fact that the syllabus Jersey, Michigan, and Massachusetts. Introductory col- had to be covered by the beginning of May. This target date was established since the AP examination in biology is administered in the middle of May. In order to cover Salvatore Tocci teaches chemistry and biology at East Hampton High School, East Hampton, New all the topics outlined in the AP course description, most York 11937. He is also adjunct instructorfor Syra- class time was spent lecturing to the students. Conversa- cuse University and supervises the Project Ad- tions with other teachers at AP conferences corroborated vance biology program at East Hampton described in this article. Tocci received his B.A. degree from that this was the primary instructionaltechnique. For the Comell University in 1965 and a Master of Philo- most part, those who conducted laboratoryexercises met sophy degree from the City University of New with their students for 10 class periods per week. York in 1982. He was a research assistant in tumor immunology at the Sloan-Kettering Insti- On the other hand, an audiovisual format is utilized in tute for Cancer Research from 1965 through 1967, and a research the Project Advance biology course (Drugerand Spector assistant at the Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, Massa- 1979). The course consists of 22 modules; each contains chusetts during the summer of 1970. Tocci has presented workshops and papers on individualized instruction and the use of computers in a variety of instructionalmaterials including cassettes, film biology curricula. His article on the BSCS yellow version appeared in loops, slides, laboratory exercises, and worksheets that ABT 43(33). He is a member of NABT, the National Science Teach- the students must complete. As opposed to a lecture ers Association, and the Science Teachers Association of New York State. Tocci was awarded first prize in this year's Science Teaching format, the variety of instructional materials made avail- Achievement Recognition competition sponsored by NSTA. able in Project Advance biology takes into account the 286 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGYTEACHER, VOLUME44, NO.5, MAY1982 Students follow an individualized, audio- tutorial approach to master the performance objectives. Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/44/5/286/39719/4447505.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 differences in learning styles found in high school stu- ter. The remaining 30% depends upon tests, quizzes, dents (auditory, visual, and manipulative). Therefore, laboratory reports, and research papers which are de- the students have alternative resources to master a learn- veloped and graded by the high school teacher. Each ing objective. In addition, the method of instruction in semester, a final grade representing four credits is given. Project Advance biology is individualized so that each The students can send a transcriptto request transfer of student can progress at a rate commensurate with his or the credits to the college that they are planning to attend her abilities and motivational level. Although everyone the following year. The college's decision to grant credit must take the four major multiple-choice exams given recognizes the results of a year's work rather than the each semester at the same time, a student can proceed performance on one three -hour examination! within a flexible time schedule up to that point. Anyone who requires individual attention or clarification of the Teacher Involvement in Curriculum Planning materialcan obtain it from the teacher during class. Small The Project Advance high school teacher, who re- group discussions to present supplementary information ceives an appointment as adjunct instructor of Syracuse to those interested are also possible. University,is actively involved in developing a curriculum College Credit that will provide students with a superior course. Input is encouraged by the university to supplement the core Another advantage stems from the different ways in material contained in the 22 modules. Teachers are free which college credit is determined in the two programs. In to incorporate learning materials or special talents that AP biology, each college confers credit and/or placement they may have developed from experience. For example, on the basis of the grade the student receives on the AP we have recently introduced the use of computer- examination. The test consists of a 90-minute section assisted instruction in Project Advance biology (Tocci containing 125 objective questions and a 90-minute 1981). Computer programs have been developed that section consisting of 6 essay questions, 3 of which the stu- serve as laboratory simulations, as self-checks for the dent must answer. Both sections are given equal weight, students to determine their degree of mastery of the and the test is scored on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 re- learning objectives, and as testing devices. In addition, presenting an extremely well-qualified grade (Kastrinos students who have taken a course in computer language and Erk 1974). A college's decision to confer credit, have written programs that analyze and plot the labora- therefore, depends upon the results of one three-hour tory data obtained by the rest of the class. examination; no consideration is given to the level of Regular communications maintain the university- performance that the student has achieved during the high school cooperative relationship. Every semester, the year. university biology professor who has developed the pro- In Project Advance biology, the students are enrolled gram and a Project Advance administratorvisit the high on a nonmatriculated basis at Syracuse University. Grad- schools to observe the course in operation. These visits ing is based upon a point system. The four majormultiple - enable the teachers and university staff to discuss mutual choice examinations, which are identical for all students, concerns, offer and receive suggestions for improve- constitute approximately 70% of the grade each semes- ments, and evaluate the status of the program. The stu- PROJECT ADVANCE BIOLOGY 287 dents can ask questions concerning the logistics of trans- as qualified for the AP program. Anyone unlikely to re- ferring credits and can discuss difficulties that they may ceive at least a high school grade of 90 and to obtain at have encountered in dealing with specific colleges. Most least a 3 or higher on the AP examination would not be important, however, is the opportunity for the students recommended by the guidance department. This pro- to have a class taught by a universityprofessor. cedure is often followed as evidenced by the statement Each semester, all Project Advance high school teach- that 'in some schools AP courses are open to all students ers and the university staff attend a full-day seminar. with a C average or above, but more commonly a sys- This meeting provides us with the opportunity to discuss tematic selection process is used to ensure that students any problems or difficulties that we may have encoun- taking AP courses are not only intellectuallycapable, but tered in conducting one of the laboratory exercises or are highly motivated and possess mature work and study with the audio cassettes used for each module. Each habits" (Simpson 1974). However, in view of declining teacher is also asked to bring copies of an article, labora- enrollments, excising of staff, and reduced budgets, small tory investigation, or any other learning activity used classes intended for the top 5% of the seniors are no to supplement the core curriculum. This exchange of longer feasible in high schools with student enrollments resources and ideas is a valuable means to obtain of approximately 500. materials that others have used successfully in their Although the Project Advance course is obviously classes.