Anna dissected an owl pellet to investigate the anatomy of barn owl prey. She will use this information to reconstruct the skeleton of the vole she found in the pellet. She will also put together a food web with the owl as the apex predator and determine the diet of the prey item based on independent research. Anna will share her skeleton reconstruction and lab investigation sheet via pics or screen share during our next session.

Today Anna and I discussed the parameters of the final project for AP Bio-Ecology. Anna will select one biome from the eight listed biomes to research. The information collected will be used to create a pamphlet, website, or poster that describes the biome. The project will include what makes the biome unique and the types of plants and animals that live there, as well as dominate weather patterns and threats. Anna will gather information about the biome, take notes, and think about how she can organize this information and put it into her own words. Her final project will need to include references to material she included. The link to the project is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w0bDUkq-NiDo3cPug7mEpu7No4jFdTMVWNy1aiZoraQ/edit?usp=sharing

Today Anna completed a lab on predation and starvation. This activity asked Anna to calculate the population change (births – deaths) and then graph the number of deer and the number of wolves. She also summarized the relationship between wolves and deer and made judgments about whether wildlife management should include the reintroduction of predators. Anna defined zero population growth (ZPG) and determined which year was closest to ZPG and then discussed her opinion about whether it as a good idea to introduce the wolves.

During this lab Anna analyzed geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth’s systems. Anna also completed the Ecology Unit Test Review scoring 100%.

Anna completed the last lab titled, Saving a Fussy Predator. The lab consisted of evaluating the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem. This virtual lab was created in Google Docs and was adapted from a NY Times article titled Saving a Fussy Predator in Europe, With the help from 50,000 Rabbits by Raphael Minder.

1. Population Growth & Regulation
2. Population Growth & Regulation Practice
3. Ecology Quiz 1 (5 questions)
4. Lab: Predator Prey Interactions

Today we began a lesson in population ecology. The lesson covered population size, density, and dispersal; life tables, survivorship, and age-sex structure; & life history strategies and fecundity. I also assigned the week 2 virtual lab titled, Predator Prey Interactions which is due this Friday, June 12, 2020.

Anna worked on introductory to ecology. She completed the first quiz and showed that she is familiar with the content. Our goal is for proficiency or mastery, but she will have time to make-up any missed questions in future quizzes to achieve this goal. Anna was assigned a case study in survivorship of Loggerhead Turtles connecting ecology to the state of Florida. This case study will take the place of a lab for this unit. We will complete at least one lab a week to meet the CollegeBoard AP Bio goal of 25% labs.

I met with Anna via Zoom (set up by mother) to discuss the course and how we would proceed with the class moving forward. To start we will meet 3 hours/week in a blended learning format to accommodate virtual labs and mastery assessments of the material. We will focus on Big Idea 4 and cover Ecology and Biodiversity. The text is approved by the CollegeBoard as AP aligned and available online through OpenStax. Assessments will be given through Khan and virtual labs will be selected from multiple sources to enhance understanding of the text and align to the course curriculum.

Planning and prep for AP Biology.
1. Joined CollegeBoard to access AP framework
2. Created course syllabus with unit outlines and lab components
3. Selected appropriate college level text for AP Bio (Biology for AP Courses in OpenStax)
4. Created study set of AP Bio vocabulary (over 1,100 words)
5. Set up online learning platform (Khan) and classroom for progress monitoring
6. Researched appropriate virtual labs for ease of online instruction