About the AP Sciences Revisions
In 2002, the Committee on Programs for Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in American High Schools from the National Research Council published a report on advanced courses in math and science available at US high schools. This report (download Free Executive Summary from the NAP website) outlined ten recommendations to improve the offering of AP and IB preparatory courses. Recommendations that hold particular weight for teachers and students of the AP Sciences include (emphasis is author's own):
Courses should aim to provide students with a deep conceptual understanding of the material. Accelerating students' course of study is not in itself a worthwhile endeavour.
The course should focus on big ideas and key principles over a breadth of study.
Opportunities for inquiry and differentiated instruction should be used.
These recommendations have manifested themselves in a variety of ways. Topics have been removed from the AP Chemistry Curricular Framework to allow for more depth of study, (although there have also been some newly added topics). The course is now structured around a set of Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings, Essential Knowledge statements, Learning Objectives and Science Practices. Finally, the laboratory component of AP Chemistry has undergone a huge revision, reducing the number of required labs in favour of inquiry based experiments.
Courses should aim to provide students with a deep conceptual understanding of the material. Accelerating students' course of study is not in itself a worthwhile endeavour.
The course should focus on big ideas and key principles over a breadth of study.
Opportunities for inquiry and differentiated instruction should be used.
These recommendations have manifested themselves in a variety of ways. Topics have been removed from the AP Chemistry Curricular Framework to allow for more depth of study, (although there have also been some newly added topics). The course is now structured around a set of Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings, Essential Knowledge statements, Learning Objectives and Science Practices. Finally, the laboratory component of AP Chemistry has undergone a huge revision, reducing the number of required labs in favour of inquiry based experiments.