Switched on Schoolhouse Biology or some other non-traditional format?

[5sweeties]

Has anyone used this, and can give me a review? Dd is NOT excited about Biology next year. I'm looking for a way to present it in a non-traditional format, that may keep her more interested. She definately will not be doing dissections, due to her predisposition to fainting and/or throwing up when she's around stuff like that. (Definately not a doctor in the making here!)

This year she is doing Apologia Physical Science, and just loves it. She much prefers climate and rocks! She just isn't sure that she is interested in Biology in a textbook format.

I did notice on the SOS site that they do a Physical Science II course for 9th grade science, followed by Biology in 10th, then Chemistry, then Physics. These are the classes that I took in high school, but it seems that more is required these days...or would that be an acceptable sequence also? From my thinking, all it would rule out is the option of an advanced science course? Or am I forgetting something?

TIA!!
Kelly

[Alphabetika]

How about the Biology 101 DVDs? Check Timberdoodle.com for a review. Also, I've noticed that most biology texts include a section on botany; maybe you could do a bio/botany combination, by making the botany component more prominent? My dd is a botany lover and she is using a college botany textbook right now; she's on the section about general cell structure and scientific hierarchy, which will come in handy when she does biology!

I plan to use the Bio 101 DVDs next year, but we haven't actually watched them yet. I also have a lab manual for the dissections that can be used with any program, as far as I know. This is how we're making it an upper-level science course. My dd does not plan to go into a scientific field but we all like dissections. :)

HTH!

[Captivated]

One word of caution - without a lab (ie:dissections) it is not a full Biology course. Labs are required for full high school credit. Many colleges will not accept high school science w/o labs. If your dd is not college bound than I wouldn't worry. If she is, I would caution you on allowing her to skip them. I am also very, very squeamish when it comes to dissecting, I managed to get through the class with a scalpel in one hand a tweezer in the other. Never actually touched the animal. :)

[Georgia in NC]

or DVD's or whatever, lol. Anyway, everything can be done on the computer...
It's not my favorite program but it is interesting so far and very good (I think) for a non-science person.

hth,
Georgia

[5sweeties]

I never thought of some of this!

The universities that are good option for dd, including our local, state university, only require 2 years of a lab science. Is it possible to skip the lab for biology, and do it with her other science courses?

[periwinkle]

One word of caution - without a lab (ie:dissections) it is not a full Biology course.

There are numerous labs you can do for biology without doing dissections; they are not necessary. In fact, many schools have dropped them because of the mess and expense, or because they don't trust their students holding a scalpel.:) Virtual dissections have become common. HOWEVER, you can skip them entirely in favor of OTHER biology lab experiences, including microscope labs, flower dissection, mushroom and polypore identification, dna extraction...the options are limitless! The AP Biology course labs include NO dissections at all.

[Eliana]

There are numerous labs you can do for biology without doing dissections; they are not necessary. In fact, many schools have dropped them because of the mess and expense, or because they don't trust their students holding a scalpel.:) Virtual dissections have become common. HOWEVER, you can skip them entirely in favor of OTHER biology lab experiences, including microscope labs, flower dissection, mushroom and polypore identification, dna extraction...the options are limitless! The AP Biology course labs include NO dissections at all.


Ditto!!

Yes, high school biology must have a lab component, but that does not mean dissections. (I, personally, am opposed to the wastefulness of dissections in high school biology (or, for that matter, intro college level bio classes.) At this level, you actually learn *more* from a virtual dissection.

To the OP: might your daughter be more interested in a Botany class? It would cover a lot of the basic bio information, but with a more limited focus with the possibility for more appealing hands-on work. (You could consider doing a brief A & P course, or just cover that in a more general health class.)

Eliana