The course that introduces every freshman to science at Concord Academy is freshman biology. As such, this course is crucial in determining the interests that students will pursue in their remaining three years. In Biology, many students encounter labs and experiments for the first time, and build basic scientific skills they will use in future classes and even in life. Biology covers a wide range of topics, including evolution, genetics, cells, and many more. Therefore, it is challenging to create a final, project or exam, that will encompass everything that is taught throughout the year.
The class's final project is one where students choose a topic related to Biology to research and create a presentation for. The projects will be shown in the form of a science fair to the new students next year. The project is split into several assignments, each covering a different biology lens through which students will investigate their topic. There are two mandatory lenses, evolution and biochemistry. For the remaining three, students can choose from all the topics they have learned. In addition, they will also have to research an interdisciplinary connection to their topic. For each lens, students will think of two or three questions that they will answer using the CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) format, and the final project will be composed of 12 questions. Overall, the project asks students to look back on all they have learned during the course and use their knowledge to focus on a specific topic. Some examples of projects this year includes ones based on color vision, toxicology, climate change, and different species of animals.
In previous years, the final for Biology always used to be an exam, but this year, the Science Department decided to change it into a project. Many factors played a role in this decision. The department’s goal has always been to educate students to think and communicate analytically—not just to teach them the curriculum. Tests are not always an accurate measure of these values, as they only assess the student's knowledge of the content, rather than their critical thinking. Additionally, a large part of the course is developing research skills and scientific writing. This project not only allows students to demonstrate these skills, but also to build their own interests. Many students are excited to be learning more about biology outside the curriculum and showcasing their knowledge.