www.ctm-academy.cz
datum: 29.03.2024

Course code:

FLVS_APBI

Course name:

AP Biology Online

Course length:

2 semesters

Grade:

10 - 13

Partner:

FLVS - Florida Virtual School Global

Description

This challenging course is designed to provide a college-level experience and prepare students for the AP exam in early May. Over two semesters, the students are engaged in a wide variety of activities, with substantial emphasis on interpreting and collecting data in virtual labs, writing analytical essays and mastering Biology concepts and connections. The key themes of the AP Biology course are: the scientific processes, the affects of science on technology and society, the chemistry and make up of living organisms, genetics, diversity, and evolution.

Thinkwell educational videos included in the course.

Throughout this course you will be expected to answer questions, reflect on issues and complete lab activities. The primary emphasis is to develop an understanding of concepts rather than memorizing terms and technical details. The course will successfully prepare you for the AP Exam in May.

Study materials (e-books, Discovery Education, etc. ...) for FLVS Global courses are INCLUDED in the price of the course.

Course Structure

Study Scope and Sequence

Teaching Strategies

AP Biology is structured around four Big Ideas (Evolution, Energy Processes, Information, and Interactions) described in the Curriculum Framework, which encompass the core scientific principles, theories, and processes governing living organisms and biological systems. At least one of the Big Ideas will be incorporated in every lesson throughout the course. [CR2] Because evolution is the foundation upon which the entire course is based, it will be referenced throughout the entire course, and science as a process will be threaded throughout both the investigations and the class activities outside of the investigations.

Students begin each lesson with a list of learning objectives and essential questions to guide them throughout the main points of each lesson and to frame students’ class notes. Students are encouraged to add to these notes, listing all questions that arise. Lessons may be based on multimedia resources from various sources (textbook, CDs, Internet, etc.) to help the students make critical connections between what they are learning and their everyday lives. Quizzes are interspersed throughout the module. These assessments provide information on how teachers may need to adjust instruction to improve student learning.

Students will have regular discussions with their instructor to apply biological, scientific knowledge and critical-thinking skills to major issues of social concern. During these discussions, students must explain the science and science processes being applied. In addition, students will need to be prepared to demonstrate their content mastery through a variety of assessment formats, some of which will be informed by readings from recent scientific journals. Students will also be given the opportunity to see that biology is in their everyday lives and is not just a chapter in a textbook.

 

Course syllabus

Materials required

For this course you need to secure the following textbook and materials (if lab kit is listed, check first the possibility of using your school lab prior to buying the lab kit):

DescriptionNumberTypeSource
Cambell Biology in Focuse-Bookincluded in the price of the course
Lab MaterialsLab Materialprovided by student
Thinkwell Videoincluded in the price of the course

Price

course fee: 777,- EUR / 18 500,- Kč

Student’s Experience

I am satisfied with my final grade and the overall experience of AP courses throughout the year. Thank you to all the instructors for all the help with studying and personal difficulties. I have no further questions or concerns. :)

Kateřina G., 2023

Overall, I liked the course very much. It gave me an incredible experience. The main thing I observe is that , I have the opportunity to imagine many other fields besides medicine and botany connected with biology. What I expected from the course is an understanding of the basic principles of biology and I definitely got that. The fact that the course is in English is great, there is a lot of additional information to learn about it and it improved my understanding of the text. The time commitment was high, but it was manageable when combined with other activities even though it was challenging. Mostly thanks to the great tutot who allowed me time flexibility even though I observed on myself at times that I was not that motivated. I don't know the exam results yet and it's getting me slightly under pressure. It remains to be seen if the work paid off and I successfully passed the AP exam, but it definitely still gave me a lot of knowledge and insights about me. 

Kristýna K., 2023

 

Elizabeth O., 2022

 

V rámci kurzu jsem získala mnohem hlubší znalosti především z buněčné a molekulární biologie, která se jinak neprobírá tolik do hloubky a uceleně. Navíc jsem si procvičila angličtinu, jejíž úrovně jsem se zprvu obávala. Po SŠ jsem pokračovala ve studiu biologie na Přírodovědecké fakultě a čerpala jsem znalosti z kurzu i tam. Rozhodně doporučuji všem zapáleným studentům.

Daniela, 2012

CTY pro mě bylo především setkání se s kvalitní výukou. To, že jsem si celkem náhodně vybral CTY biologii (spíš jako doplněk k tou dobou dominující fyzice), pravděpodobně velmi přispělo k mojí volbě vysoké školy (která ale stejně byla také spíš náhodná).
Za pár týdnů dostuduji medicínu a poté se budu věnovat dětské hematoonkologii (na pozici lékaře a vědce). Mít absolvovaný kurz CTY AP Biology na medicíně znamenalo náskok v předmětech druhého ročníku (biologie, částečně biochemie). Z dlouhodobého hlediska byl největší přínos zvládat výuku v angličtině, mít zkušenost s kvalitní výukou a lepší obecný přehled v biologii, než ze samotného gymnázia.

Kryštof, 2012

Jsem absolventkou CTY Online programu AP Biology a díky tomuto programu jsem se začala zajímat o molekulární biologii. Po maturitě jsem se proto rozhodla studovat obor Molekulární biologie a biochemie organismů na Přírodovědecké fakultě Univerzity Karlovy, kde jsem získala bakalářský titul. Během bakalářského studia jsem se zúčastnila letní školy Biology Undergraduate Summer School na Universität Zürich, což mě inspirovalo se na další studia hlásit do zahraničí. Tento měsíc dokončuji navazující magisterské studium v oboru Molecular Developmental Biology na pařížské Sorbonně. Během magisterského studia jsem měla možnost s programem Erasmus+ na semestr studovat obor Biomedical Sciences na Maastricht University v Nizozemí. Biomedicína mě zaujala a proto jsem se rozhodla se dále specializovat tímto směrem; v říjnu budu pokračovat ve studiu přes Marie Curie Innovative Training Networks na PhD. pozici v Barceloně v biomedicínském start-upu ZeClinics ve spolupráci s Pompeu Fabra University.

Jsem si jistá, že kdybych neměla možnost se CTY Online zúčastnit, nezačala bych se zajímat o molekulární biologii tak brzo během své "kariéry". Způsob, jakým se v ČR biologie vyučuje, je podle mého názoru trochu nešťastný. Osnovy kladou důraz na memorování stovek druhů obojživelníků a krytosemenných rostlin, ale ne na to, jak fascinující je, že celá podstata života leží na molekulární úrovni a jakých úžasných poznatků v tomto oboru věda už získala. Měla jsem obrovské štěstí, že mé paní profesorky biologie na gymnáziu byly neuvěřitelně zapálené pro věc a ochotné s námi probírat tato témata ve svém volném čase nad rámec osnov, a že se informovaly o CTY Online programech a staly se našimi vedoucími. Jim a CTY Online vděčím za to, že jsem měla odvahu jít si za svým snem.

Kateřina, 2014

Po strednej škole som odišla študovať morskú biológiu do Škótska na St Andrews University. Po prvom ročníku som prestúpila z bakalárskeho štúdia na štúdium integrovaného magistra (morskej biológie). Tento program trvá 5 rokov a v podstate sa tam preskakuje bakalár, ale umožňuje nabrať viac skúseností priamo vo výskume. Ja som práve ukončila 5-ty ročník a čakám na posledné známky a potom diplom. 
CTY/CTM online mi veľmi pomohlo v príprave na univerzitu a hlavne počas prvého univerzitného roku. Obsah učiva bol veľmi podobný tomu, čo som mala cez CTY/CTM online a štýl prednášok bol taktiež veľmi podobný online kurzu, ktorý som absolvovala. Toto mi umožnilo veľmi hladký prechod zo strednej školy na univerzitu a veľmi dobre ma to pripravilo na prvý ročník. Taktiež si myslím, že to veľmi zavážilo počas prihláškového procesu.

Katarína, 2012


Kurz AP biology mi dal neskutečně moc, nejvíc si vážím toho jak je komplexní a hlavě učí strašně moc přemýšlet a nejde jenom o zbytečné memorování věcí. Doprovodná online kniha je na velmi vysoké úrovni a dává biologii úplně jiný rozměr. I díky kurzu jsem letos obhájil SOČ v oboru chemie v Krajském kole a získal druhé místo + naše práce byla součástí velkého výzkumu a za náš podíl získáme s kolegou spoluautorství mezinárodní publikace, a za to jsem moc rád.

Max M., 2020


I have no further concerns or questions that have to do with the course. Thank you very much for assisting me throughout this course and I had a lot of fun doing it. I have learned a lot, and I hope that most of the information has stuck with me. Thank you very much for this course.

Marie G., 2020

Karolína díky absolvování AP Biology získala možnost již na gymnáziu pracovat v Loschmidtových laboratořích proteinového inženýrství na Přírodovědecké fakultě Masarykovy univerzity v Brně a spolu se získanou úrovní angličtiny C2 má šanci být přijata nejen na medicínu bez přijímacího řízení.

Karolína, 2020

Personally, I consider the AP Biology course to be a unique opportunity to learn a lot of knowledge and skills in a fun way. I believe that reading long texts in textbooks soon becomes boring. That is why we try to replace it with animations and videos from renowned scientific institutions. You can immediately test the acquired knowledge with your own experiment and correctly evaluate the obtained data under the guidance of an experienced instructor. Learning then becomes fun, and instead of memorizing information, you can easily understand quite a complex topics including genetics, molecular biology, or biochemistry. I believe that if a person does what he enjoys, he has endless possibilities. And that is what I try to use in AP Biology; to broaden the horizons of those who care; improve students' expressive abilities without noticing that they practice professional English; create tests in the format they encounter at domestic or foreign universities, and thus facilitate their start in the academic environment. I always try to be there for every student. Each is unique and important.

Blanka, instruktorka CTM Online kurzu AP Biology, 2020 


I decided to take the AP Biology exam in my junior year of high school. Getting a score of 5 enabled me to study medicine. I definitely recommend taking AP exam, as it opens plenty of doors and new opportunities.

Anna J., 2021

I enjoyed the course a lot. I think that it has prepared me well for the AP exam. I must say that it was very time demanding throughout the year. I spent a lot of time on the course but it was worth it. I am also sure that I will be able to apply this knowledge in a few years when I will be studying at university.  

Jan K., 2021

The course was good and prepared me for the AP test rather well. For some of the harder concepts like genetics and cellular respiration, I had to seek out help from platforms such as Khan Academy, which strengthened my knowledge and confidence in the given topics. The actual AP exam was OK, there was a lot of data analysis and explaining concepts based on certain diagrams and graphs, which suited my knowledge and preference for math and data analysis. Overall, the course was good and I think it worked well.

Oliver J., 2021

Overall, the course was challenging, but I still found it very fun and informative. The hardest part of the course were the last two modules, as I felt that I had to prioritize school more, felt I was falling behind and had to extend the deadlines of tests and lab reports. Other than that, I feel that I have done a good job at the course, and I am glad that I participated in it.  

Ondřej M., 2021

Hereby I would like to thank Ms. Blanka Ferencová, my instructor, who created a motivating and pleasant study environment.
I highly appreciate the excellent mentoring and teaching skills, professional consultation, constructive comments, guidance and help.

This course gave me a great entry into the learning material, the topics of biology as well as a practical insight into the world of science. The materials and units were explained in great depth, yet were easily understandable. The course helped to guide me on my educational, professional and hobby journey. In short, the course was beyond my expectations and I really enjoyed it.

My sincere thanks to my wonderful instructor for their support, patience, time and energy.

Maria M., 2021


CTM kurzy jsem začal dělat již v 8. třídě a vždy mi umožnily rozvíjet své zájmy i nad rámec školní výuky. Naučil jsem se díky nim zodpovědnosti a dodržování stanovených plánů. Zároveň jsem si také propojil probranou látku s anglickou slovní zásobou, což se mi bude hodit na vysoké škole. Velice se mi líbila práce milých a laskavých lektorů, kteří mi vždy se vším pomohli a případně mi obtížnou problematiku vysvětlili.

Kurz AP Biology jsem absolvoval ve 3. ročníku. Byl časově náročný, ale všechno úsilí se rozhodně vyplatilo. Navíc jsem měl vždy při ruce zkušenou lektorku, která mi vysvětlila cokoliv, s čím jsem měl problém. Následná AP zkouška mi také pomohla při přijímačkách na vysokou školu, nicméně osobně vidím hlavní přínos ve vědomostech, které mi AP kurz přinesl a krásně mi je v hlavě propojil.

Jan K., 2022

The course has given me a lot but it has also taken a lot from me. It was challenging to find time besides my normal program, which is already pretty full, and sometimes the continuous income of new materials and assignments was getting frustrating. However, the course truly made me think of some concepts in a different way and see connections that aren't usually taught at school in this depth. I believe that I will be able to put this knowledge into good use in the near future and for that I'm really thankful.

Aurelie P., 2022



I have enjoyed the whole course and I have learned a lot. The material provided helped understand everything we learned and the tests helped me prepare for the AP exam. The instructions were always clear, which I found especially useful in the lab assignements. 

Julie S., 2022

The biology course truly opened my mind and gave me a more detailed introduction to medicine and biology. 

Martin L., 2022

I did all the tasks and lab works honestly, when I didn´t know something, I looked only in my notes. I learned from every mistake and tried not to repeat it. The course definitely taught me to study and schedule time, my Biology is in higher level and my English too.  

Kateřina K., 2022

The topics covered in that course are very interesting and exiting. I learned so many things and discovered wonderful mysteries of natural world. I hope that this experience will help me during my studying at university.  My instructor always helped me, motivated me and navigated me when I was lost. 

Matylda M., 2022

I loved the ebook. The texts were amazing and I totally loved it. The pictures and photos were always so helpful. You can imagine everything better, when you see it on a picture. I gained a lot of experience from the course and also so many of new english words I would like to remember for as long as possible. 

Šarlota P., 2022