Virtual Labster

School:: Freeport High School
Subject:: Teaching Quality
Teacher:: Amy Powers-Baker
Students Impacted:: 150
Grade:: 9-12
Date:: September 26, 2018

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

St. Joe Community Foundation - $1,000.00

Goal

Biology, Honors Biology and AP Biology are academically challenging courses. They are also expensive courses with required laboratories for each standard that is to be taught. The type and amount of equipment and supplies needed for these labs is extremely expensive. The traditional labs are also very time consuming. Given that students are in class for a 50 minute period, it is not possible to finish a lab within that time. This time constraint often leads to inaccurate results of the lab exercises. The time and money also prohibits re-teaching of students who struggle with mastery of a concept. I try to find simple labs for the students to do with the given time and the amount of money available. My goal would be to use the grant money to purchase virtual lab accounts for my Biology, Honors Biology and AP Biology students. These virtual lab accounts would allow me do the virtual lab in the class with all students in a timely, cost efficient manner. Struggling students can also repeat the labs and get extra practice for a standard to improve the overall concept without additional costs.

What will be done with my students

This grant would positively impact AT LEAST 150 Biology, Honors Biology, and AP Biology students this year. Struggling students could log in to Labster for extra instruction if they are struggling with certain objectives. It could also benefit students that actively work ahead of other students and would serve as extra enrichment to those students. I can assign specific standards to specific learners through the Labster programs and monitor progress on my complimentary license. I could be sure to appropriately challenge each of my students individually. If a student finishes classwork early.

Benefits to my students

With each new school year, approximately 90% of the students are not proficient in Biology, Honors Biology or AP Biology. As each year draws to a close, my test scores in previous years have been approximately 87% proficiency for Biology and Honors Biology and 50% for AP Biology. These numbers are well above the State and National averages, however I try to improve those numbers each year. These gains are part of my own Professional Learning Plans (PLP) and the School Improvement Plan (SIP). Also, the incorporation of technology in the classroom is part of Freeport High School's SIP as well as Walton County Districts Improvement Plan.