Lakeland Regional High School offers a multitude of Advanced Placement (AP) classes which become increasingly available as students go into the latter half of their high school careers. At LRHS, there are three AP science courses offered which students have every day (in contrast to the usual A/B day scheduling): AP Environmental Science, AP Chemistry, and AP Biology. These courses, which are typically taken by juniors and seniors, are worth 10 credits and offer a unique and engaging curriculum that is especially recommended for anyone interested in a potential future in the sciences.

For scheduling reasons, AP Biology and AP Chemistry presently alternate with each other every year – AP Biology did not run this year, but will run in the 2024-2025 school year, and correspondingly, AP Chemistry is running this year but won’t run next year. Thus, anyone that is currently a sophomore or junior would want to strongly consider AP Biology as their science for next year.

Taught by Ms. Brenda Ferguson, an experienced and devoted LRHS science teacher, AP Bio is a class that few will regret taking. The structure of the course, things you’ll learn, and, equally importantly, the memories you’ll make, all come together to make it exceedingly likely that AP Bio will be one of the best classes you have at Lakeland.

Class of 2023 Valedictorian Nate Caldwell summarized for the Ledger: “AP Bio is a class that is both interesting and collaborative, which makes it an enjoyable experience.”

The Course

Being an AP class, AP Bio at Lakeland follows the curriculum put into place by CollegeBoard. This prepares students for the AP Exam in May, which, if passed, can potentially earn them college credit (AP exams are scored on a one through five scale, with a three and above being considered passing. It is important to note that different colleges accept different scores, and this is something students should research when looking into colleges.) 

AP Bio begins with basic biological chemistry, before going into topics like cell structure and communication. Later in the curriculum, students delve deep into topics such as genetics, genes, natural selection and ecology. The AP Course and Exam Description may seem daunting, but there’s two things that potential takers should know – first, at Lakeland, the every-day nature of AP Bio gives ample time to get through the detailed curriculum, and second, Ms. Ferguson’s excellent teaching methods make the course more than comfortable.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of AP Bio at Lakeland is simply the setup of the class: the vast majority of time in class is spent at the lab tables that line the room, not at desks. Save for a few lessons scattered throughout the year, and of course, test days, students work in groups at their lab tables for the entire year. 

Ms. Ferguson famously utilizes Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), which is a fancy term for fun packets that students work with their tablemates to discover, analyze and interpret biology with greater independence than if they were simply being lectured to for eighty straight minutes.

Every POGIL is like a new mystery waiting to be unraveled – and with the combined cooperation of their peers and the instruction and guidance of Ms. Ferguson, students learn the material in a very efficient way.

Of course, the many labs which students partake in throughout the year are also very enjoyable, and they’ll use a variety of equipment to learn about biology in interactive ways. Some labs are also statistical…and what better way to demonstrate statistics than through candy?

Towards the end of the year, Ms. Ferguson hosts a multitude of evening review sessions to help ensure students are best prepared for the exam. While highly productive, they are also always an entertaining time…especially on nights where the sessions include food.

As now-senior Kat Geisel succinctly put it: “I loved [AP Bio] because Ferg was really fun and always helpful when I needed it.”

The Unexpected Memories

Academically, AP Bio is a great choice for a Lakeland student – but it’s so much more than that. Being with the same group of students that’s generally smaller than a regular class for eighty minutes every day naturally leads to the development of inside jokes and other rituals that aren’t formed elsewhere at Lakeland.

Ever heard of the card game Fluxx? You’ll certainly be well-acquainted after the heredity unit of AP Bio.

Ever wanted to cut discs out of spinach leaves using a plastic syringe? Well, it would be strange if you did, but now you are at least a little curious…AP Bio!

Ever wanted to assemble a collage of handmade biology diagrams on a classroom wall? You will by the time you’re a few weeks into AP Bio.

Want to find out what gel electrophoresis is (or how to pronounce it?) AP Bio!

Want to become obsessed with Wednesdays? You are HIGHLY encouraged to share this obsession with Ms. Ferguson in – you guessed it – AP Bio.

Senior Carter Vargas summarized his feelings about the class neatly. “AP Bio is an amazing class. I’d give it a 10 out of 10, and I recommend it.”

If there’s one piece of advice for the first day of AP Bio, it’s this: don’t hesitate to form a lab table of people you think you’ll enjoy working with – you’ll be spending almost two hundred and fifty hours with them in this class alone. And while that may sound like a daunting number, don’t worry – because you’ll quickly realize that the vast majority of those hours involve having fun learning biology with your friends – or better still, having fun learning biology while making new ones.

As a final testament to the class and Ms. Ferguson’s teaching style, every single student who was in Lakeland’s AP Biology class last year passed the AP Exam, earning a score of 3 or higher on the aforementioned scale.

Current sophomores and juniors – don’t hesitate! Make AP Biology your science for your junior/senior year while you can.