Biology is such a beautiful course to teach but it does come with some difficulties. There is so much content in Biology, where do we even begin?

As a Biology teacher you also need to teach math, statistics, reading and writing. Not to mention you have to teach students lab skills. But all of this is not necessarily bad, it just means we need a little more assistance and support when we go to teach this course. 

My hope is to give you that support through high quality and effective resources, and possibly even coaching. But let's take it one unit at a time.  And, let's start with the first unit in AP® Biology... Chemistry of life. After reading this post, you'll have great ideas for AP® Biology activities and resources in hopes that you get to focus your time elsewhere in being effective with your students (some of the resources are paid resources available on our TpT store, others are made for you and available in our Sustainable Biology...

Hello teacher friends! I hope you are all having a great school year so far and I’m excited to bring you this post on Teach On A Mission’s blog so that we are continuing in our mission which is to bring true support to teachers, in ways that remove items from their to-do list, so they can get back to focusing on what really matters - building relationships and connecting with students. 

So let me introduce myself a bit.  Hi there!  I’m Adriana Targa. I teach AP® Biology in Managua, Nicaragua, and am the Content Coach for the Sustainable Biology Teacher Membership™ here with Team Teach On A Mission™.

Some really exciting things are happening here, this blog post and a series of others coming out being part of that excitement, and I want this to be a valuable contribution to your daily teaching-life in a way that removes some items from your to-do list (or at least from your list of ideas and new things to come up with for your many...

It’s happening right now.  Really it is.  We have three Sustainable Content Teacher Memberships open for enrollment right now, with amazing teacher- content coaches just waiting to support you, provide you with materials, and get you confident in your course.

Here’s the thing.  As much as we, meaning myself and the amazing content coaches on my team love to teach and are absolutely reaching thousands of students, that’s not the only kind of impact we want to have.

We believe in empowering teachers.  Building their confidence, and most importantly, removing huge chunks of their to-do list (without sacrificing effectiveness of course) so they can focus more on what this pandemic has taught us is truly important about what we do… making connections with our students.  That’s it.

When your students are connected to you and within your classroom, they perform better.  But most teachers, especially those new to their content...

AP® Psychology, Intro to Psychology, Sociology, Hybrid Psychology, American History, Honors American History, Women and Minority Studies… all courses that I taught in my ten years in the classroom.  In each course I did have some materials from former teachers or current teams that were willing to collaborate, but I had to learn the content and standards of each of these courses… and this is nothing novel.  I’m betting you’ve had a similar experience whether you’ve had multiple preps or had to teach a new course.

And as I shared in last week’s episode, a teacher who has to focus on learning the content they teach, although that is important, is less able to focus on their students’ growth.

I’d like you to have both.  Know the content, well enough at least, and get to connect with kids and focus on their growth… all without having to sacrifice your evenings and weekends to do so.

My mission here at Teach On...

The conversation and debate around what is best for students, and what impacts learning most is not a new one in the human experience.  It's been hotly debated for quite some time.

What impacts student learning most?

Are tests the best way to measure student learning?

Or, wait, don’t tests hinder learning?

How does technology impact learning?

Standards-based, flipped classroom, project-based, problem-based, student centered, backwards planning, flexible seating...

Wow - so many things.  So many ways to impact student learning.

How in the world do we know what strategies impact students the most?

That's just it... there is no ONE strategy that will impact student learning more than another.

But...

... there is one person.

If you're reading this post, this is probably no surprise to you that teachers are the number one influencer on a student's learning.

But I don't want to just say that and claim it as truth.  I want you to see for yourself.

And that’s...

Guess what!?!  Teach On A Mission, LLC, is growing, and I am so excited to introduce you to Adriana Targa in this episode of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast.  Adriana is a ten-year teacher in Managua, Nicaragua who is joining our team as the Content Coach for our Sustainable Biology Teacher membership for AP® Biology teachers!

In this episode she not only introduces herself, but brings us 3 steps to a successful year for all our AP® Biology teachers out there.  And that’s not all… she’s got 7 more steps!!!  That’s right, 7 more actionable steps you can be taking this summer to make sure your school year is successful and sustainable in AP® Biology.  

Grab the full download - 10 Steps to a Successful Year in AP® Biology Teacher workbook - at the link here.

To listen to the complete interview, please be sure to listen on the embedded player at the top of this page or find episode 34 of the Sustainable Teacher on...