The Koç School Biology department provides a range of courses for students in the Lise Preparation class and the 9th to 12th grades. In general, courses include subject content, application of scientific method, practical work, data collection and presentation, and data interpretation. Teachers in the department use a range of teaching technologies including data logging, smart boards, moodle, and ebooks.
LP Science
The Lise Preparation course is a one year immersion course for newly enrolled students whose English needs improving before passing onto 9th grade. The Biology department provides a general science course as part of the LP course. The emphasis in the science course is for students to learn the use of English in the context of science. The science content is already familiar to students, but not in English. Teachers who are native speakers of English are preferred for the instruction of this course.
9th & 10th Grade National Curriculum Biology
Biology is mandatory for 9th and 10th grade students according to the national curriculum of the Ministry of Education (MEB). The language of instruction and assessment is English, so the course is taught by Turkish and foreign teachers. Subject content includes scientific method, biological chemistry, cell structure, classification, human effects on biodiversity, ecology, cell division, reproduction, and genetics. The course text is the ebook version of Miller & Levine’s Biology published by Pearson. MEB Biology course syllabuses (Turkish only): http://ttkb.meb.gov.tr/dosyalar/programlar/ortaogretim/12/biyoloji_9-12.rar )
11th & 12th Grade National Curriculum Biology
Biology is an elective course for students in 11th and 12th grade who intend to study sciences at university in Turkey. Only Turkish teachers teach these courses as instruction and assessment are both in Turkish. The 12th grade course culminates in the national university entrance exam (LYS), so there is a change in emphasis towards exam practice in these years. Subject content includes energy transformation, human physiology, animal behaviour, gene expression, plant biology, ecology, and evolution.
11th & 12th Grade International Baccalaureate (IB) Biology
Higher level (HL) and standard level (SL) biology courses are taught by Turkish and foreign teachers who have attended relevant IB-approved workshops. SL and HL students are taught in separate classes to allow for better use of limited time.
An overview of the IB Biology course can be found at http://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/sciences/biology/
11th & 12th Grade IB Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)