Biology classes are getting flipped this year. In years past, the course was taught from the smallest units of life to the biggest. Now, it starts off the year with ecology, a big unit of life, to the macromolecules, a small unit of life, and then back to evolution, another big unit of life. 

“It’s like a research project. It could be good or bad,” Biology teacher Chris Ham said. “It could be in the sense like it’s a new way to learn things. The way you learn AP Biology is gonna feel different because the order is different from freshman year, so it could be good in that way, or it could be bad that you’re not familiar with the order.”

Freshman Prisha Rathod didn’t realize the change in order until she actually started the course, but when she did, it felt unconventional to her.

“It feels kind of different because I feel like they should’ve done ecology last,” Rathod said. “I feel like it’s harder on teachers to go back and forth between the small and big units. But I also think that changing the order makes the transition from 8th grade science to high school biology much easier because it starts off with things we’ve already done.”

According to senior Tanisha Jhaveri, the old format of biology practically set her up for AP Biology  

“Starting with like the smaller things in advanced biology helped me get a foundation in AP Bio right now,” said Jhaveri. “I’m able to learn a lot faster because I know the basics.” 

For Ham, the new order of the course could be a hit or miss depending on how well this year plays out. 

“I will say it’s too early to tell,” Ham said. “I don’t wanna lean on like my instinct cause I’ve been teaching it the other way for like a long time. So we don’t know, I guess time will tell.”