Join Science Shepherd author Dr. Scott Hardin for live homeschool biology online classes. Science Shepherd Biology is a comprehensive college-prep curriculum for high school (grades 9-12). Topics covered include the chemistry of life, cells, DNA and genes, plants, animals, anatomy and physiology, creation/evolution and more. See full scope and sequence.
This class is a full year (2 semester) course following Science Shepherd’s Biology Textbook.
Live teaching sessions are held on Tuesdays at 10:00am Central Time, August 23, 2022 to May 2, 2023.
Dr. Hardin teaches one 45-60 minute class per week, with additional time allowed for student questions, based on the assigned reading for the upcoming week.
An additional 20 minute live lab meeting is available for students to join on Mondays. See "Lab" tab for details.
All classes and lab sessions are recorded and available anytime should a student not be able to make the live class or want to re-watch a class.
Dr. Hardin is available by email to answer questions about the reading material, live class content, labs, etc., and responds within several hours. If there are more complicated questions, he can schedule a video meeting with the student.
Students log into the Science Shepherd student portal and then enter the classroom for the weekly live class. Dr. Hardin will start promptly at the scheduled time.
Enrollment includes access to live and recorded classes, as well as free access to the online “wet lab” step-by-step videos (see “Labs” tab for more information) through May 31, 2023.
Recommended for 9th to 12th grade.
All students: Science Shepherd Biology Textbook, 3rd Edition, account on the Science Shepherd student portal (will be created for you).
Science Shepherd Biology was awarded the 2015 Practical Homeschooling Science Reader Award. You can be confident that our Biology homeschool curriculum will provide an excellent educational experience to your student.
Clear guidance and ongoing reinforcement about how to write a good lab report is an essential part of Dr. Hardin’s teaching. Therefore, labs are a core part of the curriculum.
There is an average of 1 lab every other week, but there are some weeks with no labs and others with 2. The burden of lab time is not too much, especially when one considers how important labs are not only in science but in learning how to think logically and objectively about all aspects of life.
There are two lab formats available to choose from.
Lab Option 1: At-home "wet labs" using the Science Shepherd Lab Manual, a lab kit, and free online streaming instructional videos.
Lab Option 2: If the student does not want to actually do the labs at home (“wet labs”), then for an additional $250 the student can enroll in virtual labs. This option does not require the purchase of any supplies or a lab manual; everything needed is provided through the online labs themselves.
To better tailor the learning experience to your student(s), there are two options available for grading end-of-chapter review questions and tests.
Option 1: Dr. Hardin grades the end-of-chapter questions and tests.
Option 2: Automatic scoring.
Regardless of the method chosen for grading, all classes are graded on an absolute scale, rather than a curve.
Grades are a composite of performance on end-of-chapter questions (40% of total score), test questions (30% of total score) and lab reports (30% of total score).
Since grading is NOT on a curve, and if it meets the goals of the student and is OK with parents, Dr. Hardin does not mind if students use the Textbook for exams (“open book”), but they must complete the tests within the allotted time.
End-of-chapter questions are specifically designed to be used with reference back to the chapter material, as needed.
We will send an email after registration to find out your preference on grading – Dr. Hardin grading the short answer/fill in the blank and true-false questions from the Textbook and Test Booklet (Option 1) or automatic scoring of the multiple choice and true-false questions by the Science Shepherd student portal (Option 2).
Not sure if the Biology Live Online Class is right for you? Our "Recommended Course Progression" can help you find the right homeschool science material for your family.