Biology courses for kids
Biology is an area of science that studies living things and delves into the anatomy, physiology, life cycles, origin and behaviour of such organisms. It is also a subject of study that a student may elect usually for the final 3 years of high school. For example, in Hong Kong under the Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), biology is taught from Secondary 4-6. Under the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) for non-UK based students or the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) for students in the UK, biology is a subject taught to students in grades 9-10/Year 10-11. Biology is similarly taught under the O Levels (which stands for Ordinary Level, for 14-16 year olds) and the A Levels (which stands for Advanced Level, for 16-18 year olds) which are subject based qualifications under the General Certificate of Education (GCE) in the UK. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program includes science courses including biology from the Middle Years Programme onwards (11-16 years), and this is usually taught in an interdisciplinary manner where concepts and skills from two or more science disciplines may be merged. Under the IB Diploma Programme (16-19 years), biology is taught at a standard level (150 hours) as well as the higher level (240 hours).
Given the field of biology encompasses all living things, there are a number of different branches that might be relevant for students to explore. For example – radiobiology, anatomy, biochemistry, photobiology, evolution, ecology, genetics, botany, cell biology, biotechnology, structural biology, mycology, microbiology, biophysics, marine biology, immunology, molecular biology, plant physiology, parasitology, virology, zoology, phycology to name just a few! Research & development in the area of biology continues to leave an indelible mark on understanding how humans are impacting the natural environment, evolution of species, the field of medicine & public health. Although the most famous biologists may be Charles Darwin (1809-1882), Gregor Mendel (1822-1894) or Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), but modern scientists continue to make exciting new discoveries in areas such as gene editing (CRISPR), virology, AI & computer modelling to predict subcellular behaviour & other computational biology. Biology is an exciting field for students to dive into!
The benefits of biology classes for youth include
- improving academic performance in biology subject matter
- increasing engagement levels and confidence in biology as a speciality course
- enhancing cognitive development
- allowing a student to determine if biology as a knowledge area interests them sufficiently to suggest further studies at university or even a career that involves applying biology knowledge might be warranted