Biology by Team

Biology by Team in German "Biologie im Team" - is the first Austrian biology contest for Upper Secondary Schools.

Students at upper secondary schools, who are especially interested in biology, can deepen their knowledge andbroaden their competence in experimental biology within the frame work of this contest.Each year, a team of teachers choose modules of key themes on which students work in the form of a voluntary exercise.The evaluation focuses in particular on the practical work, and, since the school year 2004/05, also on teamwork. In April, a two-day closing competition takes place, in which six groups of students from participating schools are given variousproblems to solve. A jury (persons from the science and corporate communities) evaluate the results and how they are presented.

The concept was developed by a team of teachers in co-operation with the AHS(Academic Secondary Schools) - Department of the Pedagogical Institute in Carinthia. Since 2008 it is situated at the [http://www.ph-kaernten.ac.at/index.php?id=121 Science departement of the Pedagogical University in Klagenfurt] .The first contest in the school year 2002/03 took place under the motto: Hell is loose in the Ground Under Us.Other themes included Beautiful But Dangerous, www-world wide water 1 and 2 and expedition forest.The closing ceremony of the school year 2006/07 took place on May 31st and June 1, 2007 at the BG/BRG Villach St. Martin in Carinthia.The theme for the year 2007/08 is “Relationship Boxes”. It deals with all different kinds of relations between animals and plants.Currently, the following schools are participating:• BG/BRG Mössingerstraße Klagenfurt• BG/BRG St. Martinerstraße Villach• BORG Wolfsberg• BRG Klagenfurt-Viktring• Stiftsgymnasium Sankt Paul im Lavanttal• Österreichisches Gymnasium Prag

BIT was submitted for the [http://www.deutscher-innovationspreis.de/ German Innovations-prize for Sustainable Education] and placed among the 13 „best of“all nominated projects.With these prerequisites the base concept of „Biology By Team“ can be replicated for other science and instructional fields and could provide an important contribution for the improvement of the subject and also team competence of our youth.

BIT - the only Austrian biology competition, enabled 2008 for the first time the Austrian participation at the EUSO - European Union Science Olympiad.

See also

* International Biology Olympiad
* European Union Science Olympiad

External links

* [http://home.schule.at/lernen/Download/bitweb/ Official website]
* [http://www.schule.at/community/index.php?cid=301 Page at the Austrian School website]
* [http://imst3plus.uni-klu.ac.at/materialien/index2.php?content_id=183251 Article from the Institute for Education and School-developement at the University of Klagenfurt]
* [http://fbm.uni-klu.ac.at/aktuelles/newsletter.pdf Interviews and reviews from the Austrian Science Initiative IMST - Innovations in Mathematics, Science and Technology Teaching, 2007]
* [http://www.deutscher-innovationspreis.de/buch.html Book reference, German Innovations-prize for Sustainable Education 2006, ISBN-13: 978-3-937333-62-5]
* [http://bios.mallnitz.at/news.php Report by the BIOS - Biological Science Center in Mallnitz, Carinthia, 2005]
* [http://bios.mallnitz.at/down/biologiewettbewerb.pdf Press release, BIOS - Biological Science Center in Mallnitz, Carinthia, 2005]
* [http://www.oesp.cz/docs/bit-apa.pdf APA - Austrian Press Agency News, 07.03.2007]
* [http://www.eduhi.at/dl/abschluss_dokumentation.doc Reihe "Pädagogik und Fachdidaktik für Lehrerlnnen", 2004]
* [http://www.bmeia.gv.at/kultur/prag/studium-sprachkurs/auslandsschule/einblicke.html Press release, Austrian Ministry for European and International affairs, 2005]
* [http://www.physicsnet.at/nww/innovationen/Holub-Dokumentation-03.pdf Report at the Austrian Naturwissenschaftswerkstatt, 2002/03]