Biology by Team

BIT-Logo

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 and broaden 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 various problems 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 Science departement of the University College of Teacher Training Carinthia. 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, Expedition Forest, Relationship Boxes, Mole's View, Biological Timetravel and Biology at the University.

BIT-Poster – Juliana Srienz

The theme for the year 2011/12 is Ecce homo. The project work during the year concentrates on a cooperation with the Open Laboratory Graz University of Graz. Currently, the following schools are participating: • BG/BRG Mössingerstraße Klagenfurt • BG/BRG St. Martinerstraße Villach • BG/BRG Peraustraße Villach • BRG Klagenfurt-Viktring • Österreichisches Gymnasium Prag

BIT was submitted for the 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

• Official website
• Page at the Austrian School website
• Regional Centre of Biology Instruction Styria
• Institute of plant physiology,University of Graz
• Open Laboratory Graz
• Article from the Institute for Education and School-development at the University of Klagenfurt
• Interviews and reviews from the Austrian Science Initiative IMST - Innovations in Mathematics, Science and Technology Teaching, 2007
• Book reference, German Innovations-prize for Sustainable Education 2006, ISBN 978-3-937333-62-5
• APA - Austrian Press Agency News, 07.03.2007
• "Biology by team" Proceeding of the International Conference Form it „Bridging the Gap between Research and Science Education”, Vienna, 12th till 14th March 2008
• Reihe "Pädagogik und Fachdidaktik für Lehrerlnnen", 2004