mrbishop.org
pbishop@hatfieldps.net
LAB SAFETY
Labs are an important part of most science courses; they give students the opportunity experience
and practice the concepts they have learned on paper. Students are expected to learn and
understand basic safety procedures and to pass a safety test before they will be allowed to
participate in lab exercises. Improper use of chemicals and equipment could cause serious
injury. All students taking this course, as well as their parents or guardians, are required to read,
understand, and sign this safety contract.
Safety guidelines for each laboratory exercise will be reviewed at the beginning of that lab.
Rowdiness and silliness in the lab are always unsafe. Other guidelines will vary from lab to
lab depending on the use of chemicals, fire, etc. For many lab exercises, students will not be
permitted to participate if they are wearing open-toed shoes or sandals or contact lenses.
Students will be notified in advance of upcoming labs for which this is the case. Any student
who misses a laboratory exercise due to improper shoes or contact lenses must complete an
alternate written assignment on the same topic.
I will provide storage space to any student wishing to keep a pair of shoes or a contact lens case
and solution at school.
Please understand that my most important responsibility and my highest concern is the safety of
my students. Reminders about minor safety violations may result in points deducted from the lab
participation grade. Major violations will be subject to disciplinary action as listed below:
1st violation
Verbal warning
Sit out lab
Make up work—alternate written assignment (required for credit on lab report)
Zero for lab participation for that day; 20% deduction for lab report grade
2nd violation Teacher detention
Sit out lab
Make up work—alternate written assignment (required for credit on lab report)
Zero for lab participation for that day; 50% deduction for lab report grade
Parent phone call
3rd violation Office referral
Sit out lab in office
Zero for lab participation and lab report grades for that day
Parent phone call or conference to discuss further action
Please contact me at pbishop@hatfieldps.net with any questions.
mrbishop.org
pbishop@hatfieldps.net
MASTERY LEARNING
You will have the opportunity to make up missed points on a number of quizzes or tests by
revisiting the incorrect responses and re-working them. In order to receive the points, you must
show me that you understand the mistake you made and that you can correctly explain the
answer or solve the problem.
For fact questions:
To receive mastery learning credit for fill-in-the-blank or multiple choice questions, you must
retake that entire section of the test. Questions on the retake will cover the same material and
will be of comparable difficulty, but will be new questions.
For essay questions:
Essay questions typically ask you to explain in detail, apply your knowledge, or put information
in perspective. You may rewrite essay questions at home for mastery learning credit.
For mathematical questions:
For mastery learning on math questions, you must complete the following on a clean sheet of
notebook paper, stapled to the original:
1) Rewrite the original question.
2) Explain the mistakes you made or the misunderstanding you had when answering the
question initially. Take the time to do a good job.
3) Re-answer the question or re-work the problem, explaining your correct answer fully.
Show your work.
Essay and math questions may be answered open-book for mastery learning. If you need extra
help understanding the material, I am often available before or after school and I am happy to
spend extra time with students who need it and ask for it.
The grade I record for mastery learning will always be the average of your grade on the first and
second attempts. Mastery learning work must be handed in on or before the third class meeting
after the assessment was passed back to you.
Mastery Learning is a study aid; it is meant to help you learn from your mistakes. As you get
older, the opportunities to get extra credit from Mastery Learning are reduced as follows:
Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors -
you may have 8 opportunities for Mastery Learning per year
you may have 6 opportunities for Mastery Learning per year
you may have 4 opportunities for Mastery Learning per year
you may have 3 opportunities for Mastery Learning per year
Please note that Mastery Learning is not available in AP Biology.