Since my school experiences only prepared me to teach
biotechnology at a surface level, I have completed quite a few biotechnology
workshops, seminars, and conferences in order to deepen my understanding of the
subject. I am constantly looking for
ways to relate the advancements made in the biotech field to students’ own
lives. In May, I attended a conference
that focused on the latest research in the field of epigenetics- how and why
some genes are turned on (expressed) or turned off. It was here that I really began to not only
appreciate the power of DNA sequencing for medical purposes, but how the events
of our daily lives (specifically, for one particular lecture, exposure to
viruses) may be able to alter the expression of our genes and cause disease. With this knowledge, I was able to come back
to the classroom, share my experience, and pose the following question to my
students: “Imagine two twin sisters who are born with identical DNA. Genetic testing reveals that they both have
one of the genes for breast cancer, but only one twin ends up with the
cancer. Why could this be?” Not only did this opportunity provide me with a more
complete scientific background to discuss this topic, it also allowed for my classes to examine the ethical complications that this technology can bring about. BONUS: it also
made me really excited to go back and discuss with my students, and they seem
to enjoy when Ms. Dever “dorks-out” J. The following article was written about my
favorite lecture from the conference:
Ball’s article, “The Subject Matter Preparation of
Teachers,” allowed me to reflect on my own experiences that have contributed to
the content knowledge that I teach. Even
before the article, I had concluded that it would have been extremely
beneficial to have had some sort of course to strengthen my background in
biology (biotechnology) before I ended up in the classroom. It seemed as though my sentiments were echoed
during the classroom discussion, and although my opinions or judgments were not
changed by the discussion, it was a relief to hear that my classmates felt the
same way- relatively unprepared.
For my inquiry, I am leaning towards the use of technology
in the science classroom. I am
interested on how certain websites, videos, presentation tools, clickers,
computers, etc. can improve student motivation and comprehension. My current question is: How can technology be
used to advance student achievement and motivation in science education? However, I am also really interested in
learning more about project-based learning and hope that I can somehow
incorporate that into my inquiry as well.
There seems to be quite a bit of more recent research on technology in
the classroom in general, however, but not as much in the science
classroom. For my experiential learning
resources, I have signed up for a workshop regarding protein analysis, in which
I hope to gain more knowledge of how to relate it better to students, as well
as become more comfortable with protein technology. The second workshop I will be attending
focuses on bioinformatics with ample teacher collaboration and lab time. We will also be taking a tour of the UC Davis
genome center, which may provide another experiential source.
This week, I commented on 3 other teachers blogs who either teach science or have a focus on technology: Tiffani Neal, Josie Kirkland and Marcy Place.
This week, I commented on 3 other teachers blogs who either teach science or have a focus on technology: Tiffani Neal, Josie Kirkland and Marcy Place.
