Technology and Education: Session 5

Dr. Roberts highlighted the tremendous increase in the use of media among children and adolescents.  With the connectivity of students today, Dr. Roberts’ lecture had me question if I should be focused on implementing more technology in the classroom.  However, in today’s society, technology is important, and students must have exposure to technology and be comfortable with its uses in order to successfully enter most professions.  As teachers, we are in a unique position in that we can address this shift in media use among our students and promote its use in moderation.  Some of the questions I have for Dr. Roberts are: How does media use differ among race, socioeconomic status and location?  Can this increase in technology use be positively correlated with childhood obesity and ADHD?  How do we “disengage” our students and still keep their attention?

Add high school online learning to another program meant to cut costs but ultimately undermines the purpose of a teacher and classroom education.  Having one teacher for a class of 150 online students is most definitely cheaper than 150 students in a traditional classroom, but the quality of this education seems to promote practices such as plagiarizing while eliminating the important social and physical aspects of a classroom environment.  From what I have experienced, most high school students do not have skills to successfully complete online learning.  Many of these students still need the scaffolding and personal encouragement found in a traditional course.  However, I do believe that online learning could be successful for highly motivated and highly skilled students looking to increase their knowledge, as long as the course is designed to challenge the student and maintain high standards.  With the increase in online courses at the college level, it will be important to teach students how to navigate the Internet, select appropriate sources, as well as define plagiarism and its consequences.  My school does employ an online learning center for students who need to recover credit, and although I do not know much about the curriculum, I am skeptical of the actual learning that is taking place will be concerned if the program begins to grow.

Technology Resources for the Teacher:

Prezi: I would love to use Prezi for student presentations.  It is a newer resource so students familiar with PowerPoint may be able to enjoy something new and allow for more creativity.  It also doesn’t require students to have certain software, and the presentation is stored on the Internet, so it is more accessible to students.

Quizlet: An online flashcard resource that students could use to store their vocabulary words.  Biotechnology involves a lot of new, technical vocabulary and I could envision either creating a bank for students to study from, or having each student create their own banks with definitions in their own words.  Students could also create vocabulary games and play each other’s games.

Google Sites: Free web space to create a website.  I want to create a website that includes all of my classroom resources/activities, homework, presentations and agendas for students to be able to access when absent, missing an assignment, or need additional help.

Google Docs:  Google docs provides free word processing, spreadsheet and presentation tools that can be stored online and allow for collaboration.  I would like to integrate a biotech project for students in which they learn to use the different document tools, cloud storage, and collaborative capabilities that they will most definitely use in college.

Interdisciplinary Teaching: Session 4

A major focus of biotechnology is DNA.  Deoxyribose nucleic acid is considered the “building block of life.”  It is a huge macromolecule, yet it is invisible to the human eye (unless precipitated in very large amounts). Because it is so small, concepts surrounding DNA can often seem abstract and intangible to students.  In biotechnology, scientists alter DNA to create novel products like freeze-resistant strawberries or cure diseases with gene therapy.

In order to reach students outside of a strictly scientific subject area, I could have students write poetry or a song about the structure or function of DNA.  Students could then could read their poems or perform their songs for the class.

Poetry

http://www.joannamacy.net/nuclearguardianship/ode-to-my-dna.html

Lyrics

http://www.grymonpre.com/music/dna_lyrics.htm

Another subject area I could explore DNA is in math.  DNA has a geometric, double helix structure that can be defined by mathematical equations.  In the lesson below, students use a computer program to “sketch” DNA by plotting circles, segments and vectors.  They then use a DNA trait map to determine the characteristics encoded by the DNA. 

Math

http://www.nsa.gov/academia/_files/collected_learning/high_school/science/sketching_dna.pdf

Interdisciplinary learning appeals to all types of learners: artistic, linguistic, mathematical and historical.  Students who may not relate easily with science may find it much more engaging through the lens of another subject.  I think the most challenging part of interdisciplinary learning is opening ones mind to think outside the box we have become so accustomed to teaching within.  When I first began to brainstorm on the topic of interdisciplinary learning and biotech I found it extremely difficult!  How was I supposed to relate an abstract concept like protein synthesis to history?  But, after letting go of how I traditionally teach the process, I came to realize that there has been many intriguing years of research that have lead up to our understanding of proteins, and many of my students might really enjoy learning about the key players and experiments, who have throughout the years, built our current knowledge of the subject.

This week I responded to Marcy's blog about incorporating viruses and music.

Mind the Gap: Session 2

1.  Ravich Chapter 1:  "...in education, there are no shortcuts, no utopias, and no silver bullets" (pg. 3).  Such an ominous beginning to a book! I think most teachers go into the profession with the passion to change the lives of the students they teach: to be the silver bullet Ravich denies existence of.  I don't know if it is my optimism, or naivety, that makes me still believe that there has to be a formula out there that works: a perscription that will turn poor-performing schools around.  I am not sure if it is realistic to assume that all American students will graduate high school, but I certainly believe they should be given every opportunity to succeed in school and should be afforded a high-quality education...however that may be achieved.

"We must make sure that our schools have a strong, coherent, explicit curriculum that is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, with plenty of opportunity for children to engage in activities and projects that make learning lively.  We must ensure that students gain the knowledge they need to understand political debates scientific phenomena, and the world they live in.  We must be sure they are prepared for the responsibilities of democratic citizenship in a complex society.  We must take care that our teachers are well educated, not just well trained.  We must be sure that schools have the authority to maintain both standards of learning and standards of behavior" (pg. 13-14).  This quote resonates with my core beliefs of education: education should provide the foundation for one to engage with the world he or she lives in.  It should provide opportunity.  I would argue that most probably people agree with the most or all of the quote above, yet, implementing these ideas/beliefs effectively has been problematic for the United States.  I am very interested in how Ravich would propose to achieve this type of education system.  Would urban schools be run differently than rural or suburban schools?  Are there any schools that exist today that have achieved all of these things?

2.  I would characterize a well educated person as someone who is able to explain their opinions and support their ideas with evidence from subjects like history, literature, current events and science.  Someone who is well educated should be able to draw their own conclusions, while respecting others.  He or she should be able to apply necessary mathematic principals and analytic skills to everyday life.

3.  One of the biggest points of the discussion that stood out for me regarding Ravich's book was that she took ownership of having at some points agreed with many of the policies she now considers failures.  Some students took this as an apology to the reader, however, I am not sure if that was her intention or she was simply attempting to be honest with her reader, which I appreciated.  I am very interested in educational policy, and find her book to be fascinating, but I wonder what, if any, biases may shape her opinions and findings?

4.  My largest gap in content knowledge for biology is the physiology standard.  The following 3 resources could help me fill this gap:
-Website: www.khanacademy.org/#biology  I decided to watch the video "Anatomy of a Neuron" since we were discussing neurons, learning and memory in MAIT 403.  I learned that neurons are the cells that make up the brain and the nervous system.  The body of the neuron is called the "soma" while the branches off of the neuron are called the dendrites.  The "axon" is the tail of the neuron.  A signal, for example- from a taste bud, is then transmitted from the dendrite to the axon, then the signal is passed over a synapse to other neurons or muscle cell, etc.
-Article: The Brain: Why Athletes are Geniuses
-Book: Clinical Physiology Made Ridiculously Simple by Dr. Stephen Goldberg

5.  The first article I found to be useful for my research is a literature review that discusses the use of technology to promote inquiry-based instruction for the science classroom.  While much of the article explains what inquiry-based instruction is (and even discusses A Nation at Risk!!), it does a good job of providing concrete examples of the use of technology to drive inquiry in the classroom.  One of these examples uses something called a "mashup" that is created by students online.  A mashup seems to be a webpage that combines different digital resources into one main source, and requires students to hypothesize, collect and explore evidence to construct a scientific argument.  Another useful aspect of this article is its suggestion of other web tools that may be used for different purposes: Facebook, Edmodo, and Google Plus as network and discussion tools.  I also plan to look into the references listed in the article for primary sources

Another article I found helpful was a qualitative case study of what students are looking for in a science class, including their preference of digital resources.  The author, Lauren Goldenberg, stresses that technology cannot simply stand alone in the classroom, but must be scaffolded in order to help students learn the concepts.  Again, as this is a secondary source, I plan on researching the references listed.

6.  Question for Meg: Hi Meg!  Ok...I think I just need clarification: if an article does not have a methods section it is considered a secondary resource?  The second article I posted about came from a magazine called "The Science Teacher," and although it does not seem to be a peer-reviewed journal article, does it still have merit?  Thank you!

This week I responded to Eddie, whose subject is also science.  Since I responded to the other science teachers last week, I hope it is ok if I responded to Mary Jane and Jerry, other single subject teachers, instead :).

Science Framework vs. CSET Overview

It has been a year since I have taught biology, and reading through the State Framework again reminded me how much information is crammed into one year!  My major gaps in content knowledge primarily stem from the concepts in physiology.  I have never formally taken a physiology or anatomy class, and, although I know the general function of each of the body systems, I would need to know much more in order to thoroughly and correctly teach the physiology standards.  A few of the other topics that I would like to have a more in-depth knowledge of are biochemical pathways, applying Mendel's laws, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, some aspects of evolution, as well of the types and functions of the cells that make up our immune systems.

When examining the life science standards for 7th grade, I am much more comfortable with the topics discussed, as they serve as the foundation for learning biology.  Some of my gaps lie in the earth science portions of the framework, specifically, the rock cycle.  I would also need to review the physical principals of living things as well as the timeline of developments and extinctions of plant and animal life.

Again, with the 8th grade standards, I had fewer gaps and would benefit from a basic review the topics. The most prominent gap would be concepts in Earth in the Solar System.

When comparing the State Framework for Science to the CSET Overview, the overview requires knowledge of many more scientific skills rather than factual knowledge required by the framework standards.  Although the framework includes a section on "Investigation and Experimentation,"the overview is much more thorough in its description of what teachers should have knowledge of, including safety procedures, diversity of the men and women of science, and ethical concerns.

In my past years as a biology teacher, I have adhered closely to the standards as requested by my school sites.  Generally, the curriculum placed heavy emphasis on genetics since a higher percentage of the questions on the CST focused on this, while saving the human physiology unit for after the test since most students had some background of this from middle school.  During this last year as a biotechnology teacher, my classes were not bound by standards, although we touched on many of the genetics concepts.

Since I will be teaching biotechnology again this year, I will be focusing on increasing my knowledge of how DNA technology (5.d.) and genetic engineering (5.c.) are used to create novel products.  I will be attending two different workshops that address both of these biology standards with the hope that I can better relate these concepts to students' lives through lab-based experiences.