Gninnalp Drawkcab

No, don't worry I haven't gone crazy, it is just Backward Planning...backwards!

Backwards planning is exactly like it sounds. It working backwards from the results that you want (assessment methods), then planning a lesson. The makes the students' interaction with the material more meaningful. By planning backwards, the teacher needs to rely on their own knowledge of the subject rather than the text book. It also helps in the avoidance of using the same assessment techniques like MCQs and tests. By focusing on the assessment first, the course content becomes more focused.

Step 1: Identify the results you want
What knowledge do you want the students to leave with? What are the most important topics to be       covered? What standards must be met?

Step 2: Acceptable Evidence
How will students demonstrate their understanding and what they have learnt? What is suitable to use to show that they have understood?

Step 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction
What must the student learn (skills and knowledge) to progress in this course? What must be taught, and how will it be taught most effectively? What other tools can be used to teach the topic? (Sound familiar.....PCK)

By focusing on the end product allows you as the teacher to re-focus on the best approach to get your students to arrive at that desired result. It also allows you to focus on your students, as by knowing there strengths and weakness you can set the task with those traits in mind.

[Source: http://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/journal/vol13/beej-13-4.pdf ]

How to get your students to truly blossom

 Sometimes the best way to get results from your students is to tell them what you expect from them. These statements break down the aims of tasks and assignments to specific understandable sentences called learning outcomes. Learning outcomes also convey to students what they will learn and what skills they will gain. They are often identified with statements like:

- It is expected that as a result of work in this topic, students will.....
- It is expected that on completion of this task students will have....
- On completion of this assignment students will be able to.....

A tool to help teachers construct outcomes is Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, which has now been revised. The taxonomy has 6 main conceptual levels, aims and attached to each are types of learning that the student will undergo.

I know from being a student that if I know from the get go what the lecturer wants from, I find a pay a lot more attention as I never know when those skills or outcomes will be explained.

To end off a nifty little acronym to help you remember the levels of thinking.......

                               U - R - E - A - C - A!!!!!

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not quite Archimedes, but still effective :D

Evolution Humour

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Moments of Inspiration 3

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I remember Mrs Singleton, my high school biology teacher help us with understanding diffusion.

At the start of class she dropped a potassium permanganate pellet in a beaker of water and explained diffusion using the beaker of particles moving from a high concentration (the pellet) to a low concentration (the rest of the beaker).

By showing us an actual example and witnessing it happen in front of us helped us to understand what exactly was meant.

So even though its such a simple visualization it really helps in the long run.

Luggage Investigations part 2

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My case study:

Little Susan and her mother were walking along the beach exploring rock pools. Suddenly Susan exclaimed "Mom, mom get over here quick!"

"What's wrong?" her mother asked.

"Nothing," said Susan "I just want to show these two fish in the pool. They look like they could be brother and sister."

"Almost, but not quite." replied her mother.

"What do you mean? They look the same."

"Well," said Susan's mother "if you look at the one, it has those funny slits on the side of its head while the other doesn't. The one also has fleshy fins while the other has fins with spines."

Susan studied the two fish more carefully now and said "So even though they look the same, they have small differences......."

"Spot on!" said Susan's mother

".......almost like dog biscuits look like normal ones but don't taste the same."

"Yes" laughed Susan's mother, "like dog biscuits!"

....E-ction!

….rolling….

So we were asked to design a 5E lesson plan around 3 readings by Lamarck, Wallace and Darwin respectively. It was interesting and challenging, especially when trying to work out activities that let the students explore. Here 

goes:

ENGAGE – I want to learn what the students know about natural selection so I asked them basic questions like why do cheetahs run fast. Ask questions about ostrich size and flight, tiger stripes etc. Then give them the readings to go over.

EXPLORE – Give them examples (pictures or specimens) of Cape Floral Kingdom flowers and ask them think what the pollinators will look like.

Or

Get different skulls (chimp, gorilla, dog, human, kangaroo etc.) and have them explore the different teeth and skull pieces.

EXPLAIN – have an informal discussion/ unprepared oral about their discoveries and responses to the questions. I will then explain the whole concept, where they went wrong, and whether their views were Lamarckian or Darwinian.

ELABORATE – a new questionnaire will be constructed with new examples to test if they have understood the new concept.

EVALUATE – set a prepared oral on a novel animal using the knowledge learnt.

…….end scene and cut!

The 5 Elephants in the Classroom

The 5 E learning Cycle was developed from what was initially a 3 cycle from the early 1970 of exploration, invention and discovery to: Enagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluation.

• Engagement: item or activty used to engage students. It can be used to see what the studentd knows and what the student can do
• Exploration: objects or events are explored. This is a guided hands on activity
• Explanation: students' view points are expressed. New concepts are introduced and explained to produce clarity and understanding of the new concept
• Elaboration: applying the new knowledge in a different situation to test understanding and skills and allow for development
• Evaluation: the students' knowledge and skills are assessed. This will also allow feed back on student development and how effective the lesson was.

Its important to remember that you as the teacher still have a role to play, you need to pose problems, ask questions, spread doubt, provide feedback, provide resources, explanantions and evaluations.

By using these E's to develop lessons you get the best outcome from the student.... a conceptual change if you will.

Conceptual Change in Action

So we were given a 4 question questionnaire about blind cave salamanders, a pride of lions (of different levels of fitness), antibiotics and insecticides.

This questionnaire was to see what our conception (prior knowledge) of natural selection was. We then watched a snippet of a movie about multi drug resistant TB. After the movie we then discussed our answers from the questionnaire with Dr Holtman.

I then discovered that my answers were based on more Lamarckian view. My answers were not so much based on want and need but more focused on purpose. Instead of the more accepted Darwinian view of variation amongst a species (although its important to remember that Lamarcks' views *were* once scientific).

Original image: roarprawn.blogspot.com

For me it was more a case of conceptual exchange. I realised that natural selection does not happen because of lack of purpose or need, rather because of variation. This variation might increase the fitness of certain species and allow them to reproduce, so resulting in the loss or gain of features.

What's odd is that reading that last paragraph, the concept seems ridiculously simple and quite embarrassing that it took me to Hons. level to address. Funny how easily a misconception can lodge in ones brain.

Conceptual Change Theory

Conceptual change is exactly what it sounds like it should be. It is taking somebodies misconception or wrong idea about a concept and then revealing to them what the correct conception is. The misconception arises from the persons' prior knowledge about that subject and how they've change and manipulated the concept to understand it better. If the new idea is not rejected it is either conceptually captured, conceptually exchanged or rotely memorized.

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With rote memorization, the new concept is just learnt but no effort is made to understand the new concept, concept capture means that the new idea is merged with the old one and with exchange, the new concept replaces the old concept.

So how are you as the teacher to know when Conceptual Change has occurred?

• The old concept should no longer be able to explain an event like before. The student should not be satisfied when using it as an explanation 
• The new concept should be understood fully otherwise the old one will not be replaced
• The new concept must be seen as believable, and answers questions that were left unanswered by the old concept - irrelevant of the students' view point
• The new concept can be applied to new examples

So if boiled down, conceptual change is just learning. The new concept is taught and with understanding, the old concept is merged, best case scenario, the old concept is replaced.

As the saying goes "Out with the old, in with the new"

Moments of Inspiration 2

I remember in Grade 7, Mr Duell our English teacher would read to us at the end of the lesson. He however, would only read if we had finished the work he had planned to cover or the worksheet that was given. He also marked it there and then to ensure that we didn't just make up answers. After the first few lesson we were all doing the work diligently just so that he would read to us.

It sound childish and sub B-esque to enjoy somebody reading to you, but it was a full length novel. Plus he really got into it and gave each character a different accent so it sounded like a radio program instead of a book. He also covered the book with a piece of paper, so we never  knew the name of the book or author. Once the book was finished he let us see, John Wyndham - The Chrysalids.

He provided us with bait and we swallowed hook line and sinker. By reading he made the class want to finish their work properly and on time.

Luggage Investigations ??

london-insider.co.uk

 No, this post is not about dodge air traffic people.

When trying to get an idea across to other people, often the use of examples aids the understanding of the concept. Case studies take this one step further and place the example in reality. They also show students that the work they are studying can be used in real life. This post will lay out some of the do's and don't's of developing a case study using Waterman and Stanley "Investigate Case Based Learning" (http://bioquest.org/case99.html).

In my case I will using a practical in which the students did particularly bad in. They were given various cartilaginous fish and bony fish (5 in total) and were told to tabulate their morphological differences and note morphological characteristics. Most of them found the exercise pointless and didn't actually think about what they were listing. My aim is to write a case study to help them understand the importance of simple morphological differences

- Find your muse: find a topic (learning goal) which that you want your students to take away from the case study whether it be analytical techniques, lab skills or concept understanding (my case: the importance of morphology)

- Set the scene: find a realistic place for your case study. by placing it outside the local environment (school or campus) and in an ordinary, every day situation.

Some don't's:

• Avoid Sci-Fi scenarios, or unrealistic images like talking plants and animals......its confusing

• Avoid Research Labs at school or university. The point is to show them applications in the real world

• Don't involve the student. Do not use their names or place them in the situation. The case study should be more like a Pensieve, where they view the situation from the outside. It also makes it easier for the students to criticise the characters 

Then just write a draft and re-write..........my draft will follow.....eventually....

Moments of Inspiration

So Andre' asked us to give a moment in our scholastic life, which we remembered, that made us want to become teachers or just really enjoyed the lesson the way the teacher approached it. The first thing I thought was Grade 11 Biology and Protein Synthesis.

sweetfactory.com

Our teacher had us make our own tRNA and matching mRNA using wire and coloured card. Then using the surface of the lab table as the cell and a bucket to represent the ribosome. She then proceed to get us to make a protein using our made t- and mRNA. The real hook was that the amino acids were in actuality..... a Jubjub (not the singer). The fact that there was food involved meant that everybody paid attention first time around to ensure their prize.

She then proceeded to ask more in depth questions around the process and if you got the question right you would get another Jubjub. This meant that everyone focused on all the questions that were asked and actually listened to answers as well. Needless to say protein synthesis was one of the questions I got 100% for in the exam.

So this got me thinking about the other moments in class that I remember.......but I'll leave that for another post

:D 

Technology in Teaching

The gimmicks that we use in teaching are important as it allows the student to connect with the material. In today's classrooms, where virtually everyone has cellphone and more than half of them are on mxit any way. Technology is an important resource that teachers can use to make their lesson more accessible. We had a discussion with Andre' Daniels (a blogger from tektiks.blogspot.com) about what tools we could use to make  a course more hip, happening and interactive.

www.portableapps.com

One of the software tools that I liked was "Audacity". It is basically a voice recorder, that is ridiculously simple to operate  (well that's how Andre' made it seem). It allows you to create podcasts (audio lectures) and if you combine it with power point slides its a resource that students can use outside class.Lecturers might say that this will encourage students to stay out of class but not everybody learns in the same way, and for most it will be just as effective as the real lecture. Audacity will come in handy for pre recorded lectures if you know that you need to go away for a conference. Instead of cancelling the classes, record podcasts and give them to the students. Now

rather than losing a week of lectures you just need lose one to recap what they learnt.

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"Picasa 3" is a google software that allows you to organise, edit and share photos. It is easy to operate and has tools such as red eye remover, autocorrect options and various display types like collages, all at the click of a button. This tool is particularly handy for allowing students to tell photo stories by creating a photo montage, for instance: the variety of leaf shapes around campus. This can used as an assessment to force students to connect the course content and maybe even themselves. One problem that will need to be addressed is that not each student will have a digital camera and one might need to be provided by the lecturer.

People often forget that most laptops now come with a webcam. Which can allow for video conferencing. So now you can give your lecture even if you are not on campus. A software program called "prompt" allows your text to scroll up on the screen (at your desired speed) and you can read off it. Doesn't Technology make life so much easier?

prezi.com

If you are one of those people who struggle with change, aren't sure about new tools and have just gotten used to Power Point (and really don't want to learn anything new because you have finally worked out how to add an animation to your slide and make your text fly in), I suggest trying "prezi.com". Its like a power point except a bit more dynamic and allows for a more dynamic and unconventional layout.

The tools are out there to make material more relate-able and interesting for students who are used to technology. We as teachers just need to open our minds and find ways to make it work for us instead of against us.

You Gotta Have a Gimmick!

 Sometimes students just arent interested in listening or learning. So what do you as a teacher do?

- Figure out what students want to know and find out how to work that into the curriculum (Vantiy, thy name is  student), often they want real life examples that relate to them.
Big word of the day -> anthropocentric......okay not really but any way....

Livingston and Darwin

- Get a Gimmick! Find an odd way to teach, use prop, get a costume. Anything that will draw their attention! Try a Dr. Holtman approach and walk in with a black bag, and keep pretending like you are going to open, but never actually do. OR find a cute gimmicking song about the topic, like the photosynthesis song. If you are teaching evolution maybe come in a with stuffed dog (HMS Beagle) and a beard (Charles Darwin)

- Use technology. Make them write blogs or take cellphone pics of objects that they have seen outside of class that relates to the subject. This is relatively easy in Biology but i think learners might have a problem with taking a picture of grammar...but then again think out of the box (PCK all the way :P)

- Use controversial issues to draw them into a debate about the topic i.e. religion and science, viruses and sexual health etc.

- Try to find examples that are local, subrban or provincial. Often examples given are not tangebile to the student and they don't understand the concept.

Personally my favourite is get a gimmick, both the students and teacher have a great amount of fun!! I'l let these.........dancers, yes, dancers explain it better...