Developing a questioning mind

Sensationlism in the news with respect to science..."From Toilet to Tap," "Drugs in the Water," etc.

This past week the students have been introduced to the concept of critiquing science. They've explored the elements of a good science experiment, the difference between subjective and objective information, and qualitative versus quantitative data. They analyzed graphs, sample experiments, and newspaper articles.

Since student have access to so much information these days (internet, tv, newspapers, magazines, etc), they need to develop critical reasoning skills with respect to what to believe.

Return

On my first day back in the classroom after break, several students noted that I had been gone for a while. It was the second week of school for them, and I had not mentioned how long I would be gone. Maybe they thought I wasn't coming back? They seemed glad to see me. Since they had the entire hour to work on their lab reports on the circulatory system, I floated around the class helping students.

Several of the students in second hour are Pistons fans; at the end of class we talked basketball. They aren't too happy with the Iverson trade so far.

Jeopary-style review game

Finals for first semester will be at the end of January, and the biology final will be comprehensive. Today I prepared a Jeopardy review game for the students. The categories were "Ecology," "Acids & Bases," "Respiratory System," and "Health;" all of the categories except "Health" will be included on the final. I added in this category to get a feel for what they know. Overall the game went well, the students liked this review format. From this mini review, it seems more people in first hour will have difficulty with the final; they had difficulty with some of the questions. Second hour, on the other hand, thought my questions were too easy which is a good sign that they are prepared. Second hour also wanted a round of double jeopardy and final jeopardy, which I may include for the full review for the final. I gave both classes the option of negative points for a wrong answer or no points for a wrong answer; they chose not to receive points for a wrong answer. The game was played in groups and the group with the highest point total received extra credit.

Decision

There's only so much that I can do; I can encourage, I can cajole, I can try to persuade, and I can learn the student's perspective. Ultimately the student makes the decision. And if it's not the one that I was hoping for...what do I do with this student?

Improvement

Since progress reports came out, there has been significiant improvement in attendence and class participation for some students in first hour. Hopefully these students will continue coming to class and participating (asking/answering questions, doing the labs). The next step is for these students to do their assignments (e.g., projects/lab reports) because this is what will have the most impact on their grade. One student in particular has shown marked improvement; however, she didn't submit one project and it had a severe impact on her grade. We have talked about what she needs to do for the rest of the semester, and she seems committed to turning in the rest of the assignments.

At times it is easy to forget that some students have to deal with a myriad of personal issues which make schoolwork an extremely low priority in their life.

Interactive Whiteboard

My faculty affliate is one of the teachers who is using new classroom technology: the Promethean Interactive Whiteboard and Activotes.

"Interactive whiteboards enable anything that can be seen or done on a computer screen to be projected onto a whiteboard. . . Hide, reveal or highlight text and images to stimulate discussion. Encourage active participation through measuring tools, such as interactive rulers or protractors. . ." (http://www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=nav.15)

The students like the new technology because they get to use the activotes to answer questions; it's a more interactive experience for them plus they get to use the new technology. So far the whiteboard and activotes have been used to go over a quiz and to take an extra credit quiz. During these activities the students are more engaged and are taking an active interest in what is going on. The also get to see immediate results. Once everyone has selected their answer to a question, the results are tabulated and displayed in a bar graph so that everyone can see how the class answered a question.

The whiteboard is a great way to make lessons more interactive for the students.

Mid-semester grades

Grades for the first marking period (first nine weeks of the semester) have been released. For those students doing well in biology, there are no worries; they just need to keep up the good work. However, for those students not doing well in biology, things are starting to look discouraging. I gravitate towards these students and try to encourage; their first semester in biology is not lost. Just because they didn't earn a "C" or better doesn't mean that they are going to fail; it just means that they are going to have to work harder than they have been to improve their grade during the second marking period (second nine weeks of the semester) and do well on the final. I know it can be done, but I must convince them that it can be done. They have to believe that they can improve their overall grade by put more time and effort into their school work this point forward.

There is also a new extra credit opportunity every week, and I will walk students over to the board to try it. Some of students will tell me that they can't get the extra credit, but they haven't even read it yet; for these students I say lets try it and once they read it (I may have to re-state it) and think about it, they get it.