Paul is a garbage collector employed by the city of
Cape Town. After a long staining day of hard work, he took the usual bus on his
way home, when he saw a mother throwing an empty package of biscuits out of the
window. He realised that people are so irresponsible and disrespectful toward
the environment. He thought that if everybody was throwing garbage at the same
time, how badly damaged the environment would be. He reckoned though it is to collect, store,
separate and recycle all the garbage from the streets, and realised how
unbearable it would be to collect from industrial waste and marine pollution
and how all those pollutions affect the ecosystem.....
Case
analysis
1-Recognise
potential issues and major topics in the case. What is about? Underline terms
or phrases that seem to be important to understand in this case. Then list 3 or
4 biology-related topics in this case.
2-What
specific questions do you have about this topic? By yourself, or better yet, in
a group, list what you already know about this case in “What do I know?”
column. List question you would like to learn more about in “What do I need to
know?” column.
What do I know
What do I need to know
3-Put
a check mark by 1-3 questions or issues from the “What do I need to know?” list
that you think are most important to explore.
4-What
kind of references or resources would help you answer or explore these
questions? Identify two different resources and explain what information each
resource is likely to give that will help you answers the question(s). Choose
specific resources.
Core
investigation
1-Cite all different pollution known, their causes and consequences.
2- Find the countries the most polluted and define their level of development.
3- What are the consequences of pollution on human health?
4- Look for the action of CO2 on the greenhouse and define what is climate change.
5- What are the causes and the consequences of climate change?
Hang each group a copy of the page illustrating evolution. Give the group 10 minutes to discuss the first set of picture then initiate a discussion. List the differences observed on the pictures. Discuss the eventual causes of these changes observed. Using the notes given draw out definition and descriptions from the learners. Develop the classes’ own notes on the board.
Learner activity:
Learners discuss the pictures in groups and report back in the general discussion. They should be encouraged to think of the different tree of life that they can make .
Resources:
The lesson sheet with pictures illustrating morphology change of animals. Chalkboard or white board for noting contributions learners. Notes to hand out.
Assessment methods:
At the end of the lesson give each student 10 minutes to write what he has retained from the lecture and give his point of view on Evolution and adaptation.
Lesson Aims:
Learners will be able to explain and give the causes of evolution.
Learners will get acquainted with adaptation and all concepts under its consequence.
How many differences can you find? Make a list of differences you can find. Draw a tree of life according to this picture of birds.
Try to understand how evolution occur at a bigger scale.
- Teachers have to know the learning student style;
- Discussions in group, individual work or with diagrams;
The learning has to avoid the class to be bored.
Meaningful learning and rote learning:
Proposed by David Ausubel (1968), this theory contrasts rote learning to meaningful learning. It presents learning as a process where new knowledge is linked to existing knowledge. Rote learning involves memorizing and result in new knowledge is arbitrarily incorporated into the cognition structure. Meaningful learning involves understanding and integrating knowledge into one’s cognitive structure but newly acquired knowledge and the existing cognitive structure may be modified in the learning process.
Then Novak invented a process to help students to organize what they learn into meaningful: Concept Mapping.
Concept Mapping is a learning tool which schematically is a representation of set of interrelated, interconnected conceptual meanings. Concept mapping is used for:
-Assessing pre-knowledge of a topic to be taught or a topic that has been taught
-Measuring of longer their retention
-Planning lessons, presentations, articles for publication
How do I measure what the student learns? How do I test large class?
Assessing classroom assessment techniques (CAT) is a technique to reveals what student learn. It has been found that CAT enhances and improve student learning. This technique is composed in a range of activities that may be grouped into the categories of summative and formative.
Summative assessment technique occurs mostly at the end of the lecture to evaluate what the student has retained from the lecture.
Formative assessment is reflective and used as an ongoing process to improve learning. E.g.: The student has to show a draft of his work and a chance to improve it is given to him.
Classroom can be assessed by making concept mappings (Cmap tool) or using footprints puzzle or also by a group work where each member is assigned with a job, this impacts students learning.
Bloom discussion
Blooms’ taxonomy can be used for formulate statements of objectives and outcomes. Students will be engaged in six level of thinking for the evaluation of his assignment or in class. Bloom’s object is linked with the kind of learning expected from the student.
-Holtman L (2009) Using Wikis in the teaching of a short course on the history and philosophy of science.
-Krathwol David, Anderson, Lorin et al. (2000). A taxonomy of learning for teaching: A revision of bloom’s taxonomy of education objectives. NY: Addison-Wesley-Longman.
-Lee Carlson D and Marshall P A (2009) Learning the science of research the art of teaching: Planning Backwards in a college genetics Course. Bioscience Education.
-Rollnick M, Identifying potential for equitable access to tertiary level science, Springer.
-Simpson-Beck V. (2011) Assessing classroom assessment techniques. Active learning in Higher Education 12: 125.
The way that people learn depends on social (environmental living) and belief. First of all, the learner must be able to express his discontent with some events or conceptions. Second, he must have a plenty understanding on the new concepts presented. Then he is able to see that the new concept is credible. Finally, he must be able to apply this new conception with benefit.
The first conception is that the Earth was created by a supernatural entity. Then a suggestion for an alternative explanation was establish to add variance with the conception from Church. The Darwinian and the Larmarkian theories both offer the explanation of this variance. Their theories follow five others theories:
-Evolution
-Common ancestor
-Multipication of species
-Gradualism
-Natural selection
Learning outcome for the basic of Evolution.
Questions about Natural Selection are asked to students before starting a lecture and there have to answer ticking free gaps describing their agreement (strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree) and have to give explanation. These question are related to the movie that the lecturer attempt them to watch. Here the movie is about the TB. Also, after watching the movie, another questionnaire on “The basics of the Evolution and why Evolution is so important” given to students to know what that they have learnt. The questionnaire is structured into parts:
-Learning outcome: Explanation about Natural selection and its subconcepts such as mutation, variation and differential reproduction, then the application to understand the Natural selection applied to Agriculture Medicine and Conservation.
-Question while watching the movie: the objective of the questions is to let come out the understanding of the Natural selection through the TB transmission.
TB microbes multiply and consume lung and as prisoners are smokers the
Questionnaires help to find out what the student know already. This is an appropriate in teaching for teachers to reinforce based on what their knowledge.
Reference:
Holtman LB (2000) The effects of the Laboratory on College Students’ Understanding of Evolution: Implication for Conceptual Change. Published doctoral dissertation. Available via Bell-Howell Publishers online. ISBN: 99998685
5 E Learning Cycle Model
The 5 E Learning Cycle Model has used for a lesson plan on Natural Selection. This mode of lesson implicates at the same time the learner and the teacher based on four steps:
Engagement: Object, event or question used to engage students. Connection facilitated between what students know and can do
Exploration: Object and phenomena are explored. Hands-on activities, with guidance.
Explanation: Students explain their understanding of concept and processes. New concepts and skills are introduced as conceptual clarity and cohesion are sought.
Elaboration: Activities allow students to apply concepts in contexts, and build on or extend understanding and skill.
Evaluation:Students assess their knowledge, skills and abilities. Activities permit evaluation of student development and lesson effectiveness.
In order to apply the 5 E Learning Cycle Model for teaching of the Evolution according to Jean Larmark (1809), Alfred Russel Wallace (1858) and Charles Darwin (1859), the lesson plan will be suggest as the following:
Engage: Ask students about their idea on evolution and adaptation theory. Do their think that every animal on the Earth has been adapted to the environment? Could they add to their thoughts more explanations about the way that these animal feed themselves, the way that they walk or run, moreover the shape of their body?
Explore: Watch the movie on TB.
Explain: Discussion about change of species and the growth of the number of species. Discussion about adaptation of animals.
Evaluate: Ask students to evaluate all the animals that they think have change in term of evolution and explain, according to them and some references, how these changes occurred.
Darwin's dangerous idea
The Darwinian’s theory is on Evolution of species. He examined the origin of species and found that all creatures have changed by adaptation. There must have a law of adaptation rather than extinction, because all species have descendants. The climate and geological conditions sometimes could have not change but new beings could appear on the Earth. In order to study adaptation, Darwin made a tree of life. He demonstrated that all life on the Earth comes from a single branch of tree of life (Common ancestor). Many scientific questions can come out from this theory from Darwin. How and why new species appear? This question calls the concept of Speciation. Species are selected by the nature to pass to another branch. In speciation, there are two others theories: the first theory is the Gradualism in which the Darwinian Theory focused the most. The second is based on DNA that brings the look at mutation variations and relationships.....
The Journey of Man
Where did we come from? How did we populate the World? Our DNA contains the greatest historic book never written and each of us carries a chapter. We carry secret in our blood. Lucas Cavelli was the first to realise that blood is a real tool to build a human family tree. Everyone alive must be related. Based on DNA, population genetic markers never disappear. Genographic project is looking for genetic markers in African or Australians. Therefore the Journey of Man starts with indigenous population.
How human conquered the World? It is Africa, the “human birth place” where the trip starts. In Namibian, DNA samples were collected from Bushman people. In the document this people are qualified as our “distant relatives”. Everything written in their blood is written on their faces.
Why our ancestors left Africa and travelled around the World? The change of climate, growth of desert in Africa and increase of ice in the North part of the World could be the raison of this human migration. Our ancestors went to Australia after Africa as it was the very next place for our ancestors’ journey. But how did they travel from Africa to Australia? They used the coast. Doug Williams, an archaeologist, described drawings did by Aboriginal artist showing the route took by our ancestor. A look needs to be made in India to see if there were some traces of African people to proof that our ancestors travelled through India.The more indigenous the populations are there is a chance to found evidence. DNA samples were collected from Aboriginal and Indian people. All the work was focus on the Y chromosome because this chromosome still stays the same when it is passed on to the next generation (boys). Just one spelling in the DNA composite (ATCG) proved that our ancestors passed through India.
The genetic markers showed that the way of migration after India was China. Further, who were the first Europeans? They are the Cro-Magnon people (cave men). Their paintings describe the journey of the Ice Man. The Study of the Cro-Magnon body proportion and their adaptation of dark and cold was another important focus. The skin of our ancestors was dark, and peel and depigmentation, change in nose and eyes began because of the cold.
Why they spend 10000 years to get Europe? Why they pass through central Asia to reach central Europe? The answer is the weather. Indeed, the wrong spelling in the DNA composite (ATGC) was also found in Russia. Then European divided to become the first Americans who are the Chukchi people inside the Arctic Circle. These people are short because they have to keep their body warm. They are nomads. They live where it is -20 C. The sea separating Russia to America was the barrier. But from Alaska they walked down into America continent (Native American).
The puzzle piece is put together. The Journey of the man is complete.
This document is interresting to teach student because it captivates the watcher in increasing his curiosity of the next step. In this document what we can use for teaching are:
