Biology

The rapid and unexpected nature of the move to online instruction has meant that the content presented to students has been primarily static and linear. Thus, there is a need for creative pedagogical approaches that re-create some level of the laboratory experience. One economical and accessible approach to building an interactive lab experience is making web-based interactive slides. In the virtual spaces created by this approach, students can explore different modalities of content in a nonlinear and asynchronous manner.

This study investigated how newcomer emergent bilinguals made meaning in two 9th-grade biology classrooms. Methods relevant to naturalistic inquiry were used to collect and analyze data. Findings indicate that newcomers bridged aspects of personal experiences with social competencies valued in classrooms through using heritage languages, engaging as brokers and collaborators, and attempting to realize goals of learning English and content simultaneously. Findings also show that misalignments between social competence and personal experience constrained meaning-making. This study illustrates a need for activities that reflect and expand newcomer resources and experiences, and for activities that can take shape through student participation.

The Deep Structure Modeling (DSM) project addresses the pressing need to more effectively organize science teaching and learning around “big ideas” that run through disciplines. Big ideas are important tools for learning because they enable students to organize and link information within a consistent knowledge framework. The project includes a freely available two-week unit on teaching cellular respiration by modeling the big idea of energy.

The Deep Structure Modeling (DSM) project addresses the pressing need to more effectively organize science teaching and learning around “big ideas” that run through disciplines. Big ideas are important tools for learning because they enable students to organize and link information within a consistent knowledge framework. The project includes a freely available two-week unit on teaching cellular respiration by modeling the big idea of energy.

A set of NGSS-aligned investigations for each discipline (physics, chemistry, biology) designed to introduce and scaffold engagement in science practices and build an understanding of the interplay between experimental design, data collection, analysis, and explanation. In the process of investigating their world, students generate data using traditional lab tools, sensors, and simulations, then bring their data into our Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP), which was developed specifically to facilitate sensemaking with data.

Connected Biology provides a sequence of lessons for high school biology that fosters integrated learning of genetics and evolution. This novel curriculum is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations and supports students’ development of a model of the relationships between molecules, cells, organisms, and populations. The curriculum package includes online lessons, an interactive Teacher’s Edition, and a real-time Teacher Dashboard. Additional background materials and supplemental resources are also provided.

Connected Biology provides a sequence of lessons for high school biology that fosters integrated learning of genetics and evolution. This novel curriculum is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations and supports students’ development of a model of the relationships between molecules, cells, organisms, and populations. The curriculum package includes online lessons, an interactive Teacher’s Edition, and a real-time Teacher Dashboard. Additional background materials and supplemental resources are also provided.

"Evolution: DNA and the Unity of Life" is an eight-week, comprehensive curriculum unit that sharply illuminates the underlying role of genetics in evolution by maintaining a conceptual connection to DNA and heredity throughout.