Week 11: Final reflection on the value and use of blogs in the senior Biology classroom

A weblog, or blog, is a personalized website that contains a set of personal commentaries and belongs to the class of Web 2.0 tools (Schrum et. al., 2007).  

Classroom blogging creates opportunities for students to practice their writing skills and thereby improve their scientific literacy skills (Schrum et. al., 2007). In addition, posting and commenting enables students to have their voices heard, develop a sense of voice, and understand concepts from another student’s perspective. Furthermore, it allows for collaboration, student-centred, constructive teaching and learning (Schrum et. al., 2007), differentiated instruction by using multiple learning styles (Sawmiller, 2010),  encourages critical thinking, cognitive and metacognitive skills by requiring students to actively think and process concepts taught in school (Sawmiller, 2010).  Inviting expert feedback can provide a unique educational bridge between academia and students as scientists make important experimental findings available as an accessible and interactive format, even helping students understand abstract concepts (Anthis, et al., 2008).

There are a few issues of privacy and plagiarism associated with information-sharing on the internet (DiMauro, 2009). Therefore, using blogs in a classroom requires explicit instructions, a great deal of scaffolding and, more importantly, students need to be trained to develop their metacognition (Snowman, 2009).  With writing and technology as keys for student learning in science, blogs should be fundamental in the senior biology classroom (Sawmiller, 2010).

References:

Anthis, N., Batts, S., Smith, T. (2008). Advancing Science through Conversations: Bridging the Gap between Blogs and the Academy. PLoS Biol 6(9). doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0060240

DiMauro, M. (2009). Great New Technology for Teachers : Web 2.0 Definition in the Classroom [blog entry]. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/26964.aspx

Sawmiller, A. (2010) Classroom Blogging: What is the Role in Science Learning? The Clearing House, 83, 44–48, doi: 10.1080/00098650903505456

Schrum, L., Solomon, G. (2007). Web 2.0: new tools, new schools. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ZKKQMLir_mMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Snowman, J. et al., (2009). Psychology Applied to Teaching. Milton Qld: John Wiley & Sons.

Week 10: Sample of marking guidelines and feedback on an exam-style question.

Module 9.8: The Human Story

Q: Analyse the impact of modern medicine on human evolution.  (7 marks)

Answer: Modern medicine is the contemporary science of healing by applying health science, biomedical research, and medical technology to diagnose and treat injury and disease, typically through medication. Some examples of modern medicine are vaccinations, antiseptics, antibiotics, pre-natal diagnosis, in-vitro fertilisation and birth control. The effect of all of these is reduced mortality and increased life span. For example, childbirth is no longer responsible for the death of many women. Children survive because of vaccination programs.

Biological evolution is a change to the gene pool of a population. Through the mechanism of natural selection, heritable changes may occur in populations over many generations. Modern medicine changes the possible gene pool as fewer people are dying and are no longer selected by the environment. Diseases that once acted as selecting agents are not as relevant. Genetic defects can be passed on to the next generation because many sufferers live long enough to reproduce while before they would have died at an earlier age. These genes therefore stay in the gene pool and are not eliminated. For example, a form of eye cancer in young children, known as retinoblastoma, is a rare disease.  Prior to the development of surgical procedures to treat this cancer, it was virtually always fatal.  Its victims died before they could pass it on to another generation.  With adequate treatment, 70% of the patients can now survive retinoblastoma and can transmit it to at least 50% of their offspring. 

Marking guidelines:

Outcomes assessed: H8, Bands 6

Criteria	Marks
·      Defines modern medicine and evolution ·      Provides examples of modern medicine and evolution ·      Names 2 effects of modern medicine ·      Relates the implications of modern medicine on evolution	6-7
·      Defines modern medicine and evolution ·      Names 2 effects of modern medicine ·      Relates the implications of modern medicine on evolution	4-5
·      Defines modern medicine and/or evolution ·      Names 2 effects of modern medicine	2-3
·      Provides some relevant information	1

Feedback

Begin an answer by identifying and defining components. For example, Evolution is.......

Provide examples to support arguments.

The key to an analysis is drawing out the relationship between the components.

Reference

Biology Stage 6 Syllabus. NSW: Board of studies. Retrieved  from  http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/biology-st6-syl-from2010.pdf