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

Blog 9: The value of mapping skills and outcomes in terms of assessment.

What are outcomes and skills?

Each core module in the Stage 6 syllabus includes content through which the outcomes can be achieved. The outcomes are the intended results of teaching. They include the Prescribed Focus Areas and Domain: knowledge and understanding, skills, values.

Skills in stage 6 syllabus involve further development of the skills students have developed in Stages 4 and 5 and focus on continually increasing students’ expertise in:

•             planning investigations

•             conducting investigations

•             communicating information and understanding

•             developing scientific thinking and problem-solving techniques

•             working individually and in teams.

The HSC skills content module 9.1 further develops the content in the Preliminary course skills module 8.1.

What are assessments?

The purpose of an assessment is to gather and interpret information about the progress of students’ learning. The marks from these assessments are then compared to predetermined standards of performance, which are the bands in the stage 6 syllabus. Therefore, marks have meaning. To make these marks more meaningful, it is essential to supplement assessment marks with feedback.

In order to gather information and form an image that captures what students know and can do, it is necessary to have a range of assessment tasks. Students have different strengths; therefore, having a range of assessments will allow different strengths to be assessed. Assessments can be a research-based task, a practical activity, multiple choice, short answers, blogs etc.

How are outcomes and assessments linked?

Assessment tasks need to be linked to outcomes and skills to ensure that students have understood what is being tested for. An important prerequisite to assessment tasks are to

1)      know what is really meant by the outcome and what the achievement of the outcome looks like.

2)      map the skills to the dot point dot points to know how many times students will be able to practice a skill after it is modelled and deconstructed.

How is this done?

An effective assessment task begins with mapping the skills and outcomes before even planning to teach any module, i.e. at the start of the academic year. The first step is to match the column 2 dot points with the column 3 skills for each module followed by filling in the skills mapping grid. A format of the skills mapping grid has been provided in the Board of studies website. To help with the number, types, dates and percentage of assessment tasks, a scope and sequence must be drawn up prior to the academic year.  

Once mapped, each module must be taught keeping in mind the assessment task at the end of the topic or term for that matter.

What is the value of mapping skills and outcomes in terms of assessment?

Assessments should focus on learning outcomes that are of greatest value to students so that teaching and learning address these outcomes. There exists an interactive relationship between teaching, learning and assessments; therefore, mapping skills and outcomes of the syllabus is important to retain this relationship and facilitate the continuum of learning. To do this, assessment must be embedded within the teaching and learning process.  Hence, a teacher needs to teach bearing in mind the outcomes and the assessment tasks linked to these outcomes, develop valid assessment tasks, apply judgements thoughtfully and consistently, and give and gather meaningful feedback to both students and teachers from the assessment.

Module 9.7 Option — Genetics: The Code Broken?

The module 9.7 has the following outcomes:

H1, H4, H5, H9, H11, H12, H13, H14, and could also involve H16

The module 9.7 has the following skills:

11.3a, 12.1a, 12.4e, 14.2a, 12.4f, 12.4b, 12.1b, 12.4e, 12.4e, 14.1g, 12.4f, 14.1h, 13.1b, 14.1g, 14.3d, 11.1a, 11.3c, 12.3c, 12.4c, 14.1c, 11.1a, 12.3d, 12.4e, 14.1b, 14.3b

This module has several abstract concepts and requires a higher-level of cognitive processing. As seen from the mapping, it also has a repetition of the skills, ‘process information from secondary sources and analyse information from secondary sources’. Hence, I would use the scope and sequence and the skills mapping grid to plan my academic year in such a way the skills that involve analysis of information from secondary sources have been modelled, deconstructed and practiced before I teach this module to plan an effective assessment task.  It would also allow me to know exactly what skills I have taught and to what extent (modelled, deconstructed and practiced), and for which skill the student needs to improve upon.

References:

Board of Studies. (2009). Science Stage 6 Revised support document. NSW: Board of studies. Retrieved from http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/biology.html

Board of Studies. (2009). 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

Dawson, V., Venville, G. (2004). The art of teaching science. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen and Unwin.

Week 8: Using STANSW Young Scientist Awards to assist teachers and students with open-ended investigations and apply holistic marking criteria.

What is STANSW?

The STANSW is project run by the Science Teachers' Association of New South Wales (STANSW) to encourage students to undertake and present an authentic scientific investigation.

The first level of judging the Young Scientist Awards takes place in schools, followed by the best entries from the schools sent to the state.

The major winning entries of the Young Scientist Awards will be forwarded to the BHP Billiton Science Awards.

The criteria

Students in NSW schools carry out scientific investigations as part of their school’s science program in line with the NSW Board of Studies K-12 science syllabuses. The Young Scientist categories and judging rubrics are designed to support the investigation elements of these syllabuses.

I was given the opportunity to judge Chemistry, year 10-12.

The judging was based on the following criteria: (Note: a level 4 project will have met all the criteria mentioned below)

·         described the purpose of the investigation

This means that the student conducted a valid scientific investigation. Note, the word valid refers to whether the investigation answers the aim. Therefore, to begin with, the investigation should contain an aim and  hypothesis.

·         were creative in the selection of the subject for investigation or in the methodology

How creative/innovative the investigation is with respect to its approach, content, methodology or communication.

·         analysed prior research in the area selected for the investigation

Includes background information that is relevant. Here, the assessor needs to look at the kind of resources used, books, websites etc. and assess its reliability.

·          designed a scientific investigation using safe, reliable and valid procedures

Is the investigation fair? Has the student been able to identify variables and controls? Has the student used test trials?

·         conducted the investigation efficiently by working scientifically, recording results appropriately

Have the observation been recorded in a systematic manner with correct units?

·         demonstrated knowledge and understanding of science content linked directly to the investigation

The use of scientific principles and ideas in relation to an understanding of the investigation. This includes extensive and correct use of scientific terms.

·         justified the appropriateness of the procedure including the choice/s of technology

For a very good project that I was assessing, what helped me decide what level it belonged to, apart from the rubric, was the NSW glossary of keywords. I was able to decide if the student really justified the appropriateness of the procedure.

·         analysed the evidence gathered to assess the validity of the conclusion

Uses critical thinking skills to synthesis information and justify the conclusion.

                          For this criterion, I referred to the NSW glossary of keywords once again for the definition of the word ‘analyse.’ This helped me understand whether the student was able to Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications or evaluated with clear and concise explanations using scientific models.

·         communicated the investigation and understanding successfully using appropriate language.

The communication is convincing through clear, consistent and meaningful use of language appropriate to the purpose and audience.

·         evaluated the investigation, discussing alternatives and modifications.

Creative and worthwhile directions for future research have been succinctly suggested.

Apart from the above criteria, the assessors also had to look at whether

·         The investigation was conducted within an appropriate time frame.

·         The presence or absence of a log book.

·         Ethical issues and issues concerning animals.

Holistic marking: an acquired skill! And its implications

Holistic marking is a technique that rests on the assumption that trained markers will respond to a piece of work in the same way if they are given a set of characteristics to guide them. A set of criteria, generally in the form of a marking rubric assist markers to assess writing ability at different levels and then a single mark is given, which is different from analytic marking wherein each element is assessed separately against a marking rubric. Holistic marking has the advantages of being quick and reliable if done by more than one trained markers in ample time. This type of marking allows appreciation of a students work as a whole, so that students are not disadvantaged by small mistakes. In addition, the list of encouraging comments and suggestions for improvements reinforced this quality.

This made it difficult at first to judge the projects. Some of the projects were of an extremely high standard in terms of analysis and content. Some of them demonstrated extremely creative ideas. It was initially difficult to categorise the projects despite the marking rubric as each project was unique and contained some element or the other that stood out. However, after reading a few projects and consulting my colleagues and senior assessors, I was able to gain an understanding of what the assessing required. Making a note of the criteria while marking helped me to have a reference when making the final call.

Benefits to teachers

The opportunity to assess scientific investigations provides teachers with valuable resources and professional learning opportunities. The collaboration during the training gave me an opportunity to get trained and experienced teacher’s perspectives on marking and quality. Furthermore, I am more aware of what goes in to about with planning and conducting first hand investigations at a stage 6 level. I was also able to network with professionals in the field.

Comparing it to MyScience

The ‘MyScience’ mentoring program enables us to interact with primary students to gain an understanding of the level of knowledge and skills that they possess. For my experience, we lacked the expertise on how to develop the skills that these students bring to them to the STANSW competition. From the STANSW marking experience, it is evident that these investigation writing and analysing skills should be fostered at a primary stage.

Module 9.6: Biotechnology

The biotechnology arena in the stage 6 syllabus offers a plethora of information on the applications of biotechnology. One idea that I found that could be extended to a scientific investigation for STANSW was

-Developing a natural homemade fertiliser to replace chemical ones.

References:

STANSW Young Scientist . (2011). Retrieved from http://www.stansw.asn.au/ys/pdf/ys_AssessmentCriteriaAndRubrics_10_12.pdf

Milanovic, M. Saville, N. (2009).Performance testing, cognition,and assessment. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=q82vhSnA3jwC&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=what+is+holistic+marking&source=bl&ots=Im3j98n4vr&sig=LsoRnwb5dPEezqAhl4zqGWphc_w&hl=en&ei=sIF1Tqv3D4bFmAXUrIjxDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Week 7: Web resources for practical activities linked to syllabus

Module: 9.5 Communication

Dot point: plan, choose equipment or resources and perform a first-hand investigation of a mammalian eye to gather first-hand data to relate structures to functions

This links in with the column 2 dot point: describe the anatomy and function of the human eye, including the:

–        conjunctiva

–        cornea

–        sclera

–        choroid

–        retina

–        iris

–        lens

–        aqueous and vitreous humor

–        ciliary body

–        optic nerve

Web site: http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/step01.html

Exploratorium, Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception, San Francisco, California, USA

Benefits: This website provides a pictorial guide to dissection of a cow eye. It also has a video clip on the same.

The video explains the rationale for selecting a cow eye. The fact that a cow eye is similar in structure to a human eye makes it easy for student to link column 2 with column 3. It provides a detailed explanation on muscles and control of movements.

I prefer the pictorial guide because:

-It is structured in a logical sequence

-It provides additional definitions via the hyperlinks

-It is succinct yet detailed

The website also provides a printable ‘Step-by-Step Instructions’ on cow-eye dissection with a glossary of key words attached.  This printable guide does provide safety information.

In addition, I find the eye diagram very useful. I would show it to the students as a summary once they have finished the dissection. Furthermore, unlabelled, I could use it as a formative assessment.            

Concerns and Implications: I would begin my lesson by showing the students the video clips, to get them acquainted with the eye and dissection protocol initially.

At this point, I would also give them a worksheet with 2 columns, structure and function, and ask them to fill it up as they watch the video. For example,

Structure	Function
Cornea
	Controls the amount of light that enters the pupil
Sclera
	The bundle of nerve fibres that carry information from the retina to the brain

I am concerned that both the video and the pictorial guide fail to address the safety measures other than the use of gloves, which was not practiced anyway. In fact, the pictures are evidently examples of bad lab practice since the person is not wearing gloves. Therefore, I could take advantage of this situation and discuss the safety measures related to this investigation. I would then put up the pictorial guide for their reference.

Website 2: http://www.forgefx.com/casestudies/prenticehall/ph/cow-eye/cow-eye.htm

ForgeFX is a simulation and real-time 3D software development company based in San Francisco, California. They offer to create simulation software for various projects.

Benefits:

This website provides a 3D immersive learning simulation of the structure and functions of the eye as well as a 3D simulation of the dissection of a cow's eye to enable students to understand the structure of the eye and its function

Students are able to conduct a virtual dissection of a cow's eye in 3D, and take control of the level of light the eye is receiving, as well the distance of an object the eye is looking at, in order to see how the different structures of the eye react to the changes in the environment, which, in my opinion, offers a greater depth of understanding towards the structure and functions.

I found the simulation on this website brings to live the eye’s structure and its related functions. By clicking on the various structures of the eye, the corresponding structure on the diagram is highlighted. The fact that you can control the level of light, distance of an object and turn the entire eye towards the right or left provides a good understanding of the eye. This website does reinforce the function of each structure of the eye and is a great learning tool to assist with other resources.

Concerns and Implications:

This website does not provide a detailed protocol on how to dissect an eye. Although the ‘examining a Cow’s eye’ offers a 3D dissection, it is meant to be three dimensional and cannot be used as a guide to dissection alone. Furthermore, it does not discuss the safety measures. Therefore I would use it with additional resources, such as the one mentioned above. The 3D dissection does have some questions at the top right hand corner; however these seem to be all ‘what’ questions. Relating structures to functions would require an analysis of the eye. Questions that initiate higher-order thinking instead of the ‘what’ questions would greatly benefit the outcome. Therefore, I would have to create worksheets that contain higher-order questions and require students to apply their knowledge in addition to viewing this website.

References

Board of Studies. (2009). 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

Exploratorium, Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/step01.html

ForgeFX Simulations. (2011) .Retrieved from http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/step01.html

Week 6: Evaluating web sites

Evaluation means making a judgement based on criteria or determining the value of something. The Berkley website provides criteria which allows the evaluation of a website in a logical and systematic way.

Evaluating websites requires careful consideration of a number of factors. The 2 main factors are validity and reliability.  

In order to assess the validity of a web page, you need to consider the

Authority – who authored the article?

Content – does it answer your question? Is it relevant to your research?

In order to assess the reliability of a web page you need to verify that it is the same information that has been published by other valid sources, at least three.

Dot point: Gather process and analyse information from secondary sources to describe ways in which drinking water can be treated and use available evidence to explain how these methods reduce the risk of infection from pathogens

Web site: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/publichealth/environment/water/index.asp

Evaluation:

1)    The URL

·         It is not someone’s personal page because it lacks the tidle/percentage sign, a personal name or the words users etc.

The server is government domain .’

·         This is a government site. The domain name .gov is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet.

The name is derived from government, indicating its restricted use by government entities.

The fact that it has ‘.au’ in its URL indicates that this is an Australian website.

2)    Scanning the perimeter

·         www.health.nsw.gov.au is the publisher. I have heard of this entity and the URL is a legitimate page of the state’s department of health website. This corresponds to the name of the site.

·          The NSW government is responsible for the website. They have a several tabs ‘Home,’ ‘about us’ etc. which makes it a genuine site. It also has a ‘contact us’ tab which provides a list of postal addresses, phone numbers, fax. Although it has not listed any ‘last updated’ information, there is a recent article dated August 8, 2011. This makes it up-to-date.

·         The NSW department of health is certainly qualified to write on this topic. I cannot think of a more legitimate source of information for the topic.

3)    Indicators of quality information

·         On the right hand side of this website are links to other government websites on water treatment, such as Australian Water Association, Water Services Association of Australia, Local Government and Shires Association of NSW etc. All the links work, open up on a new page and are well organised.

·         The information provided on the website is authentic and since this is a government website with high security, the information cannot be retyped or tampered with. Permissions to reproduce and copyright information have been provided in the website and are subject to the operation of the Copyright Act 1968.

·         The website gets its information from various corporations and authorities, all of which have links to their own websites and work. These other websites have similar information making this website reliable.

4)    Reviews

·         There are links to other resources on the topic. In fact, there is a very article ‘NSW Health Response Protocol: for the management of microbiological quality of drinking water’ for the dot point in the Biology syllabus.

·         According to the reputation by website alexa.com, the Nsw.gov.au website shows the following details:

-Traffic details: 3,869 in the world and 44 in Australia.

- It belongs to the “Government” category of sites

- 74% of the site's visitors are in Australia

-20,294 sites link in to the page.

5)    Conclusion

·         This website is meant to provide information and facts on all areas of water quality, drinking water, recreational and swimming pool water, waste water and sewage. I would recommend this website and advocate it more than books and other resources because of its credibility as an official government website. Considering this is an Australian website with Australian information, students will be able to relate to it. The limitations that I came across were that the information was very vast and would require some amount of time. Therefore the teacher would have to scaffold a set of guidelines for the students. If students need a broader perspective, one that is not confined to NSW, then another website would have to be accessed. On the whole, I find this a good website after evaluating it using the criteria given in the Berkley website.

References:

NSW Government. (2011). Water Quality. Retrieved from http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/publichealth/environment/water/index.asp

Board of Studies. (2009). 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

Uc Berkley. (2010). Evaluating web pages: techniques to apply & questions to ask. Retrieved from: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/teachinglib/guides/internet/evaluate.html