The development of a bioenergy-based green chemistry curriculum for high schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Kohn
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Chemistry Curriculum ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Federal Research ◽  
Science Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Effective Science ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Research Facilities

Abstract The Next-Generation Science Standards represent a major shift from learning science content to preparing students to become scientifically literate through inquiry and investigation. This article summarizes the unique opportunities available to develop a biotechnology laboratory course on biofuels that heavily emphasizes scientific practices in a high-school agriscience department in Wisconsin. Through collaborations with universities, federal research facilities, and the surrounding community, students were able to engage in rigorous learning experiences in a sociocultural setting in a manner that maximized their preparation for college and sustainable careers. This example also highlights how effective science teacher professional development and collaboration can allow for improved instructional opportunities in science education while also enabling positive contributions to ongoing scientific research.

Use of Crime Scene Investigations in Anatomy and Physiology: Potential for Going Beyond Knowing in NGSS Dimensions

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine L. Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Twelfth Grade ◽  
K 12

To create and implement meaningful tasks that go beyond the cognitive processes of understanding and that integrate all three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is challenging for both educators and curriculum makers. This issue is compounded when considering a content-rich biology course such as anatomy and physiology that requires first familiarity and understanding before engagement in higher-order thinking. The use of crime scene investigations that encourages students to examine evidence even as they learn specific biology concepts can encourage meaning making about scientific practices and science content. This paper deconstructs the implementation of a crime scene investigation titled the “Jewel Heist,” created by the New York Hall of Science and implemented in twelfth-grade anatomy and physiology classes in a diverse urban high school in the northeastern United States. The NGSS, the Framework for K-12 Science Education, along with Bloom's taxonomy and Krathwohl's revisions, are implicated in this process.

The Seeing of Self and Society in Science

2019 ◽  
pp. 141-158
Author(s):  
Christine Anne Royce
Keyword(s):  
Language Arts ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
English Language ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Trade Books ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
The People ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
Engineering Practices

This chapter presents strategies for integrating selected practices from the English Language Arts Common Core Standards and the scientific and engineering practices from the Next Generation Science Standards through the use of historical narratives and biographies. The use of trade books as information sources provides avenues which allow students to make connections to the people and places of science. Through selected texts such as Chasing Space, Hidden Figures, and topics such as Typhoid Mary, students engage in examining science content, the lives of scientists, and the history and nature of science. Reading purposes, learning vocabulary in context, viewing narratives from different perspectives, and making personal connections are strategies discussed and modeled through current books. Teachers are provided with strategies to engage the reader, suggested activities for each area, and recommendations on how to utilize trade books within the classroom.

scholarly journals Demonstrating the Role of Osmosis in Diabetes Using Growing Spheres

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (7) ◽  
pp. 494-497
Author(s):  
Lily Apedaile
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Instructional Material ◽  
Next Generation Science Standards ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Hands On ◽  
School Classroom ◽  
High School Classroom ◽  
Biology Lab

“Hands-on inquiry” has become a buzzword in science education but does not have an exact definition for most practitioners. This leads to many different ideas of what inquiry should look like in the classroom, and researchers have discovered that just doing hands-on activities does not lead to deeper understanding. This is why it is important to incorporate the scientific practices of the Next Generation Science Standards into activities in the classroom, particularly designing an investigation and analyzing data. A new twist on a classic high school biology lab demonstrates how students can design and analyze their scientific investigation to draw conclusions and apply their new understanding to the human body. This activity also demonstrates how teachers can incorporate instructional material into an inquiry activity, since time constraints are a particular concern in the high school classroom.

Why Engaging in the Practices of Science Is Not Enough to Achieve Scientific Literacy

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 370-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy R. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Next Generation Science Standards ◽  
Habits Of Mind ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Effective Science ◽  
Culture Of Science ◽  
K 12

The National Research Council's Framework for K–12 Science Education and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards call for engaging students in the practices of science to develop scientific literacy. While these documents make the connections between scientific knowledge and practices explicit, very little attention is given to the shared values and commitments of the scientific community that underlie these practices and give them meaning. I argue that effective science education should engage students in the practices of science while also reflecting on the values, commitments, and habits of mind that have led to the practices of modern science and that give them meaning. The concept of methodological naturalism demonstrates the connection between the values and commitments of the culture of science and its practices and provides a useful lens for understanding the benefits and limitations of scientific knowledge.

Algorithms, Abstractions, and Iterations: Teaching Computational Thinking Using Protein Synthesis Translation

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Peel ◽  
Patricia Friedrichsen
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Problem Solving Environment ◽  
Extension Activity ◽  
Computational Problem Solving

One of the eight Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) scientific practices is using mathematics and computational thinking (CT). CT is not merely a data analysis tool, but also a problem-solving tool. By utilizing computing concepts, people can sequentially and logically solve complex science and engineering problems. In this article, we share a successful lesson using protein synthesis to teach CT. This lesson focuses primarily on modeling and simulation practices with an extension activity focusing on the computational problem-solving practices of CT. We identify and define five CT concepts within the aforementioned practices that form the foundation of CT: algorithm, abstraction, iteration, branching, and variable. In this lesson, we utilize a game to familiarize students with CT basics, and then use their new CT foundation to design, construct, and evaluate algorithms within the context of protein synthesis. As an optional extension to the lesson, students enter the problem-solving environment to create a program that translates mRNA triplet codons to an amino acid chain. We argue that biology classrooms are ideal contexts for CT learning because biological processes function as a system, and understanding how the system functions requires algorithmic thinking and problem-solving skills.

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