Learning Goals And Instructional Decisions

The objectives taught in the two parts of Biology that I am especially responsible for this summer- natural selection and the cell- are based on a division of the Biology I frameworks. Each goal is carefully defined, and students are expected to complete specific tasks or demonstrate mastery of particular skills or knowledge by the end of each lesson. For the unit on the cell, for example, students are expected to create a Venn Diagram comparing prokaryotes to eukaryotes, construct a cell out of provided materials and explain the function of each organelle included, and meet many more goals. For natural selection, students create classification guides, produce their own examples of the application of taxonomy and binomial nomenclature, identify characteristics of each kingdom, often through problem solving or inductive reasoning, and master multiple other skills and knowledge sets.

The overarching goal behind the particular objectives chosen is to encourage problem solving and student-derived solutions to science questions. Students are encouraged to build their confidence by discovering their own abilities to manipulate objects, facts, ideas, and concepts and arrive at appropriate, teacher- confirmed solutions to questions, acquiring necessary knowledge and skills in the process. The skills students are practicing, especially including articulating and writing out explanations for difficult concepts, researching, and problem-solving, are central to Biology and science as a discipline. They are more representative of science and less representative of memorization than what many students may see during the school year where they may be in large classes of students that do not lend themselves to inductive and student-centered activities.

Learning goals include verbs from various levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, including identify, apply, explain, create, construct, discover, compare, classify, and many others. Again, goals chosen are intended to encourage discovery of confidence and inspire excitement among our students, taking advantage of a rare opportunity to work closely with students who may have struggled in the past. Objectives are chosen to differentiate instruction for students who have various levels of knowledge and have different learning styles. For example, lectures with notes and pictures might work well for auditory and visual learners, but tactile learners may prefer construction activities. All required knowledge is given in lecture, and explanation is offered when a student has a question. If students are comfortable with a particular topic, that topic is discussed briefly to leave more time for others. In addition, lessons are intended to be carefully managed, with no instructional time wasted. Many objectives are taught using small student-centered activities that require short bursts of attention, each of which examines the same concept from a slightly different angle. For example, prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic cells were taught by first giving students a hand-out with two pictures of the two kinds of cells. Students had three minutes to write down similarities and differences they observed, followed by five minutes to look up definitions of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and label each cell with the appropriate title and definition. Students then shared their work verbally, and created a venn diagram that was confirmed by teacher instruction. This format prevents students from getting bored and requires them to rely on their own skills and efforts to acquire knowledge, with teacher facilitation and support. Finally, activities are designed to be engaging. Hands-on projects and varied instruction are aimed at keeping students awake and interested. Inductive strategies are used as often as possible. For example, students will use the inductive strategy of Concept Attainment when they classify different organisms on a student-generated list into various categories. The student's choices will then be compared to conventionally accepted classification systems. This allows students to realize that their ideas are valid, and to come up with solutions to the problem of classification on their own to help them remember it.