A case for project based learning to enact semantic waves: towards cumulative knowledge building

ABSTRACT

First-year undergraduate curricula and their delivery should assist students in the transition from previous learning experiences to learning in higher education. However, the so-called articulation gap or discontinuity between secondary and higher education has been identified as a key structural curriculum problem for first-year success in South Africa and abroad. Valuable insights into this problem came from a recent study that drew on Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Findings revealed an unexpectedly wide gap between the high school and the university biology curricula. The high school biology curriculum displays minimal movement between context-dependent, simpler meaning and relatively decontextualized, condensed meaning common in first-year biology. LCT Semantics was also found to be a valuable tool for restructuring curricula and pedagogy to intentionally enact semantic movement and thereby a more gradual transition for students from high school to university. This paper reports on an integrative first-year biology project aimed intentionally at taking students’ concept knowledge through a wide contextual range, and repeatedly between less and more complex meaning. I reflect on how the project design steers students towards creating semantic movement during their presentations, thereby contributing to cumulative knowledge building and a more gradual transition towards first-year epistemological access.     

Differences in Curriculum Structure between High School and University Biology: The Implications for Epistemological Access

Despite doing well in biology at high school, some students struggle with the same subject at university level. This can have implications for epistemological access - access to knowledge that allows students to remain at university. Therefore, it is important to identify factors that may be causing this problem. We propose that one such factor may be differences in the structure of knowledge between the two levels. Therefore, this paper will assess some of the differences in the structuring of knowledge that exist between a high school and a university biology curriculum. To do this, a section of a high school and a university textbook which cover the same topic will be analysed using one aspect of Legitimation Code Theory called Semantics. Our findings suggest that there is a mismatch between the semantic range students are expected to navigate at university and that demanded by high school biology, and that this may pose a stumbling block to students gaining epistemological access to first-year study at university. If this is indeed the case, then pedagogic interventions which explicitly address this may contribute to improving undergraduate student retention and throughput rates at university.     

A first attempt to bring computational biology into advanced high school biology classrooms

Computer science has become ubiquitous in many areas of biological research, yet most high school and even college students are unaware of this. As a result, many college biology majors graduate without adequate computational skills for contemporary fields of biology. The absence of a computational element in secondary school biology classrooms is of growing concern to the computational biology community and biology teachers who would like to acquaint their students with updated approaches in the discipline. We present a first attempt to correct this absence by introducing a computational biology element to teach genetic evolution into advanced biology classes in two local high schools. Our primary goal was to show students how computation is used in biology and why a basic understanding of computation is necessary for research in many fields of biology. This curriculum is intended to be taught by a computational biologist who has worked with a high school advanced biology teacher to adapt the unit for his/her classroom, but a motivated high school teacher comfortable with mathematics and computing may be able to teach this alone. In this paper, we present our curriculum, which takes into consideration the constraints of the required curriculum, and discuss our experiences teaching it. We describe the successes and challenges we encountered while bringing this unit to high school students, discuss how we addressed these challenges, and make suggestions for future versions of this curriculum.We believe that our curriculum can be a valuable seed for further development of computational activities aimed at high school biology students. Further, our experiences may be of value to others teaching computational biology at this level. Our curriculum can be obtained at http://ecsite.cs.colorado.edu/?page_id=149#biology or by contacting the authors.     

Evolution and Medicine: An Inquiry-Based High School Curriculum Supplement

Evolution and Medicine is a curriculum supplement designed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) for high school students. The supplement is freely available from NIH’s Office of Science Education (OSE) as a part of the NIH curriculum supplement series. Development of the supplement was a collaborative effort that included input from a panel of experts in medicine, evolution, education, and educational technology. In total, the curriculum supplement includes five inquiry-based lessons that are integrated into the BSCS 5E instructional model (based on constructivist learning theory). The goal was to develop a 2-week curriculum to help students understand major concepts of evolution using the dynamic, modern, and relevant context of medicine. A diverse group of students and teachers across the US participated in a formative evaluation of a field test version of the curriculum. High school students made significant learning gains from pretest to posttest, with a relatively large effect size for student understanding of common ancestry and a relatively small effect size for student understanding of natural selection. There was no statistically significant difference in achievement gains between white students and all other racial/ethnic categories. Overall, the evaluation suggests that a curriculum that emphasizes the role of evolution in medicine, uses a constructivist instructional model, and is grounded in inquiry is relatively well-received by teachers and students and shows promise for increasing student learning in evolution.     

Homology: Why We Know a Whale Is Not a Fish

Homology is a fundamental concept in comparative and evolutionary biology and yet often the focus of antievolution challenges. In describing structural similarity that is the result of common ancestry, hypotheses about homology require rigorous testing and form the basis for making predictions about anatomy and physiology as well as the fossil record. Communicating the basics of homology to students is essential for a high school biology curriculum.     

面向中学生物教育的高师遗传学教学改革

遗传学知识,在中学生物教学中占有较大比重,随着中学新课改的实施,生物教材在教学内容上也有了一些变化。为使高师院校的遗传学教学适应中学生物教学的需要以及高师院校对师范生的培养要求,作者对遗传学教学内容进行了改革,使其与中学生物教学内容和特点紧密结合,同时在遗传学教学中渗透了对学生生物教学技能的培养。     

“活动导学、自主互助”教学模式在中学生物教学中的初探

推进课程改革的关键是实现课堂教学的高效,而高效课堂来自于课堂教学过程中师生双方主观能动性的充分发挥,通过教师课前设计学生学习活动方案(活动单),学生在课堂上开展"自主学习、活动探究"式学习,可以实现教师的主导性和突出学生的主体地位。通过实施"活动导学、自主互助"课堂教学模式,取得了一点认识,希望能为当前普通高中生物课堂教学改革提供一点借鉴。     

Butterflies & wild bees: biology teachers’ PCK development through citizen science*

Citizen science is a rapidly growing emerging field in science and it is gaining importance in education. Therefore, this study was conducted to document the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of biology teachers who participated in a citizen science project involving observation of wild bees and identification of butterflies. In this paper, knowledge about how these biological methods can be taught to students is presented. After two years in the project, four teachers were interviewed and their PCK was captured in the form of content representations (CoRes) and Pedagogical and Professional-Experience Repertoires (PaP-eRs). These results can help future citizen science projects to link their activities to the school curriculum. But not only success can be reported: although one of the project team’s aims was to make the Nature of Science accessible to the teachers and students in the course of the project, the teachers did not take this aspect into account. This paper discusses the possible reasons and proposes various strategies for improving citizen science in the context of school biology learning.     

An innovative biology course for first-year university students in Australia

The course ‘Biology of Mankind’ was introduced into the University of New South Wales for first-year students from any faculty wishing to take biology. All students, regardless of their previous background in biology or their reasons for taking the course, followed the same syllabus. Biological principles were taught in the context of the evolution of man in relation to his environment; the importance of scientific methods for the study of these interactions was emphasized. At the beginning of their university studies students were introduced to the relevance of biology for an understanding of many related disciplines. The course represented an educational innovation in both content and teaching methods. It sought to develop some independence in student learning as preparation for subsequent years. The development of the course and its evaluation over a three-year period are reviewed.     

Teaching human genetics in biochemistry by computer literature searching.

We describe a new user-intense-learning experience that incorporates the teaching of clinical and research applications of human genetics in biochemistry while training first-year medical students to develop skills in computer access to the literature. Human genetics was incorporated into the biochemistry curriculum by providing each student with experience in on-line literature searching in MEDLINE, using Grateful Med, in order to write an abstract about a specific inherited biochemical disorder. We stressed the need for the students to obtain current information in order to understand and interpret the rapidly changing field of human genetics. We taught the students that the most efficient method of obtaining such information was by searching the medical literature via computer.     

University Evolution Education: The Effect of Evolution Instruction on Biology Majors�� Content Knowledge, Attitude Toward Evolution, and Theistic Position

Issues regarding understanding of evolution and resistance to evolution education in the United States are of key importance to biology educators at all levels. While research has measured student views toward evolution at single points in time, few studies have been published investigating whether views of college seniors are any different than first-year students in the same degree program. Additionally, students choosing to major in biological sciences have largely been overlooked, as if their acceptance of evolution is assumed. This study investigated the understanding of evolution and attitude toward evolution held by students majoring in biological science during their first and fourth years in a public research university. Participants included students in a first-year introductory biology course intended for biological science majors and graduating seniors earning degrees in either biology or genetics. The portion of the survey reported here consisted of quantitative measures of students’ understanding of core concepts of evolution and their attitude toward evolution. The results indicate that students’ understanding of particular evolutionary concepts is significantly higher among seniors, but their attitude toward evolution is only slightly improved compared to their first-year student peers. When comparing first-year students and seniors, students’ theistic position was not significantly different.     

The Mathematical Basis of Mendelian Genetics

In a climate where increasing numbers of students are encouraged to pursue post-secondary education, the level of preparedness students have for college-level coursework is not far from the minds of all educators, especially high school teachers. Specifically within the biological sciences, introductory biology classes often serve as the gatekeeper or a pre-requisite for subsequent coursework in those fields and pre-professional programmes (eg pre-medicine or pre-veterinarian). Thus, how helpful high school science and mathematics experiences are in preparing students for their introductory biology classes is important and relevant for teachers, science educators and policy makers alike. This quantitative study looked at the association between students' high school science and mathematics experiences with introductory college biology performance. Using a nationally representative sample of US students (n?=?2667) enrolled in 33 introductory college biology courses, a multi-level statistical model was developed to analyse the association between high school educational experiences and the final course grade in introductory biology courses. Advanced high school science and mathematics coursework, an emphasis on a deep conceptual understanding of biology concepts and a prior knowledge of concepts addressed in well-structured laboratory investigations are all positively associated with students' achievement in introductory college biology.     

Educational Malpractice: The Impact of Including Creationism in High School Biology Courses

College students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included creationism were significantly more likely to invoke creationism-based answers on questions derived from the Material Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument than were students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included evolution but not creationism. On average, students who were taught neither evolution nor creationism in their high school biology courses exhibited intermediary responses on the MATE instrument. These results suggest that (1) high school teachers’ treatments of evolution and creationism have a lasting impact and (2) the inclusion of creationism in high school biology courses increases the probability that students accept creationism and reject evolution when they arrive at college. These results are discussed relative to the impact of high school biology courses on students’ subsequent acceptance of evolution and creationism.     

The Productivity of the Scots Heather (Calluna vulgaris) in the Calluna-Ulex minor Complex of Ashdown Forest,Sussex

A radically different approach to experimental work has been adopted in a first-year biology course at Macquarie University. Since 1967 students have done about one-third of their practical work at home. This paper indicates how the home experiment approach is now implemented with about 200 students of widely differing backgrounds. The essential features of this approach are identified and attention is drawn to the fact that home experiments, properly managed, can overcome many of the shortcomings of conventional first-year biology courses.     

The ability of A-level students to name plants

he ability of A level students to recognise and name common wild flowers was shown to be very poor. Traineeteachers performed little better and nearly a third of the practising A-level biology teachers tested were able toname only three or fewer wild flowers.

Although opportunities exist at primary level for children to learn about the environment, most enter sec-ondary school with a poor knowledge of the organisms around them, particularly plants. At secondary level thedecrease in the importance of whole organism biology in the curriculum, declining opportunities for fieldworkand the concentration of A-level fieldwork on techniques and course assessment allow little time for training inidentification skills. Many A-level students feel that being able to recognise and name organisms is not important. In teaching students to be responsible citizens and to care about their environment, a knowledge of atleast the common organisms around them is vital.Initiatives are needed to engage the interest of primaryschool children and to provide more opportunities for fieldwork at secondary level, including time to teach students to recognise organisms. Training for teachers would be valuable and the role of organisations outside formal education in educating the wider public is also recognised.     

Do-it-yourself biology: challenges and promises for an open science and technology movement

The do-it-yourself biology (DIYbio) community is emerging as a movement that fosters open access to resources permitting modern molecular biology, and synthetic biology among others. It promises in particular to be a source of cheaper and simpler solutions for environmental monitoring, personal diagnostic and the use of biomaterials. The successful growth of a global community of DIYbio practitioners will depend largely on enabling safe access to state-of-the-art molecular biology tools and resources. In this paper we analyze the rise of DIYbio, its community, its material resources and its applications. We look at the current projects developed for the international genetically engineered machine competition in order to get a sense of what amateur biologists can potentially create in their community laboratories over the coming years. We also show why and how the DIYbio community, in the context of a global governance development, is putting in place a safety/ethical framework for guarantying the pursuit of its activity. And finally we argue that the global spread of DIY biology potentially reconfigures and opens up access to biological information and laboratory equipment and that, therefore, it can foster new practices and transversal collaborations between professional scientists and amateurs.     

Recontextualising Cellular Respiration in Upper Secondary Biology Education. Characteristics and Practicability of a Learning and Teaching Strategy

Since concepts may have different meanings in different contexts, students have to learn to recontextualise them, i.e. to adapt their meanings to a new context. It is unclear, however, what characteristics a learning and teaching strategy for recontextualising should have. The study aims to develop such a learning and teaching strategy for cellular respiration. The strategy consists of a storyline, consisting of three contexts, with embedded cognitive elements and some episodes focussed on recontextualising cellular respiration. Testing the strategy in two classes in upper secondary biology education showed that the strategy was largely practicable.     

Evolution Education in Utah: A State Office of Education–University Partnership Focuses on Why Evolution Matters

Several groups of people are essential for effectively teaching the theory of evolution in public schools. Teachers of course are at the leading edge of educating students. However, school district administrators, school boards, state education officers, and university professors all play critical roles in this endeavor. Whereas scientific discoveries and teacher training typically occur at the university level, it is school district leaders and teachers who actually disseminate this information in a way that creates an educated population of students. In this study, we introduce a partnership focused on strengthening evolution education in Utah’s public schools. Our program centers on the importance of evolution as an applied science and one that can be readily integrated throughout the biology curriculum. Our 2-day workshop—conducted in each Utah school district—brings together elected school board members, school district administrators, public school science teachers, and university professors to overcome barriers that can arise when teaching the theory of evolution as part of the 7–12 public school curriculum.