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Does this Swivl Make my Tendons Look Big?

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Does this Swivl Make my Tendons Look Big?

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A few weeks ago, I made a stop at a local butcher's shop and left with a cooler full of cow muscle, tendons, fat, and a kidney just for fun. I was prepping for a tissue engineering unit where students would research authentic tissues before tackling our big question: Can low-cost, synthetic tissues be engineered for use in under-resourced medical schools and research labs? This unit was based on the Tissue Engineering guide from Allen Distinguished Educators DIY Guides.

One of my goals is to increase peer observations and encourage a school culture where teachers open up their practice to others. This can be challenging, as teachers most often have to give up their own time with students to make these observations happen. So I fired up my Swivl, and decided to step out of my comfort zone to demonstrate another way to share our practice when time is short - through video! As part of my work with the Tch Next Gen Science Squad, I decided to focus on the implementation of engineering as described in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Basic Video Tips

Film yourself often. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

If you want students to act naturally around the camera, film them often, too. I didn't film my students enough, which resulted in a lot of distraction when the camera appeared.

Introduction to the Engineering Task

Here I am introducing the project to students.
What Went Well?
The students were eager to get their hands on the tissue samples. Engaging them with real world phenomena (What are the properties of real tendons, fat and muscle? How can we recreate them?) worked well to introduce the task of creating synthetic tissue. I try to use hand gestures to describe procedures. I try to "act" out what the students will do whenever possible, and I think this helps them to visualize the tasks before they begin.
What I'd Like to Improve
Even when I think I'm speaking slowly, I still may be speaking too quickly for some students to follow, particularly when introducing something new. I had just found out school would be released early for snow and I was pushing through the lesson. But I should've spent more time engaging students with their thoughts and ideas about cadavers and synthetic tissue before starting the activity. I knew I had to get through the lab that day or I was going to have some stinky meat after the weekend!

Testing Prototypes

On this day we were testing our first prototypes.
What Went Well?
After reviewing this introduction to the initial prototype testing, I referenced the Tch Engineering design model to demonstrate the cyclical nature of engineering. Most students were disappointed in their first models and I hope I set them up to expect some failure, which is a good thing (growth mindset, right?).
What I Would Like to Improve
I wish I had an example graph from a previous class to clarify the measurements and mathematical relationships. Later, I expected the students to share data with one another, but I should've more formally organized this process, as a few ended up seeking information from others. On the final day of data collection, I explained the data collection again, when the students were ready to take the lead and explain to one another. I often feel rushed and I think if I give instructions students will get started faster, but I'm sacrificing a great opportunity for the kids to take charge.

Can I Find NGSS In My Videos?

I consulted Appendix F from the NGSS to take a closer look at some of the Science and Engineering Practices.

Asking Questions/Defining Problems
What Went Well?
Our problem had criteria (tissues would need to match the elasticity of the authentic tissue) and constraints (time, money, materials available), and social considerations - the goal was to find a cheap solution to synthetic tissues to make them accessible in under-resourced locations.
What I Would Like to Improve:
I defined the design problem to begin the lesson, but I'd like to find a way for the students to define more of their own problems/questions. The students would later define their own design problems as they refined their models, but the driving question was teacher designed.

Developing and Using Models
What Went Well?

Students developed our model to solve the problem of developing synthetic tissue to replace real human tissue and live animals for learning medical procedures. They used an iterative process to refine their models.
What I Would Like to Improve

Adding more real world applications would increase engagement with the modeling process. Students had a chance to practice suturing with their synthetic tissue models and were very enthusiastic. I'd love to incorporate more real world hands-on applications for their models.

Analyzing and Interpreting Data
What Went Well?
We used Google Sheets to analyze our data, creating a "best fit" line to our data set and used this as a method to determine the characteristics of an optimal design solution. Students refined their models using their data as a guide.

What I Would Like to Improve
I WISH I'd spent more time on error analysis, and it will be a focus next year. Student data was all over the map, and I contribute this to a lack of precise measurement skills. There were genuine challenges to getting precise measurements, but there was a lot of student error as well. This is an area I need to focus on, but had expected students to already have the skills. Think again, Teach!

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
What I Would Like to Improve
As students designed their solutions, I feel I missed an opportunity to incorporate more writing and reflection about the design process. I would like to more effectively incorporate an engineering design notebook in the future.

NGSS Takeaways

The NGSS is exciting, but also overwhelming. Changes can be made through small moves, a little bit at a time. Video self-reflection is a great way to step back and take a look at your classroom, away from the busy nonstop school day. Moving away from a teacher-driven to a student-driven classroom is hard, but important, work. In a written reflection a student commented,
"My favorite part of the project was how hands on it was. Being able to actually make the synthetic tissue was really fun, and the class wasn't so much of the teacher talking and the students listening; there was a lot of work time."
While some enjoyed the process, others were uncomfortable with failure and an inability to "Google" the answer. As one student pointed out,
"There was no information online that could help us develop a good recipe."
This is the nature of design: not all the answers are out there; they must be imagined, and then informed by data. Tom Jenkins, Tch Laureate described how kindergarteners are born engineers, so my question is, how can we keep them that way, K-12?

How have you used video to dive into the NGSS? Have you filmed your own practice? Watched that of others? How do you see personal video reflection as a tool for developing the NGSS?
Kathryn Davis is a science teacher in Hood River, Oregon. She has been teaching science for 14 years. Kathryn is a Stanford, Washington University in St. Louis, and Teach For America alumni. She is an Oregon Science Project NGSS Learning Facilitator, Amgen Biotechnology Experience teacher, and received the Oregon Science Teacher's Association "Outstanding Classroom Teaching Award" for High School. She is excited to be a part of Teaching Channel's Tch Next Gen Science Squad. Connect with Kathryn on Twitter: @biokathryn.

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Does This Swivl Make My Tendons Look Big?

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A few weeks ago, I made a stop at a local butcher's shop and left with a cooler full of cow muscle, tendons, fat, and a kidney just for fun. I was prepping for a tissue engineering unit where students would research authentic tissues before tackling our big question: Can low-cost, synthetic tissues be engineered for use in under-resourced medical schools and research labs?

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High-Tech, Low-Tech: Two Time Saving Tools For Science Teachers

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High-Tech, Low-Tech: Two Time Saving Tools For Science Teachers

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I'm a big fan of science notebooks for students. My students use notebooks to develop Cornell Notes from content material, record and analyze lab data, and create "interactive notebook" elements like foldables, flashcards, and puzzles.

I'm NOT a big fan of the lengthy process that ensues when attempting to assess student notebooks. What I find most frustrating is collecting notebooks to see what students are thinking. As a high school teacher with multiple sections of students, trying to carry home hundreds of notebooks isn't only logistically difficult, it's time-consuming and inefficient.

I often find myself asking:
What is a more efficient way to get a glimpse of student understanding? How can we "see" what students are writing and thinking in real time, when it matters most?
I've found the following tools effective for encouraging the use of academic language and making student learning visible, in the moment. I use these tools in science, but they could easily be adapted to other content areas.

Low-Tech: Board Meetings For CER Tasks

In science, we use "board meetings" as a tool for students to develop two of the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking and Engaging in Argument from Evidence. Students conduct investigations in class and gather data. They're then asked to support a claim using evidence and reasoning from their investigation. We use the "CER" format for these tasks. Asking students to write a claim, show their evidence and support the claim with scientific reasoning has proven to be the most effective way for my students to "Engage in Argument" from evidence. Though their data analysis and scientific reasoning can be quite complex, there is something appealing about the simplicity of a three-part task (the C-E-R) that makes this activity accessible to all students.

As a group, students evaluate their data and then write their Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning on a team whiteboard. This process provides an opportunity for students to talk about science, use academic vocabulary, and collaborate. After students complete the small group discussion, the boards are shared with the entire class. This is the "board meeting" portion of the activity. We use these meetings to develop another science and engineering practice: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Ideas. Students are expected to:

Find patterns that can be observed in the data

Describe similarities and differences between claims

Evaluate and critique the accuracy of claims based on evidence and reasoning

One student evaluates boards looking at cell cycle data, another student revises his reasoning after viewing other boards during a gallery walk before presenting ideas.

Following the board meeting, students are invited to use what they've learned to revise their CER task. This entire process might be completed as a group, or I might ask students to write individual CERs using the most effective evidence and reasoning gathered from the board meeting. I've found working as a group first, before the individual CER, helps to scaffold the activity and facilitates student success.

Working through this process allows me to see student thinking and allows students to evaluate the thinking of others as well. The process also helps me to identify misconceptions during class, rather than waiting to read individual assignments once the lesson is complete and it's too late to provide useful feedback to my students.

This format can be applied to many activities and investigations, but if you're looking for some ideas to get started, Scientific Argumentation in Biology: 30 Classroom Activities from NSTA press has some great tasks, as well as a detailed procedure for producing student boards using the CER format. Another great resource is STEM Teaching Tool #17, "Beyond the Written C-E-R: Supporting Classroom Argumentative Talk about Investigations."

High-Tech: Goformative.com

There are many resources out there where students can interact online and answer questions, which can then be seen by the teacher and/or the class. I want to highlight one resource I've found to be very quick and easy to use: goformative.com.

This website allows teachers to create their own questions, or upload a pre-existing document (such as a Word or PDF file), and then add questions to it. It's as easy as one click to add a question. The questions can be open ended or self-graded (if you provide a key). If you don't want to take the time to make a key or your questions are more open ended, you can score them with a simple click. You can also reply to students in real time to comment on their response and guide them if necessary.

Students can answer using multiple choice responses, short written answers, or even with drawings. In the past, I might have used science journals as a warmup to review information from a previous class; now, goformative allows me to do this and see what every student is thinking in real time. Here's an example of students drawing the structure of a nucleotide:

Here I can see what each student has drawn and quickly check for understanding. I project these responses onto our classroom screen so students can see one another's thinking and we can discuss answers as a group. I find this so much more powerful than calling on individual students to share ideas, which only allows the teacher to see/hear a very small subset of student thinking. Students can also evaluate and critique other responses in a similar format to the board meeting. What patterns do we see? What do you agree/disagree with? And don't worry, responses can be anonymous if you don't want to single students out (the example above shows responses without names).

To set up an assignment, you simply need to go to goformative.com and:

1. Create a teacher account.

2. Upload a document or write your own questions.

3. Give students a "quick code" to access the assignment. This code is open to anyone. As an alternative, you can create a "class" and assign tasks to your class.

What ideas do you have for assessing student understanding and giving students meaningful, in the moment feedback?
If you try these tools, or you already use them with some success, I'd love to hear about your experience. Weigh in in the comments below.

Special thanks to the STEM TOSAs of the Beaverton School district, Caitlin Everett and Bradford Hill, for introducing our science department to these two fabulous learning tools!
Kathryn Davis is a science teacher at Hood River Valley High School in Hood River, Oregon. She has been teaching science for 13 years. Kathryn is a Stanford graduate, Teach For America Bay Area alumni, and Amgen Biotechnology Experience teacher. She is currently working as a Professional Growth Coach for her school district and is excited to be a part of Teaching Channel's Tch Next Gen Science Squad. Connect with Kathryn on Twitter: @biokathryn.

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High-Tech, Low-Tech: Two Time-Saving Tools for Science Teachers

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I'm a big fan of science notebooks for students. My students use notebooks to develop Cornell Notes from content material, record and analyze lab data, and create "interactive notebook" elements like foldables, flashcards, and puzzles. I'm NOT a big fan of the lengthy process that ensues when attempting to assess student notebooks.

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Learn how to Teach NGSS Through Interactive Video

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Learn how to Teach NGSS Through Interactive Video

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We've created a number of interactive videos to help us all examine how content known in the NGSS as Disciplinary Core Ideas can be taught using the Science and Engineering Practices, as well as the Cross Cutting Concepts.

Watch - and contribute your own thoughts and ideas - as a group of fourth graders plan and conduct an investigation to determine how to build and then improve a magnet that can be turned on and off. In this video, a fifth-grade class works with a model of the sun and the Earth. Their teacher asks questions as they collectively develop an understanding of their model.

And check out Scientific Modeling With Young Students at Tch Video Lounge, a collection of many of our interactive videos.

How can you create great videos like these for your school?

There are a number of platforms that provide this kind of interactive video-learning experience:

Zaption, which is the platform used to build the two videos featured above (though Zaption is shutting down at the end of September; any videos you create between now and then can be saved, but you would need to display them on your own website)

As you experiment with these platforms, here are a few tips as you design your own interactive videos:

Create questions that pop-up throughout a video. These questions direct the viewer's attention to key moments in the instruction and help focus your observations.

Design places to comment where all users can post and see educators' responses (I found this to be a real gem). Other videos may have associated discussion questions, but in the videos above, in addition to providing your own response, you can also view and respond to comments from other teachers. As I watched and read the comments of others, I came across new ideas and expansions relevant to NGSS that helped maximize my own learning experience.

Include questions and annotations that highlight practices that may not be immediately visible in a video. These moments help teachers think about some of the aspects of NGSS that are present, but may not be easily captured on film.

Let us know in the comments below if you create your own NGSS interactive video and learning resource!
Kathryn Davis is a science teacher at Hood River Valley High School in Hood River, Oregon. She has been teaching science for 13 years. Kathryn is a Stanford graduate, Teach For America Bay Area alumni, and Amgen Biotechnology Experience teacher. She is currently working as a Professional Growth Coach for her school district and is excited to be a part of Teaching Channel's Tch Next Gen Science Squad. Connect with Kathryn on Twitter: @biokathryn.

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Tch NGSS Deep Dives: Learning Through Video

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We've created a number of interactive videos to help us all examine how content known in the NGSS as Disciplinary Core Ideas can be taught using the Science and Engineering Practices, as well as the Cross Cutting Concepts.

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Next Gen Science Squad

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Designing Earth-Friendly Solutions to the Plastics Problem

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Designing Earth-Friendly Solutions to the Plastics Problem

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Editor's Note: In honor of Earth Day 2016, Teaching Channel asked science teacher Kathryn Davis to describe her work teaching a biopolymers unit that resulted from a partnership between Tch and The Boeing Company.
According to the United Nations, each year enough plastic is thrown away to circle the earth four times, and these plastics can take over 1000 years to degrade! Sobering facts such as these and images illustrating the devastating effect of plastic waste on wildlife can leave many feeling paralyzed and hopeless.

While there are startling examples of the negative impact humans have had on the earth, there are also stories of innovation and incredible problem solving. I shared with my students the story of the engineer in India who created edible utensils, replacing plastic forks and knives with cutlery that is both delicious and eco-friendly, and the graduate student designing biodegradable clamshell containers from actual clamshells. I want my students to be inspired by these stories, and to feel hopeful that through human innovation and design, we can begin to tackle problems and make changes that can alter our current environmental trajectory.

This is why I'm so excited about the Engineering Design Performance Standards from the NGSS. These standards are the perfect way for students to learn how to design solutions to real problems we face as a society. Often in science classes we bring awareness to issues such as climate change and pollution, but we may fail to arm students with the tools they'll need to design solutions to these problems. Engineering provides these tools and is also a way to engage even the most reluctant students. This year, I'm working with a group of high school students who have been unsuccessful in science in the past, and I was looking for a new way to help them connect with their learning.

Why Are We Learning This?

When I was introduced to Science and Innovation - The Boeing Company and Teaching Channel collaboration - through my work with the Tch NextGen Science Squad, I couldn't wait to test drive the engineering-focused units with my own students. The ten units are geared toward middle school, the "sweet spot" for curriculum development. This curriculum can be easily adapted to fit both elementary and high school needs as well, by making modifications that will serve your students where they are academically.

I chose the Polymers for the Planet unit because it had a direct connection to what my students were already learning about photosynthesis, yet provided a real world application. In this unit, students use biopolymers (starches) to develop and test a bioplastic. Yes, we've all learned that plants make food, but what else can we do with those glucose molecules? What useful products can be developed from the starches created by plants? And how can this help solve a major environmental problem?

This unit allows me to answer that ever-present question in the classroom: Why are we learning this? How does this apply to my life?

I reached out to Jessica Levine, one of the authors of the curriculum and the teacher highlighted in the unit's accompanying Polymers video, for tips and suggestions. She brought to my attention a great number of resources highlighting the environmental impact of plastics that allowed me to provide my students with some much-needed perspective on the state of our environment. It was so helpful to be able to reach out to her via Teaching Channel, and later to chat on the phone, exchanging ideas for how to best teach this unit.

Considerations For My Students

With any curriculum, teachers will always consider the unique needs of their students. Here are a few things I had to consider about my high school sophomores:

The majority of my class is considered "at-risk," in addition to being comprised of a high percentage of special education students and English language learners

Collecting and analyzing data is challenging and they lack experience

Using mathematical operations to analyze data will be difficult

My students have reading skills that are at or below the eighth grade level

Conclusion: My students need a lot of scaffolding!

In order to scaffold, I provided tools to help my students "read to learn," including an anticipation guide and Frayer model to guide them as they read about bioplastics. These strategies helped my students focus on what they already knew about the topic before reading, and then directed their attention to specific details while reading for background information. Instead of the provided notebook materials from the downloadable Polymers for the Planet unit plan, students continued to work in their classroom interactive notebook, where we recorded vocabulary, formulas, and data throughout the project.

We used the engineering design process diagram to keep us focused throughout the project. Each day we revisited this image and talked about where we were in the process, and where we were going next.

The CER Framework

Arguing from evidence using the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) format is another new aspect of the NGSS Science and Engineering practices. To help my students, I provided graphic organizers to record their evidence, and used sentence frames to guide their reasoning to support a claim for their redesign. The opportunity for students to use evidence to drive their redesign was powerful - this process helped to solidify for them the importance of using data to drive decisions. After their prototypes were tested, they were eager to find out which formulas yielded the best results, and used this information to make new iterations to their design.

Surprising Outcomes

Here's what we've discovered so far:

When testing tensile strength of the bioplastics, the testing setup failed due to the large amount of weight that the plastics were able to withstand. This led to students engineering and redesigning the test itself! When the provided protocol failed them, they came up with creative solutions and collaborated in ways that I haven't previously observed. When one group observed another struggling with the same issues, they collaborated to build new solutions and test ideas.

Of course, not all of the bioplastics were easy to test for various reasons. But because students had a sense of ownership and wanted to test the product they designed, the level of problem solving I observed was far beyond that in previous lab activities. The students were motivated to test and gather data for their samples, and figured out how to make this possible, with very little help from me.

I saw opportunities for individual students to shine who didn't usually do so in class. One particular student became a creative problem solver and designed multiple ways to test tensile strength. He also helped other groups, showing an interest in class that I hadn't previously seen.

We're now at the stage of putting it all together. Students are creating presentations, and in an effort to motivate them to do their best, I've invited other adults (teachers, administrators, instructional assistants) to serve as an authentic audience to view the students' presentations about their engineering design process. Wish them luck!
Kathryn Davis is a science teacher at Hood River Valley High School in Hood River, Oregon. She has been teaching science for 13 years. Kathryn is a Stanford graduate, Teach For America Bay Area alumni, and Amgen Biotechnology Experience teacher. She is currently working as a Professional Growth Coach for her school district and is excited to be a part of Teaching Channel's Tch Next Gen Science Squad. Connect with her on Twitter: @biokathryn.

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Designing Earth-Friendly Solutions To The Plastics Problem

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Editor's Note: In honor of Earth Day 2016, Teaching Channel asked science teacher Kathryn Davis to describe her work teaching a biopolymers unit that resulted from a partnership between Tch and The Boeing Company. According to the United Nations, each year enough plastic is thrown away to circle the earth four times, and these plastics can take over 1000 years to degrade!

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How a MOOC turned into a great opportunity!

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In the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-collectively known as STEM- Dr. Eric Lander needs no introduction. He is one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project, and is the founding director of the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard. As a very proud MIT and Teach For America-STEM alumni, you can imagine that I jumped at the opportunity to participate in Dr. Lander's massive open online course ( MOOC) "Introductory Biology: The Secret of Life." I had missed the chance to take a course with Dr. Lander as an undergraduate, and I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by.

What made the MOOC even more exciting was that Dr. Lander wanted to involve teachers, allowing them to take the lessons of STEM's premiere leaders back to their P-12 classrooms. He and his team made an incredible opportunity available to corps members and alumni: take the course, take the information back to your students, and be eligible to win a trip to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), tour Dr. Lander's laboratory, and meet the man himself!

While many teachers signed up for the MOOC, two stood out as having exceptional visions for advancing their students' STEM work: Amgen Fellow Brandon Podyma (Eastern North Carolina Corps '12) and 12-year veteran teacher Kathryn Davis (Bay Area Corps '02).

I personally want to thank all of the teachers who participated in the MOOC: you are the busiest people out there, and your commitment to professional development and furthering your own content knowledge is truly impressive and admirable. I also want to thank Dr. Lander for his deep commitment to teaching and learning, and his staff for coordinating the trip.

Having had the chance to meet with Dr. Lander and the NSTA community was an incredible experience-so much so, in fact, that I have a hard time putting into words. To that end, I'll let our winners Kathryn and Brandon do the talking.
Kathryn Davis (Bay Area Corps '02)
Dr. Lander has been a presence in my science classroom for years, from my TFA placement school in San Jose, California, to my current classroom in rural Oregon. The Massachusetts-based scientist uses engaging videos to cross state lines and foster a love for STEM in kids across the country.

In some ways, my students and I feel like we know him personally, so when I learned about Dr. Lander's MOOC, I jumped at the chance to meet the man whose humor and enthusiasm helped me teach my kids science (not to mention that for a biology teacher, meeting Dr. Lander is the equivalent of meeting a movie star).

Star-sighting aside, I also had a more personal motivation for enrolling in Dr. Lander's online course. I started teaching directly after graduating from Stanford University, and there never seemed an opportune time to pursue a master's degree. I consistently toyed with the idea of going back to school, but given all that my life now entails, I realized that any advanced degree that I pursued would need to be through an online program. The MOOC was a test for myself-to see if I could fully participate in online learning while still balancing my home and work life.

As it turns out, participating in the course was one of the best decisions I've made. I learned that online learning can be interactive and engaging, and can mimic a regular classroom experience. What's more, it convinced me to pursue my long-held dream of a master's. I'm now one year away from receiving my master's of science in biology from a hybrid online/in-person Washington University program. For anyone out there who is interested in pursuing an advanced degree, but may be hesitant about it aligning with other priorities, I highly encourage you to consider online programs.

The MOOC didn't just benefit me-it also opened up a range of possibilities to my students. The day started off with a tour of the MIT lab where they do genome sequencing. Exploring a real lab and learning how it runs helped me communicate to my students about how experiments work in real life. During a group breakfast the next day, Dr. Lander and the group discussed the best ways to invest our students in math and science, and help them become problem solvers who do so much more than just take tests and recite information.

When I returned to my classroom, I applied for and won the Toshiba America Foundation Grant, an award of more than $14,000 to purchase molecular biology equipment for my students, giving them real-world experience and the ability to interact with science in a way that makes them curious and eager to learn more. And in partnership with the Amgen Foundation, my students are completing a series of labs focused on modern molecular biology, using techniques such as bacterial transformation, PCR, and gel electrophoresis.

I've been teaching since 2002, and I was at a point where I was feeling like my materials needed a refresh. Participating in the MOOC and speaking with Dr. Lander and the other participants was a spark for all the innovative things I could be doing with my students. I encourage everyone to seek out opportunities to push their thinking and bring innovations back to their students.
Brandon Podyma (Eastern North Carolina Corps '12), Amgen Fellow
Being invited to breakfast with Dr. Lander recently was a distinct (and timely) privilege. Not weeks before, in Plymouth, North Carolina, my students and I talked about the same pressing scientific issues that Dr. Lander was simultaneously discussing in Washington at a meeting of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. These included the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, achieving the "care" component embedded within the Affordable Care Act, and how to create meaningful dialogue around personal genetic data.

The breakfast was enlightening, and marked the closing act of what now feels like a whirlwind adventure. From March to June, I participated in an Introductory Biology MOOC taught by Dr. Lander and facilitated through edX. The course opened my eyes to new ways I could be implementing real-world topics and technologies in my classroom.

The course, "Introductory Biology: The Secret of Life," paired the chemistry that one would expect with mathematical and computational approaches with biology, making it truly interdisciplinary. For me, it set a new bar about what high expectations for our students could look like.

The problem sets were authentic, giving you a real problem without telling you how to solve it, and setting you to task. While it was intimidating at first to explore and discover answers on my own, I soon found that my hard work and perseverance paid off. This made me realize that my students don't always require constant handholding-by setting high expectations and giving them the freedom to explore, they can accomplish great things on their own.

The course also gave me the opportunity to view things from a student's perspective. I always share with my biology students that science is two things: a body of accumulated knowledge, and a process by which we hope to demystify the unknown. Too often, we focus on the former at the expense of the latter, teaching through lectures and forgoing exploratory processes. Dr. Lander's MOOC offered a plethora of investigatory experiences that created true meaning for me. At the end I reached solutions, and I know my students can, too.

If we truly believe in the idea of twenty-first-century skills, let's do more to shift the type of learning in science classrooms towards interdisciplinary, problem-based, minds-on learning. Science is always going to play a critical role in our lives, and as we move into an era of big data, full genome sequencing, and ecologically and energy-based challenges, its role will only increase. Our students need to be prepared to work through these challenges, understand how they will impact them, and tackle a new and ever-changing society.

They need to learn this in their science classes and we, as teachers, we need to be teaching it.

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MIT, a MOOC, and a Meeting: Two Teachers Win the Chance to Meet with STEM Leaders | Teach For America

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In the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-collectively known as STEM- Dr. Eric Lander needs no introduction. He is one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project, and is the founding director of the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard.

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CER Sentence Starters-sample from a lab, please modify for your needs!

Talk Moves Great checklist to use in class to help get students talking science!  This tool was designed for elementary students, but also works great in high school! Teaching Channel videos on talk moves

Washington University in St. Louis- Masters in Biology program: a program geared toward teachers!  I loved this program because I was able to take content courses to develop my depth of knowledge in Biology (rather than taking courses toward a Masters in Teaching).  It is a hybrid in-person/online program with 2 summers spent at the University.

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Toshiba America Foundation I was awarded a grant to develop a biotechnology program for our high school.  I received just over $14,000 to purchase equipment that would allow me to engage students in high level science inquiry.  Twice a year you can apply for grants over $5000, all grants under $5000 are rolling throughout the year.

Allen Distinguished Educators I was awarded a grant for $1000 to implement the DIY guide “Tissue Engineering.”  Many of the DIY grants use affordable materials if you are not able to apply for a grant.

Amgen Biotechnology Experience Amazing Biotechnology curriculum and resources.  Some grants are awarded to help expand the program and consumable materials and equipment are provided free to trained teachers.  Check to see if there is an ABE program office in your area.

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NGSS Demystified: A free toolkit of PD to introduce teachers to the NGSS.  Includes hands-on activities, easy to implement, presentations already prepped for you!

STEM Teaching Tools Great 1-page resources for learning and discussing NGSS related topic (see the “tools” link for a topic that interests you. Also has rubrics for some of the Science and Engineering Practices like this one for Modeling:

Using Phenomena in NGSS-a great read for staff

NGSS Screening Tool- an abbreviated version of the EQUIP rubric, helps to determine if your units are aligned to NGSS, and how to build them so they will be more 3 dimensional

Poster for the NGSS 3 Dimensions-classroom ready!
Modeling-Great article on what is and what is not “modeling.”

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A few of my favorite labs:

Wisconsin Fast Plants Students collect data from specimens and then use that information along with a dihybrid mendelian cross to determine the genotype and phenotype of an unknown “parent” plant.  Great inquiry, logic and problem solving skills required. Perfect for using the C-E-R strategy.

GMO Investigator: students test their own food samples to determine if they contain genetically modifed ingredients using DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis.  Great way to incorporate bioethics and hold a debate or socratic seminar about the use of GMOs in agriculture and labeling.

Argument Driven Inquiry: I’ve been using some of these activities with my Biology students. The book guides through an exploration, designing procedures, analyzing data, and even a careful writing guide along with peer review.  Very thorough approach to teaching argumentation in science.

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@biokathryn

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Genetic Science Learning Center-many great interactive genetics resources, teacher guides available

HHMI Biointeractive, so much to explore!  Virtual labs, videos, data sets, and more.  One of my favorites are the virus resources!  Updates to the website make it easy to search for exactly what you need.

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Currently I teach Biology in addition to an upper-level course called Research, Genetics and Bioethics.  I teach in a rural community in Oregon, where one high school serves our entire county.  We have approximately 1500 students in our school.