MABT Discussion Table 8-6-20 by Michigan Association of Biology Teachers

Leave your breakout room takeaway!

mibiologyteachers — 2020-08-03 14:41:14 UTC

What is something from your breakout room discussion that you feel the group would want to know. Share it here! Just click on the + icon under the heading you feel like best fits what you want to share and drop a note. If you would be interested in sharing at a later date during a conference or another webinar type event please leave your contact information in your note or email mibiologyteachers@gmail.com.

Students still copying off each other, how can we prevent that?

prichardson18 — 2020-08-06 14:24:13 UTC

TIme limits might help cheating
Use data nuggets for source information
Science in the Classroom as a source

Reasoning is tough

rph001 — 2020-08-06 14:24:14 UTC

Argumentation toolkit (online) has helped Connie teach Reasoning.
Paul Anderson has a video on Reasoning [needs to include: Law, definition, or 2 other things...]

Group 5

2020-08-06 14:24:26 UTC

Excited about the rubric!
Using as an assessment first time to the see data is a really helpful tool.
Building capacity to write CER. Use "simpler or less scientific" example to build writing skills.
Possibly use in conjunction with labs or online labs.

Take time to focus on this for ALL students - Whole class activities with slides and padlet

mibiologyteachers — 2020-08-06 14:24:34 UTC

Data Nuggets

2020-08-06 14:25:02 UTC

Data Nuggets

wendyjohnson3 — 2020-08-06 14:26:25 UTC

The Data Nuggets site has many short articles similar to the ones that Fred's team has made. They even have different levels for different students!
http://datanuggets.org

Examples are a nice spring board

2020-08-06 14:27:35 UTC

Excited to see the assessments to learn how we might create our own to meet the needs of our classrooms.

Science in the Classroom

wendyjohnson3 — 2020-08-06 14:28:44 UTC

This is another source of journal articles for students. AAAS has annotated journal articles for use with students.

https://www.scienceintheclassroom.org

Collaborating

2020-08-06 14:30:11 UTC

Kids may still collaborate in remote settings, but that doesn’t necessarily = cheating. As long as answers are unique, it should be possible to tell if individual understanding is present.

Coronavirus and Masks

wendyjohnson3 — 2020-08-06 14:44:42 UTC

I have started adapting some of the recent research papers on Coronavirus and masks to use with students. I plan to develop activities that have students discuss "Why have recommendations about wearing masks changed over time?" I want to highlight that science is based on the best available evidence (which changes over time).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CsyF0VeXEZGMhqslB0CZrhWT9PUe9ZkmxgaIOz3_n2s/edit?usp=sharing

Labs students can do at home

wendyjohnson3 — 2020-08-06 14:49:42 UTC

We did only asynchronous learning last spring, but here are some labs we used:

Regrowing cut vegetables:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12ljVlyHhMt29yZkeUp0i2VVFEAMXJ7p4jskdTmvNUOA/edit?usp=sharing

Sourdough starter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RZquqrBut0ZlgRXEy3Xo18xzKO7n4a0-ENodLABi-_M/edit?usp=sharing

Bird Watching:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xnplU9oHQUwNHBSqJ0IFIwjGameRPD0PAy5ylGXTgUg/edit?usp=sharing

Lab ideas

mibiologyteachers — 2020-08-06 14:52:09 UTC

Raising mealworms - growing plants
Pivots interactives - through Vernier
Biologyspace.com

Group 2

missich — 2020-08-06 14:52:50 UTC

-Using seeds from fruits/vegetables in collecting data, making observations, etc.
-Onion piece growing in water (growth and development unit); share pictures of onion root tip slides afterward
-Diffusion lab with ziplock bags instead of dialysis tubing OR egg lab

Under

rph001 — 2020-08-06 14:56:00 UTC

prichardson18 — 2020-08-06 14:57:25 UTC

Kitchen labs osmosis
Make pretzles/bread for respiration change recipe to see effect

lab exchange for online labs

Algae research and supply a source for algae beads to give to kids

Algae Research and Supply has inexpensive algae bead kits to send home if you are allowed.

2020-08-06 14:59:43 UTC

Kitchen chemistry for osmosis/diffusion, enzymes, and cellular respiration.
Citizen Science projects: Have students look for and join studies.
Get kids outside to find examples of what you are learning about in class. Have them justify how this is a good example.

Annotated Papers for HS

meberhard1 — 2020-08-06 15:05:13 UTC

Great FREE source for annotated articles for high school students - https://www.scienceintheclassroom.org/

Choose something that works for you - learn and do it - be aware of others but feel that you have to implement then all right away!

2020-08-06 15:24:05 UTC

The Kikori app has activities indexed for 21st century learnining and SEL standards. The app can be downloaded for free for a few more days.

lucinda8 — 2020-08-06 15:33:05 UTC

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kikori/kikori
There are also activities for virtual and physically distanced environments.

Padlet is a great tool

lucinda8 — 2020-08-06 15:35:35 UTC

It can be used to gather and organize thoughts and ideas. It has more room and expandability than Jamboard and you can rearrange the items as the thinking changes. The ability to link video or other kinds of formats makes it easier to collect all kinds of input together.

It's also helpful for organizing our own thoughts, put together units of study, etc.

I'm also offering Teacher SEL support.

lucinda8 — 2020-08-06 15:41:31 UTC

Book a half hour free session by emailing me at Lucinda@wholeplanetconsulting.com

The Details Professors Notice Before Reading Your Argument

johnpowell13 — 2026-06-23 16:19:14 UTC

I used to assume instructors cared almost exclusively about the quality of analysis. Then I received feedback on an economics assignment that mentioned citation style, figure placement, page layout, and reference formatting before discussing the actual argument. That experience changed how I approached submissions. Presentation does not replace strong reasoning, but it shapes the first impression your work creates. A well-organized paper signals attention to detail and makes complex ideas easier to evaluate. Many students invest weeks in research yet overlook technical requirements until the last minute. Reviewing economics assignment formatting rules early can prevent avoidable mistakes and help ensure that the focus remains on the quality of your economic analysis.