BIOL409
Guidelines to Plan Evolution Teaching Modules
Unit Plan for
Teaching Evolution
At the end of the course, you will submit a portfolio with an
overall plan for teaching evolution in the classroom. This may be a unit plan
with a sequence of lessons or for those who teach evolution as a unifying theme
throughout a course, then the structure of that approach would be described and
samples of lessons would be included. The lessons should be developed using the
principles of “Backward Design” as outlined by Teach to the Future. It is recommended that you work with a partner
on these assignments. One portfolio is due for each pair of students. You will
both self-assess and peer-evaluate each other’s participation. Components of
the portfolio will be submitted periodically according to the class schedule.
You are expected to use the feedback received to revise your work for the final
portfolio.
Thinking about how you will teach evolution in
your classroom is an important goal for this course. You should be thinking
about what you want your students to know about evolution and how you would use
the resources presented in BIOL409 to teach students something important. In
your planning, remember that an evolution unit plan can last anywhere from two
to six weeks or more and is intended to address a key concept in evolution. The
unit plan should also incorporate smaller lesson plans that are intended to
address sub-concepts that are needed to build up to the overall learning
goal.
Expected outcomes from the Intel Teach to the
Future Program Modules
(1)
Design and post a Unit
Portfolio for teaching evolution that includes effective teaching strategies,
activities, technology, web- based learning, assessments, teacher support
materials and planning documents.
(2)
Use peer review to
reflect and share ideas about lesson planning, key concepts in evolution, and
engaging student learning.
(3) Use feedback from others to improve your unit planning and
revise your work according to the feedback received, if appropriate.
(4) Present an Evolution Unit Teaching Portfolio with your
partner during the final exam.
Use Blackboard Groups and Discussion Board to
post your teaching ideas and to identify someone you want to work with on an
evolution unit lesson. We suggest that a teacher or someone that is familiar
with lesson planning pair with an undergraduate student or future teacher.
Modules 1-3 Goals
The
goal for Modules 1-3 is to confirm partners that will be working together and
to identify the theme and questions that would be addressed in a unit for
teaching about 2-4 weeks of biological evolution. Remember that evolution
should comprise about 25% of the course content at the high school level in
Find
a partner you can work with and start your personal partner Discussion Board
thread by the DEADLINE. Agree on the content focus for your unit, the grade
level standards that you will focus on and use your partner discussion thread
to communicate and plan your unit. Once you do, send a request to set up your
very own Discussion Forum that you and your partner can use to communicate
ideas and exchange files.
Download and work through the materials in the Blackboard
Course Documents > Guidelines for your Evolution Unit folder. Fill out the forms as you plan. Create a file structure on
your Blackboard Discussion so you can share resources with your partner. The
forms can be submitted to your Teaching Evolution discussion thread for
sharing.
o Asking the Right Questions
M1_1AskingtheRightQuestions.doc (32.5 Kb)
o Planning the Unit: Make your Unit Plan
Introduction PowerPoint Presentation
M1_2PlanningtheUnit.doc (43 Kb)
M1HigherLevelThinking.doc (35 Kb)
Introduce your overall unit plan goals and explain how your unit plan is aligned to your grade level content science standards, addresses grade level standards, and incorporates a couple of key lessons that support the overall objectives of the unit plan.
o Learn about Copyright Laws: Add citations and a copyright slide to your Teacher's Plans PowerPoint
M1_3CopyrightLaw.doc (36 Kb)
M1copyrightsummary.doc (31.5 Kb)
Checklist for Fair Use by the
o Select appropriate Internet resources
M1EvaluatingInternetResources.pdf (88.8 Kb)
o Make a Sample Student Work PowerPoint
Presentation
M1_5StudentSamplePresentation.doc (34 Kb)
Deadline: Submit to the Blackboard > Modules – to be graded - Discussion Board. Only the following items will be graded. (Please follow the directions carefully.)
(1) Create a PowerPoint
generated storyboard that introduces your Unit to students and links the topic
selected to at least one specific California Science Content Standard at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/cf/. (See example.)
(2) Add an Internet
Resources Reference slide at the end of your PowerPoint presentation showing
how you plan to use at least 3 Internet resources and explain why each source
is credible. You will also need to reference
any images or video clips used in your presentation or unit on these slides.
(3) Then create a sample
"student" presentation about your topic with at least 6 slides. This
student presentation is showing what the teacher is expecting the students to
know at the end of one lesson or at the end of the entire unit. (See example.)
You are NOT expected to design your own curriculum. Your job is to find good ways to use curriculum that will help you teach important goals that you identify. If you use professionally designed curriculum, your work will be easier when it comes time for you to explain your activities. Please consider using professionally designed materials for your Intel unit assignments. The Evolution web page has some outstanding examples:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/teachstuds/tguide.html
Guiding documents are posted under the Discussion Forum. Post the
work you do on the Modules and communicate with your partner using your own
personal Discussion Forum as you progress through the Intel guidelines.
Module 1-3
Assessment
+10 pt Total:
+2
pt for your confirmation via email
so we can set up a new Discussion Board (shared with your partner) that clearly
indicates who you will be working with for the Intel modules.
+3
pt for submitting your Unit Plan
Introduction PowerPoint Presentation. This should introduce your overall
unit plan goals and explain how your unit plan is aligned to your grade level content
science standards, addresses grade level standards, and incorporates a couple
of key lessons that support the overall objectives of the unit plan.
+2
pt for including an Internet Website and
Image References page in your Unit Plan Introduction PowerPoint
Presentation
+3 pt for creating a Sample
Student PowerPoint Presentation that shows one example of what the students
should be able to do after completing one of your lessons
Explore:
(1) Design or find a professionally designed lesson plan and outline a skeletal rough draft of how it will fit into your unit plan in the "procedures section" of the Unit Plan Template.
Explain:
(2) Create a rubric form or template to assess evolution content and higher-level thinking skills.
(3) Design and publish a teacher web site that students and parents can use to follow guidelines for one lesson.
The first section deals with creation of a rubric to assess your students' technology-rich approach to understanding evolution.
The second section deals with the creation of a parent/student support website for one specific lesson in your evolution unit. An example of what is expected for Module 7, Teacher Support material, is posted at http://scied.fullerton.edu/biol409/Module7.htm. Please notice that this support material was developed by a BIOL409 instructor to guide students through CPR assignment 4.
Download from Blackboard and work through these guidelines with your partner:
M4keep_toolkit_for_biol_409.doc (38.5 Kb)
M5TeachThinkingSkills.doc (42 Kb)
M5rubricform.doc (25 Kb)
M5SampleTemplat.dot (37.5 Kb)
M6Designing for the Web.doc (42 Kb)
M7WebSite.doc (52 Kb)
We created a template
for BIOL 409 that you will find on the Dashboard Page (once you sign in on your
account). You can view the snapshot at:
http://www.cfkeep.org/html/snapshot.php?id=23633499931203. Use this template by adding your material and deleting what is written
as suggestions in each field. Remember,
this is a website that you, as a teacher, are creating for your students and
their parents. Feel free to be creative (embed pictures and links or
whatever else will enhance your website) as well as informative (clearly outline what students will be doing for the
unit and include links to helpful websites, any documents that you think they
might need and important assessment tools, such as your rubric).
DIRECTIONS FOR USING THE KEEP TOOLKIT WEBSITE.
1. Go to http://www.cfkeep.org/static/index.html
and JOIN (click on the red box in the lower right side of the page).
2. Fill in the required fields.
3. When you have finished, KEEP Toolkit will email
your login information. Save and print it for access in the future. With the email message, you will find two
guides to help you with KEEP Toolkit.
Those who might struggle with the technology can print copies of the
guides.
4. Click on the website that is given in the
email: Login URL: http://www.cfkeep.org with your email address and assigned password.
5. After you sign in, you will be taken to a
page called “My Dashboard”, where I strongly suggest you change your password.
6. After you change your password, open the
sample BIOL 409 Module template Snapshot (which you can modify to make your
webpage).
7. Click on Edit, to make changes to the
template to reflect the webpage you design.
You can also click on “New” and use a variety of other templates that
are available through KEEP Toolkit.
8. When you finish, save your work.
9. Check your work by clicking on the Snapshot
Title on your dashboard. Copy the URL
and send it to your partner so they can see your work in progress.
10. Place a check in
front of the snapshot title and at the top of your dashboard select the “Send
to...” button to send a copy to your partner. They can then edit your work –
but you will have two copies of the template.
Note that you cannot both edit the same page. Your partner can then send the work back to
you for further editing. Each time you
send the template you make a new copy of the work in progress. Rename each
draft to keep track of your progress.
11. When both partners
agree that the website is what you want as your finished project, submit the
URL address to the INTEL Modules discussion thread on Blackboard.
Keep your focus on what it means for students to understand evolution! Examples for Module web pages from BIOL409 students in past years:
http://www.geocities.com/debra_miyamoto/WhaleEvolution.html
http://www.geocities.com/orchidsevolution/409.html
http://scied.fullerton.edu/Steph/
http://scied.fullerton.edu/Teacher/
http://scied.fullerton.edu/teacher/Vander_Zwaag.htm
http://scied.fullerton.edu/Teacher/Kennedy.htm
http://scied.fullerton.edu/biol409/feedback_Mod8a.htm
(This last item shows many examples and a form similar to the one we will use to assess your work)
Use the Module 8 Unit Implementation Template to decide with your partner on some things that are still needed for your unit. Download from the Blackboard Course Documents folder the Unit Implementation Template and the following resources to guide you as you finish your Evolution Teaching Portfolio:
M8bUnitImplementationTemplate.doc (48.5 Kb)
M8c1ModifyingInstruction-SpecialNeeds.doc (192 Kb)
M8c2ModifyingInstruction-ESL.doc (44 Kb)
M8c3ModifyingInstruction-Gifted.doc (40 Kb)
M8dUnitPlan.doc (382 Kb)
M9intel_portfolio_rubric.doc (33 Kb)
M9showcase_feedback_form.doc (28 Kb)
M10evolution_portfolio_selfassessment.doc (33 Kb)
Plan to accommodate a diversity of learners. Define
modifications for a gifted student and for a student with special needs (based
on exceptionalities from the
Finish your Unit Plan like the example at http://scied.fullerton.edu/biol409/Module8Sampleunitplan.doc. Remember to describe in your unit plan how you will accommodate students with a special need and who are gifted.
When you have finished all of your revisions, use your Blackboard Discussion to post your revised Unit Plan with all support materials and your website to showcase one procedure from your Unit Plan (create a hyperlink in the document).
The Module 8 Assessment
+6 pt Each partner in the group reviewed three websites, the reviews were completed by the required due date, and the reviews were carefully thought out and provide insightful feedback for the authors of the website.
+4 pt Feedback was used to revise the content of the Unit Plan Template planning form. Accommodations for differentiated instruction define considerations for two students who in some way do not match the statistical norm.
Module 9 Assessment
+15 pts
The day of the final exam, students will have 10 minutes to discuss the highlights of their Unit Portfolio and the lesson on their website. They will discuss accommodations for different learners. You will use the rubric to evaluate three final showcase presentations.
Module 10 Assessment
+20 pts
After your final Unit Portfolio Showcase, each partner will complete an Evolution Teaching Portfolio Self Assessment.
Web page created