science & global issues: biology - lab-aids · human and natural impacts on ecosystems,...

Science & Global Issues: BiologyFriday, May 27, 2011

SGI Biology OverviewNational Science Foundation Curriculum Development Project

Developed by the SEPUP group, Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley

Uses sustainability as the unifying context for studying important biological concepts

Issue-oriented science. . .

Students talk, think, and discuss science content as it relates to personal, societal, and global Issues

Students learn to use evidence in the decision-making process

Inquiry-based activities

Embedded assessment system and literacy strategiesFriday, May 27, 2011

Sustainability

Sustainability in the context of human development can be defined as:

“Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

- UN Commission on World Economic Development, 1990

Friday, May 27, 2011

Sustainability

Another useful definition of sustainability:

“Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.” (SEPUP, 2007)


Levels of Sustainability

Sustainability can be examined through three perspectives - environmental, economic, and social

All three levels must be attended to adequately for a situation to be sustainable

Sustainability can also be viewed at three levels - personal, community, and global


At a Glance...

Unit Activities IssuesSustainability 6 Global resources and challenges

Ecology 19 Managing a sustainable fisheryCell Biology 18 Global health and disease prevention

Genetics 20 Genetically modified foodsEvolution 15 Managing biodiversity


Field Test Impact Data

Figure 2. SGI Biology Pre-Post Effect Sizes

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Eff

ect

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Whole SampleCaucasian MalesCaucasian FemalesUnderrepresented STEM

Genetics Cell Genetics Evolution

Ecology Cell Genetics Evolution

Small effect size Cliffs d = 0.147; medium effect size Cliffs d = 0.330; large effect size Cliffs d = 0.474 (Cliff, 1993; Romano et al, 2006).


Student BookThe student book guides investigations and provides related resources…

It features different activity types, designed to focus on concept and skill development...on-line student books available, too!

Analysis questions call for students to apply or evaluate their knowledge

you will be studying populations of organisms.

A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live in the

same general area and are able to reproduce. For example, all of the rainbow trout

living in one stream would be a population, if they were able to mate and have

live offspring. Studying species’ populations in an ecosystem helps scientists deter-

mine the stability of that ecosystem.


Teacher GuideOverview and suggested time

Key content and process skills

Materials and advance prep

Teaching summary

Background information

Teaching suggestions

Sample responses

In this activity, students examine case studies that describe the impacts of various kinds of changes on four ecosystems. Students are asked to predict what will happen to these eco-systems in 50 years if the situations continue as described. The concepts of ecosystem sustainability, resiliency, and bio-diversity are introduced.

1. Ecosystems involve interactions between communities of living things and those living things with their physi-cal environment.

2. Ecological changes can stress ecosystems in many ways. When the ecosystem is able to recover from or accom-modate stress it is demonstrating resiliency.

3. Biodiversity is related to the number of species in an ecosystem.

4. Increasing biodiversity (e.g., by adding an invasive species) does not necessarily increase the sustainability of an ecosystem.

5. Reducing biodiversity, especially reducing native species, can make an ecosystem less sustainable.

1. Students make accurate interpretations, inferences, and conclusions from the text.

2. Students make predictions.

Because many activities in this unit require the teacher to use an overhead or data projector, make sure that one is always available.

1 transparency of Scoring Guide: GROUP INTERAC

1 Group Interaction Student Sheet 1, “Evaluating Group Interaction”

1 Literacy transparency 2, “Read, Think, and Take

1 transparency of Literacy Student Sheet 9, “KWL”

1 transparency a short newspaper article on any topic*

3 sticky notes

1 Student Sheet 1.1, “Case Study Comparison”

1 Literacy transparency 2, “Read, Think, and Take (optional)

1 Literacy Student Sheet 1, “Keeping a Science Notebook” (optional)

1 Scoring Guide: GROUP INTERACTION (GI) (optional)

1 Group Interaction Student Sheet 1, “Evaluating Group Interaction” (optional)

*Not supplied in kit

Masters for Science Skills Student Sheets are in Teacher Resources II: Diverse Learners. Masters for Literacy Skills Sheets are in Teacher Resources III: Literacy. Masters for Scoring Guides are in Teacher Resources IV: Assessment.


Teacher GuideWrap-around style & color

Less text for teachers

Text aligned to numbers on embedded student book pages

Quick-checks

(LITERACY) Introduce the GROUP INTERACTION (GI) Scoring Guide. Discuss with the class your expecta-tions for group work, and review Group Interaction Student Sheet 1, “Evaluating Group Interaction.” More information on the SEPUP assessment system is in Teacher Resources IV: Assessment. If your students worked through the Sus-tainability unit, they will be familiar with the use of science notebooks in this course. If not, explain that as they conduct activities, they will record data, observations, hypoth-eses, conclusions, and thoughts in their notebooks. Keeping a science notebook helps students track data, note questions as they arise in inves-tigations and discussion, and build science-writing skills. Decide how you would like students to record their work in each of the activities in this unit. For recommendations and more information see “Keeping a Science Notebook” and “Writing a Formal Investigation Report” in Teacher Resources III: Literacy.Use a jigsaw to form groups of

four students. A jigsaw has students split into groups to learn about a specific topic, in this instance to read a case study. Then they

return to their regular groups of four and teach each other

what they have just learned. Explain that there are four case

studies in this activity and that it is important for all stu

dents to be familiar with all four. However, each student in a

group will take responsibility for one of the case studies—

All of the readings in this course provide an opportunity

to improve students’ reading ability and comprehension

through various strategies.

ProcedureIn your group, assign one student to each case study in this activity.

Following your teacher’s directions, partner with someone from another

group who is reading the same case study.You and your partner will silently read your assigned case study. As you read,

use the “Read, Think, and Take Note” strategy. To do this:

Stop at least three times during the reading to mark on a sticky note your

thoughts and questions about the reading. Use the list of guidelines below

to start your thinking.

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Sustainability

Introductory unit

Frames the course by setting context

Six activities (8 to 12 days to teach)

Minimum suggested coverage is 3 lessons


EcologyBiomes, ecosystems, and invasive species

Human and natural impacts on ecosystems, resiliency

Population dynamics

Food webs and energy pyramids, trophic roles

Eutrophication, Carbon and nitrogen cycles

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration

Carrying capacity and limiting factors

Symbiosis, commensalism, parasitism, amensalism and mutualism, predator-prey relationships


Cell BiologyCell structure and function

Cell differentiation and Cell cycle

Structure and function of cellular organelles

Photosynthesis and respiration

Roles of proteins

Abnormal behavior of cells

Viruses, stem cells

Movement of materials across a membrane, homeostasis


Genetics and Heredity

Sexual and asexual reproduction, mitosis and meiosis

Genetic modification

Genotype and phenotype

Punnett squares and Mendel’s work, monohybrid and dihybrid crosses

Dominance, recessive, codominance, and incomplete dominance

Genes, alleles, chromosomes, DNA structure and replication

Gene expression and protein synthesis

Selective breeding, genetic engineering


EvolutionBiodiversity, Ecosystem services and human impact on species

Natural and artificial selection, Darwin’s work

Geologic time and fossil record, phylogeny and macroevolution

Transitional forms, cladograms

Biological species concept and speciation

Reproductive and geographic isolation/barriers

Gene flow and adaptive radiation

Genetic variation due to mutation and recombination, Adaptation

Homologous, analogous, and vestigial structuresFriday, May 27, 2011

Additional resources

Exam View

Web resources on SGI website

Revised Teacher Resource on CD-ROM

PowerPoints for activities


Photosynthesis

From the Cell Biology unit

Sort the cards and stripsto match the event sequencein these two life processes

Note the literacy sheet,Student Sheet 12.1

E VERY LIVING CELL needs a source of energy. Without energy, metabolism—h

b lall of the chemical reactions that occur withincells—will not occur. In this activity, you will learn how the complex chemical reactions of photosynthesis and cellular respiration helpmeet the energy needs of living things. You willexamine the organelles, molecules, and chemi-cal reactions involved in these two processes. You will also learn how a microbe or chemical that disrupts one or more of the steps of pho-tosynthesis or cellular respiration causesdisease.

Challenge

FOR EACH STUDENTFOR EACH STUDENT

ProcedureFill in only the Before column of Student Sheet 12.1, “Anticipation Guide:

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration.”Follow the simulation, “Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration,” on the

SEPUP website: sepuplhs.org/sgi.Complete the Reading.Fill in the After column on Student Sheet 12.1, “Anticipation Guide: Photo-

synthesis and Cellular Respiration.”

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Stem Cell DifferentiationHow do embryonic stem cells become specialized cells of the body?

How can stem cellshelp patients with tissue damage?What is all the controversyabout?

Project Transparency 14.1, “The Organization of Multicellular Organisms.” Ask students to name some organs in the human body. Likely suggestions are the heart, liver, and kidney. Explain that all of these organs are made of specialized tissues and cells. As students have learned, specialized cells have spe-cialized arrangements of structures and organelles that allow them to perform their specific function. Ask, How do you think all of the special-ized cells that make up your body develop? Accept students’ ideas. They will likely state that something happens during development of the embryo. Explain that all cells start as iden-tical stem cells in a developing embryo, and that these embryonic stem cells are capable of producing all cell types. The process in which stem cells become specialized cells is called differentiation. Emphasize that a stem cell itself does not become a differentiated cell, but one or both of its daughter cells may change in some way. These cells, in turn, produce daughter cells that are different from the parent cell, until

T HE HUMAN BODY is made of many kinds of specialized cells. Red blood cells,

white blood cells, muscle cells, nerve cells, and skin cells are just some

hi bl d ll l ll ll d ki ll j

examples. Each specialized cell performs a function in the body. You have learned

about several conditions that result when cells don’t function normally. Diabetes

damages the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Sickle cell disease is a genetic

condition that alters the functioning of the hemoglobin protein in red blood cells.

And many kinds of cells may become cancerous when they lose their normal cell

cycle controls.

Every cell in your body is the offspring of another cell and has the same genetic

material as the fertilized egg from which it developed. It is amazing that the many

different types of cells all arise from a single fertilized egg cell. Yet that is what hap-

pens during embryo development. Initially, all the cells in the embryo are alike.

But as they divide, they become more specialized and produce their own charac-

teristic proteins. Cells that have the ability to produce a variety of types of special-

ized cells are called stem cells. The process by which stem cells produce specialized

cells is called differentiation. As differentiation progresses, segments of the

genetic material are either activated or suppressed.You have probably heard about stem cell research in the news. This is an impor-

tant area of cutting-edge research. Once we understand exactly how a human

develops from a single cell to a multicellular organism we might learn how certain

conditions, such as some birth defects, and diseases, such as cancer, develop.

Researchers around the world are trying to fi gure out how stem cells might be

used to replace diseased or damaged tissues in any number of diseases.

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For more information

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www.lab-aids.com

www.sepuplhs.com

800.381.8003


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