Stories of a Biology teacher

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My First Blog Post

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

So, it begins. And it begins as so many other beginnings with being told what to do. It is funny, when the roles are reversed. Being a teacher for 10 years, becoming a student is awkward.

This blog is the result of an assignment. For my MSc I need to create a blog, create a blog post, add links, review everything and then publish.

Funny thing is that I have thought of having a blog before. I even tried it once or twice but I gave up immediately. There were a couple of hurdles. The first one is the Great Firewall of China. I have been living in Beijing for 18 years now, and access to blogs and other social sites is only through the use of VPN. So, I did not see the point of having a blog when no one in my immediate circle, students or colleagues, cannot easily access it. The second one is that I have difficulty expressing myself in writing. I am not a native English speaker and my writing skills are not, let us say, satisfying. Being and unsatiated book reader I know what good writing is and THIS is not. Finally, it is difficult to imagine anyone willing to squander time reading my incoherent thoughts.

But on the other hand, I really want to excel in my current studies. And not only on this assignment. There is a lot of writing involved and it is not writing in science (which is what I am used to). Therefore, this blog can help me improve. Practice makes perfect, right? Lastly, it might be good for me to use this platform to express my feelings, describe some of my experiences, thoughts, even if no one else is reading. Apparently, there are many benefits in talking to yourself (Wong, 2017) or talking to strangers (Schroeder, 2019).

So whether you are an imaginary reader or not, welcome.

Citations

Schroeder, N. E. & J. (2019, June 12). The surprising benefits of talking to strangers. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-48459940

Wong, K. (2017, June 8). The Benefits of Talking to Yourself. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/smarter-living/benefits-of-talking-to-yourself-self-talk.html

How to escape education’s Death Valley

Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish — and how current education culture works against them. In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational “death valley” we now face, and how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility.

About the Grading Debate

http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol14/num31/a-formative-assessment-compromise-to-the-grading-debate.aspx?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=ASCD#.Xj2IBy4mj_U.link

Homework… What is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing!

Very Interesting Article

The Learning Renaissance

The issue of homework has been a thorn in my side since I started teaching.

The standard thinking is that it develops independent learning skills, extends the work of the school into the home and give opportunities to reinforce the curriculum.

I’m all for developing independent learning skills, but I’m not sure homework is an appropriate way to do it! It makes assumptions about the home learning environment and the resources within it. Not every child has access to a quiet and warm place to work, not every child has parental support or access to books and a computer. We make assumptions when homework is set which might be entirely unrealistic for individual children. Most importantly, not every child is able to work independently because of a range of learning conditions such as dyslexia or sensory processing disorders.

Then there is the additional workload imposed on the teacher with the marking…

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Some thoughts

“It is not subject and activity demands that have overburdened our schools but, demands to solve the problems of a society unwilling to bear its burdens where they should properly be shouldered. A society unwilling to rid itself of racial prejudice asks the schools to achieve desegregation. A society unwilling to talk with its children about love, delight, and commitment asks the schools to teach sex education.” Nel Noddings in The False Promise of the Paideia.

inquiryHub (iHub) Biology: Free Full Year HS NGSS Bio Units

Awesome resources

Science for All

Screen Shot 2019-09-22 at 2.01.56 PM The inquiryHub (iHub) biology landing page provides a full-year high school life science course that is 3 Dimensional and built for the Next Generation Science Standards. These materials were developed by teachers from Denver Public Schools collaborating with the University of Colorado Boulder and Northwestern University. This team designed three units that meet the expectations of the high school life science performance expectations in NGSS. These units have been content reviewed by a group of scientists and have also been reviewed for NGSS Quality by Achieve.

In my neck of the woods we have many high schools where biology is taught using either outdated or homemade materials that may not meet the vision of the NGSS. These types of readily available online materials from iHub not only model the types of instructional units that we need for high school students but also provide a cost effective way for schools and districts…

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Inquiry

“What am I going to have students grapple with today? What am I going to have them figure out?” Student-centered lessons keep the entire class curious and engaged. pic.twitter.com/TzGWX38SM1
— edutopia (@edutopia) January 29, 2020

Technology in the classroom

Digital Technology plays a very important role in my class, although not as big as I want it to. To begin with the constrains China blocks access to almost all blog sites, all non-Chinese social media such as twitter, Facebook etc., several other sites such as BBC news and Google. People can still access those sites with the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) most of the time. Since I cannot expect all the students to have a VPN service, it limits what sites, and services I can use in the class.

Having said all that I still use digital technology. My school uses Powerschool Learning Management System (LMS) formerly Haiku, and I am utilizing that as a communication way to my students and also to try to implement blended learning.

I am using the LMS to upload videos, documents, quizzes, challenges, and the students use them to enhance their learning. Initially I was using it to upload information that complimented what we were doing in the class for the students to use at home. For example, I uploaded videos that with the use of visuals can explain in greater detail and clarity the content. That also helped with ELL students, that require longer time to fully understand. Recently I am using it in a way that duplicates HyperDocs. “HyperDocs, a transformative, interactive Google Doc replacing the worksheet method of delivering instruction, is the ultimate change agent in the blended learning classroom. (Highfill, Hilton, & Landis,2018). You can find HyperDoc samples on their site. With the LMS I am using, I can replicate the function of Google Doc and create digital packages that allow me to differentiate instructions and content, and use classroom time to create better learning experience. For example, after students study the structure and functions of the cell and organelles, we can have activities to fully understand the relationship between structure and function. With HyperDocs I can direct students to study the structure and function at home, before we have the experiential activities in the class. And on top of that I can ask students to choose how they want to study the content. I can provide them with online videos, documents, simulations, etc., and it will be up to them to decide the best way for them to learn it. Additionally, that allows differentiation for ELL students or with now previous knowledge to spend as much time and in any way they need to learn the material.

Highfill, L., Hilton, K., & Landis, S. (Eds.). (2018). About HyperDocs. Retrieved January 30, 2020, from https://hyperdocs.co/about_hyperdocs

Online Learning Community Building Tips

Nice Article about online learning communities

Online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses. When a learner participates in an online learning community, they are forced to take an active role in the class activities. They cannot simply show up to class and listen to a lecture. Instead, the online learner must use self-discipline and time management skills to ensure they consume the course content before the next community activity such as a discussion forum. If they fail to prepare in advance, it will be apparent to the other students who read an ill constructed discussion post. Boettcher and Conrad (2016) propose that the online learning community student may be more motivated than a traditional classroom student simply because they don’t want to look bad in front of their classmates. In addition to increased student motivation, Drs. Palloff and Pratt (Laureate, 2010) cite the benefits to effectively using an online learning…

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Battling Decision Fatigue | Edutopia

The Learning Renaissance

When you’re teaching reading, focusing on these three questions can help you conserve your mental energy.

A good way to triumph over decision fatigue is to focus on the decisions that have the most impact. In our research, we found three decisions that are worth reading teachers’ attention. They all start with letting students be your guide—by doing so, you regain the trust in the intuitive expertise that helps you thrive.

Find the full article here: Battling Decision Fatigue | Edutopia

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