Biology Appilcation Class

What is science?

Science is a process that attempts to understand different types of phenomena through carefully and systematically designed and constructed observations. In the process of making sense out of these different phenomena, science inevitably constructs a lexicon of knowledge that is articulated between others through the use of language (scientific) that is unique to this field.

Does language matter?

With most human endeavors, language, a social agreement on what different definitions mean, is important for passing on important information that is, in many cases, unique to a particular cultural or society. This is also the case with scientific language versus everyday language.

Is the difference between common, versus scientific language?

In order for an individual to be able to fully participate (become a member of) in the scientific community, he or she must become fluent in scientific language. This is due to the fact that the accepted way(s) in which ideas, discoveries, observations are communicated are very different from common everyday language usage. For example, in common everyday language, acclimation and adaption are thought be and used synonymously. This, however, is not the case within the scientific community. In the scientific community, acclimation is the process of an individual organism adjusting to a gradual change in its environment during a short period of time, whereas, adaptation is a biological trait that results from the process of natural selection.

Evidence versus Data.

Evidence:
Evidence is the use of information (data) in order to support a particular claim and/or a particular
conclusion. For example, videos, photos, audio recordings, and written documentations are different types of carefully and closely analyzed data that are routinely used or referred to in order to give additional credence to various claims and conclusions.

Data:
Data, on the other hand, is information that has not as of yet been carefully and/or closely analyzed. Therefore, data is all information that has not been carefully and/or closely analyzed and/or cannot be reliably used in order to support a particular claim(s)

How do I view big ideas in teaching and learning?

Although the utilization of big ideas in teaching is supposed to help students move away from simply remembering facts and figures to truly understanding them, since I do not have any experience using them, I am not sure actually how I feel about using big ideas to teach biological subjects.For example,I clearly understand and agree that real learning begins after a student has gotten what he or she previously taught he or she understood wrong. However, I also hate the idea that many of these misconceptions will become so ingrained inside a student’s mind that he or she will never be able to completely break away from  thinking that  these same misconceptions are based on carefully and closely analyzed data .

The above statement is also why I am not completely sure about only utilizing a Constructionist's way of teaching. First of all, I believe that no one method can effectively teach all students and that the students have to be the ones who show you how to teach them. Secondly, I do have concerns about students who put very little effort and/or energy into their educations Lastly, I still need to figure out how to get my students motivated to the point where they will actually want to be responsible for their own learning.