Teaching science effectively requires me to be aware of my own conceptualizations of science and what that means for the students learning in my classroom.  I consider science to be a field driven by inquiry and exploration to discover truths and investigate theories.  In my mind, the term science describes this process of discovering knowledge as well as the knowledge base gained through that search.  For this reason, I believe that it is vital to teach students the scientific method through an inquiry-based curriculum.  By enabling students to frame their science learning in the context of the big ideas and essential questions which drive inquiry, students acquire the following skills: how to prove something empirically, how to problem-solve, and how to work collaboratively as a member of a scientific community. 

 

Valuable learning opportunities are inherently created when there is a balance between classroom experiences which foster productive learning such as: experiments and simulations, teacher-led instruction, student-led instruction, group work, and individual work.  Inquiry is a pervasive theme throughout my biology curriculum.  I believe that the following learning activities are at the heart of inquiry: posing questions, making hypotheses, creating investigations, etc.  I plan frequent laboratory experiences because they involve many of the inquiry skills mentioned above.  For example, I might have students investigate the fetal pig circulatory system by asking them to explore what might happen if there were a lesion in the inferior vena cava.  This activity requires them to make initial explanatory models and then revise these models in light of new content knowledge.

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Practically and logistically speaking, a biology teacher is not successful unless her students are taught the following units: ecology, animal physiology, botany, evolution, classification, molecular genetics, heredity, cell division, photosynthesis and respiration, cell structure and function, and biological chemistry.  I list these topics specifically because they address content standards which I consider to be universal, and because I believe it to be important for students to have a well-rounded knowledge of biology.  In addition, I work to enable my students to be life-long members of the scientific field by teaching them to converse intelligently about current biological issues.  This entails incorporating discussions about topics such as conservation biology, medicine, and stem-cell research into my instructional planning. 

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When selecting what is important for students to learn, I always consider content standards along with any additional information that is essential for students to learn about the discipline.  In particular, I believe that biology students should learn about the following often-overlooked topics: developing proper laboratory techniques, collecting and analyzing data through the scientific method, and reading scientific sources. A biology teacher must also help students to be literate science learners by teaching them to successfully navigate science texts.  This requires me to teach content while also providing students with the skills necessary to tackle appropriately complex primary literature.  My goals for each unit are made explicit to students through comprehensive rubrics and clear assignment descriptions.  I also work to establish collective class goals to motivate students.   

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It is absolutely crucial for students to be motivated to learn and participate in classroom tasks.  Students must also have a reasonable expectancy of success and be able to assign some value to the material to be motivated to learn.  Many students begin to lose interest in science as they reach the middle school years.  I believe that this problem can be alleviated in part by a classroom awareness of the importance of what is being taught.  A teacher must activate students’ prior knowledge to establish relevancy and foster intrinsic motivation.  For example, I activate prior knowledge at the beginning of an ecology unit by asking students to describe and highlight population dynamics in their own communities. 

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There are many ways that a science teacher can support student learning and fuel success.  Learning new and complex concepts is daunting for students without a calculated delivery of the material from the instructor.  The teaching technique known as “chunking” is quite appealing to me because it keeps students interested in the material.  A chunking lesson on heredity might include the following activities: 1) an individual textbook reading about Gregor Mendel, 2) a class simulation of meiosis to explain the Law of Segregation, and 3) group work on a Punnett square problem set.  An environment in which students can practice multiple ways of learning material enhances skills which go far beyond the content of the lesson itself.  It is also the responsibility of the teacher to scaffold new information and model novel skills, such as using a light microscope to view paramecia, so that the material is intellectually accessible for students. 

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An effective teacher is approachable and encourages students to use their peers as resources.  When students feel uncomfortable asking questions about confusing concepts, they typically disengage from the material.  However, making oneself available to answer questions does not involve automatically providing the answers for students.  I believe that there is merit in designing instruction such that students are partially responsible for their own learning.  Teaching formats such as problem-based inquiry science, design-based science and project-based science are valuable because they accomplish this goal.  A unit on water quality becomes an investigation project when students are asked to collect evidence and come to a consensus about the state of a nearby stream.  I fervently believe that inquiry-based instructional formats empower students to engage in higher-level thinking.

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I persistently vary my assessment tools and techniques throughout each unit.  My formal assessments incorporate both written aspects and multiple choice sections in order to be sensitive to the individual strengths of my students.  Frequent formative assessments also allow me to gauge student comprehension regularly.  I highly value the insight that such assessments provide, and I am open to modify any aspect of instruction if it will help students to succeed. Teachers must be reflective about student misconceptions and confusions on a regular basis and make changes accordingly.  This requires the flexibility to amend lesson plans based on the individual or collective needs of students.  A balance between informal and formal assessments also provides students with multiple opportunities for success.

  

I believe that a student must be able to apply his or her knowledge to a novel situation or problem to truly demonstrate enduring understanding of the material.  For example, I would expect a student who has learned about plant structure and biomes to be able to design a plant whose structure maximizes efficiency in the taiga or the tropics.  Perhaps enduring understanding from a plant structure unit would include the concept that plant morphology is an evolutionary consequence of habitat characteristics and constraints.  My assessments test for such content mastery by requiring students to synthesize what they have learned.  In my assessments, students are expected to actively use scientific terminology and apply new information in the context of experiments, application problems, and other creative exercises. To ensure that all of the information present on assessments is covered thoroughly in class, I design my instruction using a backwards design format. 

 

Biology content should be delivered in a manner which addresses the needs of all learners.  This involves identifying student needs and communicating content in student-sensitive and possibly individualized ways.  However, I believe that the format of instruction should always be chosen based upon the content.  Student difficulties arising from different learning styles are often alleviated when the material is delivered in a manner that is appropriate for the content. I also believe in providing all students with the resources that they need to succeed.  For a struggling student, these resources might include the following: structured notes pages, scaffolded assignments, extra time to work with me individually, etc.  Some students will have need for more extensive resources than students who are successful with fewer resources at their disposal. It is important to identify such discrepancies at the beginning of the school year so that differentiation is proactive.  

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I have found teaching to be a team effort between family, student, and teachers. Parents must feel comfortable approaching me if my teaching style is not benefiting their child.  I work to establish my approachability to students and teachers early in the year by making myself receptive to questions, suggestions and concerns.  I believe that there must also be a collaborative effort to teach students.  In order to give my students the best classroom experience possible, I consult experienced coworkers for advice.  Communicating curriculum goals to one’s colleagues establishes connections between individual subjects and contextualizes information for students.  For example, writing claims and providing evidence for those claims is often a goal of science, history and English classrooms alike.  As such, standardizing instruction of claim writing helps students to develop a cohesive understanding of claims and the multiple contexts in which they can be used. 

           

I believe that my primary role as a teacher in the public school system is to set students up for future success by fostering following skills: how to think and problem solve, how to work collaboratively in a group setting, and how to communicate ideas and opinions.  Mastering such skills enables students to advocate for themselves and become functional and successful members of society.  While schools are responsible for the content standards outlined by their states and districts, I believe that it is the responsibility of teachers to communicate that knowledge with more inclusive goals in mind.  Teaching students the aforementioned skills allows them to be successful with the content that I am teaching and the challenges that they will face beyond my classroom.  This goal motivates me to persevere when daunted by challenges in the classroom.  I teach both the content and the learner as a whole.