ASTA follow-up

Thanks to all of you who attended my ASTA sessions yesterday.

• Here's the link to the Unbelieving Evolution prezi. 
• Here's the link to the Edge of Inquiry prezi.

Please comment back if I've missed any resources, and I'll post them here ASAP.

Hardin County Follow-Up ... uh ... follow-up!

Hardin County Teachers: It was a true joy being with you yesterday for our Inquiry Follow-Up session. Here's the follow-up I promised to. You can find the documents I went over in my public folder. (Make sure to get anything you want soon; these files will be removed in about a week.) For the web-based resources I mentioned:

• The DeMystifying Inquiry document is linked here on the left under Key Links. It's the one that gives the levels of inquiry.
• For inquiry curriculum links, look to the left here under Key Links and click on Inquiry Resources.
• Click here to find the ACT College Readiness Standards.
• Click here to find out more about the National Science Resources Center and the work they did to start the LASER network.

My Prezi from UAB's Teaching with Technology Series

Here's the Prezi I'm using on 29 Sept 2010 to present my ways of holding students to high expectations and creating meaningful assessment aligned with learning outcomes.

Authentic Learning Resources

Here is where you can find resources to my presentation on authentic learning. Here's the link to my actual Prezi. The resources themselves almost all are listed in my 26 Aug 2009 blog post. Of course, you'll also want to explore Prezi! Leave a comment here, however, if I've missed something (or email me by clicking on my profile link to the left).

The Millenials Are Here

I find myself talking a lot about Net Generation learners, a.ka. the Millenials (see p. 70 of this link) . At UAB, my classes aren't totally undergraduates; so, it's taken me a few more years than most college professors to have my audience transition to taking on the culture of their world. Now, it's in place. These smart, savy, caring students are raising the bar on what learning looks like and how teaching needs to change, especially since many of them have grown up as students in the early school reforms of the 90's or in the more mature reforms of this decade. Bring it, Millenials! Let's change the world.

Objections to Inquiry

Really, really like how deftly Tyler Rice handles objections to inquiry in 10 Reasons NOT to Do Inquiry.

Changing Math Teaching: Dan Meyer's TedxTalk

My buddy Jeremy Carter has introduced me recently to Ted Talks, and I'm hooked. One of the best things about them is that they're time-limited. You know you're going to get good content in an engaging way without wasting you time. Here, Dan Meyer does a really nice job of talking about how math teaching is changing in America.

Country Music & Civil Rights

I love this video. I've started using it in my Methods of Teaching I class to help new teachers think about how much the world has changed, but how little our teaching methods have changed. The video moves me, especially when I think about the changes I've seen in my life.

My favorite part is what's pictured below, when Brad is playing quietly on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I went to first grade in a segregated school in Greenville, Mississippi. Now, I live in a city that's a symbol of the strides forward we've made in civil rights. Sometimes, I get down about all that's happening in the world around me. This video reminds me that things really do change and that we really should "never, never, never give in".

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Plagiarism

Plagiarism makes me angry. It's rampant at the university, and it's just wrong. Here's my newly written plagiarism policy that will begin appearing on my syllabi:

Plagiarism certainly occurs when a student uses someone else’s exact words without quotation marks and a full citation or when a student paraphrases extensively without citation. These are not the only instances of plagiarism. When in doubt, students bear the responsibility to inquire whether their use of information from another source constitutes plagiarism. Though technically not plagiarism, teachers risk the appearance of plagiarism when they present another educator's lesson ideas as their own without giving credit.

Student Presence Resources

View my Prezi here and find the handouts from my presentation in the Zip file at my Mac public folder.

Authentic Learning Resources

Here is where you can find resources to my presentation on authentic learning. Here's the link to my actual Prezi. They're almost all listed in my 26 Aug 2009 blog post. Of course, you'll also want to explore Prezi! Leave a comment here, however, if I've missed something (or email me by clicking on my profile link to the left).

NSTA Follow-up

Here are the links to the resources I'll share in my NSTA presentation on teaching evolution (11:00am, Saturday, Marriott Grand Salon G):

-You can retrieve the lesson plan from my public site.
-Its companion resources are posted on my October 5, 2009 blog post here.

Please let me know any questions or comments you have.

Modeling vs. Simulation

For awhile I've been skeptical about simulations. I've seen teachers struggling to implement inquiry reach for simulations when they can't do actual data collection, but I'm skeptical because of the lack of real data. Today, though, I saw how modeling can fit well with inquiry.

The picture shows my son David participating in an activity at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. The students' challenge was to design with Silly Putty a shape that fell very slowly in water. They were simulating zooplankton and how it's adapted to fall slowly through the water. I realized just a change in view could take this non-inquiry activity to an inquiry investigation. If the students are modeling, and the model is a good one, then they can actually collect data from their model's behavior.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Geriatrics Education Conference Follow-Up

If you're looking for the resources that I'll mention in my session at UAB's Geriatrics Education Conference , you can find most of them in my 26 Aug 2009 blog post. Of course, you'll also want to explore Prezi!

Teaching Evolution & Civil Discourse

Teachers always ask me, "What should I do when students say, 'What do you believe?'" I've been thinking about that question ever since The Missing Link came out. I wrote about that issue in the last chapter and outlined an approach, but I've also had a several new thoughts about civil discourse.

One of the big problem with evolution, and with teaching it, is the lack of civil discourse. Emotions begin to simmer, and words get heated. I got called "evolutionist" and "creationist" on the same day soon after The Link came out. Since then, I've also been called "heretic" and "atheist" None of this is civil discourse. Name calling doesn't help either side, and both the creationist side and the evolution side have done their share of name calling.

So, I'm trying to imagine a classroom where children can talk civilly about evolution, especially children in a public school who come from diverse backgrounds. I used to think that teachers should work to minimize personal conversations while students are learning evolution in an effort to minimize controversy, but now I realize that approach probably just doesn't work. Any time students are engaged in inquiry, they're going to have sidebar conversations about personal matters. Adults, as well as children, do that when they work in groups. So, I realize now that teachers can't shut down the personal conversations that are going to happen as students are learning about evolution. I'm not even sure that they should, even if they could.

I've also been thinking about the civil discourse that we hope happens in a democratic society. People are always going to disagree, and the trick is how to handle the tough conversations. I'm starting to realize that evolution is a good opportunity for teachers to help their students learn some of the skills of civil discourse. Rather than shutting down the personal conversations about "Well, I believe..." that will certainly come up when public school students are learning about evolution, I'm beginning to catch a vision of how a skilled teacher could be present in those discussions, guiding students to understand what civil discourse looks like when people disagree on deeply felt issues. Learning about evolution could be an opportunity for student to learn some life lessons about handling a whole range of controversial issues.

It's a tough topic for teachers to tackle, but I have a lot of faith in science teachers. I bet they can figure out what civil discourse looks like with their students.

OCPS next step

OCPS teachers: Look here by February 4.

See You in Philadelphia at NSTA

I'm honored to be presenting on teaching evolution again at this year's NSTA national conference. Details on my presentation are below. Other than that, I'll be hanging out in the exhibits and looking for people to talk with. I also plan to be tweeting from LeeOnInquiry. I hope to see you in Philadelphia.

Saturday, March 20 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
Understanding but Not Necessarily Believing: Teaching Evolution to Religious Students
Philadelphia Marriott, Grand Salon G

DESCRIPTION: Explore an approach that respects students' religious beliefs, engaging them in the evidence while minimizing conflict.
SUBJECT: General Science
GRADE LEVEL: Middle Level-High School

What I Wish I Said I: I'm Still Learning about Evolution

Call it author's remorse, but now I'm thinking of all the things that I should have said in writing The Missing Link. I guess there's no way to get a book right on the first edition. My mentor Tom Koballa said the other day that you never really get any book absolutely right.

What I wish I had said in the Introduction was that I'm still learning about evolution. I'm not an expert at all. I come to learning about evolution late because I was schooled in the American South, where evolution is often skipped due to controversy. Also, my background in fundamentalist Christianity made me fearful of studying evolution. Writing The Link put me on the road to learning about evolution, but I know that road is a long one before I've filled in the holes in my background.

I'm sure that readers will find mistakes in the science in The Link. I just don't know enough yet to have nailed down the science clearly. I'd be fine if the topic were chemistry or physics. the areas I have taught as a high school teacher. Biology was actually my first love, but as a high school student I began veering away from biology because of the conflict I saw between evolution and my faith. Now, here I am 30 years later, turning back to what I was most interested in all along.

All of this is why I wish I had said in the book blatantly, "I'm an evolution learner." First, it's the reality. Although I wish I knew more about evolution, that's just not where I am right now. Second, I wish I had said that for the sake of the other teachers out there who, like me, are still catching up on their knowledge of evolution. Some may have had backgrounds similar to mine where they were afraid to study evolution. Others might be teachers from another certification area who find themselves unexpectedly teaching evolution. The Appendix in The Link is titled, "Help! I'm a Biology Teacher, and I Don't Think I Understand Evolution Myself." I wrote it to help teachers who, like me, need to learn more about evolution. In fact, that appendix presents the resources that were most helpful to me in deepening my understanding of evolution while I was writing the book.

I'm also wondering now if identifying ourselves as evolution learners is a good, not a bad, thing. Every week I see news of new findings in evolution, and I find another good book on it that I want to read. I can't keep up! I know students respond well to teachers who are open about how they are still learning. I think we'd all agree that if students say at the end the evolution unit, "Hmmm. I want to know more," that would be a great result of their study of evolution. With all of the new fossils coming out of the ground these days, I would think that we'd all have to be evolution learners.

Hearing Ken Miller's Balance

Ken Miller spoke at UAB last week, and I had the privilege of attending his lecture. I was impressed by two things he did. When it came scientific questions and issues, he stuck tenaciously to the evidence. He did this with clarity and expertise in his talk and in the Q&A time afterwards. When it came to questions and issues outside of science, he responded with grace and openness. The combination of the two approaches was powerful to watch.

With regard to evolution, he stuck to the science, and he didn't blink in the face of tough questions during the follow-up period. Some might think that he was attacking creationism and intelligent design, but I didn't. I heard him clearly delineating scientific approaches from non-scientific ones. He kept coming back to scientific evidence and scientific processes, and he kept exposing the inherently religious nature of creationism and ID.

When the issues touched on anything other than science, however, he was gracious and non-dogmatic. He defended religion throughout the Q&A time as something valuable and enriching to humans. He spoke easily and quickly of his own faith (Catholicism) without proselytizing. He pointed out the non-scientific statements that those like Richard Dawkins have made as they've used evolution to attack religion, but he refused to attack Dawkins himself and instead spoke kindly of him.

If you're not familiar with Dr. Miller's work, take a look at his evolution webpage. For me, I'm off to order a couple of his books to see what else I can learn from a man who is unapologetic about the evidence, but gracious in all else. (Also, I'm pretty challenged by his deep knowledge of the evidence for evolution. I still have much so much to learn about the evidence for evolution, but I'm getting more and more comfortable with viewing myself as someone learning about evolution. More on that soon.)

State-By-State Grades on Teaching Evolution

In The Missing Link, I took the stand that all students need to learn about evolution and that creationism/ID is not appropriate for teaching in public schools. That continues to be my stand. All students need to understand the piles and piles of evidence for evolution and how scientists explain evolution limiting themselves to natural processes. In The Link, though, I focused on how to do that in a way that is sensitive to and honors students who come to evolution with deep religious objections.

My UAB colleague, Rob Angus, just passed along to me a recently published analysis of how each U.S. state scored on the teaching of evolution. The title is Why Science Standards are Important to a Strong Science
Curriculum and How States Measure Up, and it's available free on-line. The graphic here is from that article, and the image gives the quick-view of the results. There's progress here with several Southern states improving their ratings. But, children in many states still don't appear to be getting the opportunity to even examine evolution at all.