| 2003 MSTA Presentation on Biology Budget Blues 1. With the budget crunch, we are all going to have to be more creative in stretching our funds and raising funds such as my Botany class selling plants or "worry worms" (balloons filled with flour... messy but fun and they do sell).My botany class makes cuttings of plants, dish and bottle gardens, and grow herbs to sell twice a year. 2. Students have become less critical thinkers with the more access they have to "canned labs" and technology that does it all for them. (eg: can anyone in a store actually give you change back without a machine telling them what that would be?) Encourage them to problem solve and offer open ended labs where they have to figure out what happened. (See biodome suggestions). I have expensive water testing kits but when we are testing a stream we will inventory the invertbrates found. Can't go on a field trip?... then make up flash cards and put them in different "stream baggies"... have kids identify and then rate the water quality. Lakes and ponds can be rated by the diversity of algae growing. For example if there is lots of Euglena and blue green algae then this is water of low oxygen and indicates some form of pollution or imbalance of decay. 3. We can buy expensive models or have the students make them such as three dimensional models of a plant or animal cell. The favorites with my class are anything edible!... The biodome experiment can replace expensive fish tanks to be maintained in the room. (I plan to add a page soon of inexpensive animals to have in the room such as cabbage butterflies, tiger salamanders and their larvae, even a giant African Millipede.... USE YOUR STUDENT'S TALENTS... Let them shine as they create posters, diagrams, life cycles and other visuals for the whole class to benefit from. 4. You want them to learn a concept, have them create or play a game. In creating the game, they are more careful because their peers are going to test it out. If you want them to participate, make it competitive. For example, when we play the BE THE FROG game... Each student is given a party favor blower with a pre-cut piece of velcro they must attach to the extended tip. Spread small insect cards (made from cardstock and stickers or stamps) with a spot of velcro attached. Students are given a time limit to catch food in order to survive. Then the fun really begins: - back of cards have symbols representing acid rainfall, sewage, some butterflies are posionous, some bugs had pesticides applied.... what happens to the frogs? How many would get to reproduce? - Another variance is to start with a small number of frogs in the pond and if they get enough to eat, add additonal frogs each round until they release the role of predation... soon none of the frogs will have enough food (okay but watch out for cheating frogs that stockpile insect cards under their legs or are using their hands to help their "tongue" catch food... they become frog legs and are out of that round! 5. I stress MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES in my approach and few discipline problems. Part of it is because it keeps the kids guessing as to what will happen next. You don't have to sing and dance with your class, it really is about offering alternative ways to assess performance. It also helps everyone get out of their preconceived box as to what they can and can't do. School is a time of discovery; not just in subject areas but in what unique strengths and gifts each of us have. In science, we do encourage interpersonal work as students usually work together on labs.... how about on tests? I gave a genetics test with one portion to be done by the individual and the next day I had genetic counselor teams who had to help some make believe clients. Kids chose to come in during their lunch time to continue working!!!! Not every team did well but some students also learned that working with lazy friends didn't help them so they now choose to work with someone else. ( and I did not have to point out the enabling that was going on.... they figured it out themselves!) For musical intelligence, well if you can't sing you can still challenge your students to develop a song or poem with 10-15 key concepts on topics you have covered. Even if you feel you don't sing well, you will be amazed at how you connect with more of your students. I am willing to show them that I will get out of my comfort zone in order to grow. I now have former students who are singing in their own classes! I will have a more detailed paper available for next year's conference as it is my intention to continue proomoting this approach. You can demand higher critical thinking skills like synthesis in using the multiple intelligences. For example, having the students make a 3D cell model is a great kinesthetic approach but its emphasis is only on physical appearance.... take it a step higher by then giving them a piece of construction paper and magazines to cut up and require them to associate a picture with how the organelle functions. They provide a key explaining their rationale which is turned in to me before they exchange papers. Thus they have to think through not only their own analogy but another student's as well. I count this as a quiz grade. 5. Finally, use the outdoors. Sure it is unpredictable but that is what makes it interesting. We have a drainage ditch in back of school and have seen dragonflies emerge. We rescued polywogs when the ditch started drying and almost everyday there would be new little toad to release. (We also learned that my Japanese Fire Belly newt loves to eat polywogs and tadpoles... oops!) We have witnessed the diversity found in a small patch of weeds growing next to the lawn, collected different samples of seeds, tree leaves and bugs. Make some time to study plants indoors or outside. It is amazing how many Biology classes will spend ample time on animals and just skip a look at plants. May you always have a song in your heart, Evie |
 |