ED 625 MD Tech Standards and Literacy Liam Breathnach I work in a school which has a 1-1 iPad program and if you ask the teachers how they feel about that, well, the jury is still out. There is no questions but we can do many more things than could be done in a classroom even 10 years ago, but technology comes with a burden. I often try to think back to my own days in classes and compare with modern day. Is the iPad the modern equivalent of staring out the window? Is it worse? Whatever your stance, technology is here to stay, in school and beyond. As teachers, our job is to send out mature people, capable of functioning in the world, and that does includes being able to use technology in a productive, safe manner (Flinders and Thornton, 2013). It may seem to anyone of my age that I am already slipping behind the waves of technology and that teenagers do not need my help in navigating new systems, but that is not entirely true. While students do adapt and adjust more quickl...
Posts
Framing our Reading – Vocab Mod 6 Liam Breathnach The three words I chose were endocrinologist, genome and variant. They were all included in an article on how genetics influences height. The article linked here, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170201131513.htm details how genes are linked to height and how we may learn from, and influence this in future. There are many reasons I chose the word endocrinologist. Its length goes against it initially but it is a great example to show how we can break up words in to sections to get to the meaning. Teaching the word we can expand biological vocabulary and talk about prefixes such as hemo_, and group words like pulmonary, renal, cardiac which pertain to body parts. There is also an opportunity to teach about the various specialized medical professionals you may encounter such as oncologists. The lesson could even stretch to scientists in other fields, such as ecologist or botanists. ...
Ed 620 Framing Our Reading Mod 5 Yetunde and I stayed with genetics this week choosing an article linked here https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170419091616.htm from the website www.sciencedaily.com . The article is very interesting. The headline is an attention grabber, certainly in the all-boys school I am in. The word mutant is going to grab their attention. The overall concept throughout the article is good too. On initial reading, students might just get stuck on the idea that we can manipulate DNA in wasps, but there is the underlying idea which can be drawn from them - If this works there are endless possibilities with the CRISPR technology. There are many attractive things about the article. It does give the teacher an opportunity to review or teach about the life cycle of insects to some extent. An easy conversation would be why lots of these type of experiments are done on insects. You would expect to hear about cost and accessibility, but you could hav...
Teaching the Genetics of Height and its Implications This week Yetunde and I stayed with the area of genetics. We chose this article https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170201131513.htm from the website Science Daily. We chose this article as it is cutting edge and can be used to serve as a template for future studies of polygenic traits. The topic of height is also likely to be at the forefront of the minds of many of our students and will therefore have added relevance. We decided to stay with genetics for a number of reasons. It is a large part of the Biology course. We can show our students that Biology is always learning and changing, and I have found that students are fascinated by the power and influence of genetics. I was immediately interested by the article. I have always liked to know facts and dimensions and always wanted to be tall. That I am a centimeter taller than anyone else in my family is still a source of some (childish) pride! Any reflectio...
Reading Engagement Blog Liam Breathnach For our Framing our Reading – Engagement project Yetunde and I chose a text from an online website Science News for Students . https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/silencing-genes-understand-them . The article is to do with learning what individual genes do and what lessons we can learn and applications we could make or use from the gained knowledge. I believe the article is interesting and should be able to capture the interest of the students. I think the simplicity of the idea and overall investigative process will resonate with students. It may make Science seem accessible and give them some confidence if they think “well I could have told them to turn them off and see what happens!”. The article and work is portrayed as being very collaborative and in the present. Students these days are more open to collaborative work and it will make it more real world to the students to know that all this research is currently...
Hi everybody, I am attaching two papers I recently wrote for my Assessment module. Enjoy. ED 615 Mod 8 Assessment Philosophy Liam Breathnach Whatever your personal feelings about assessment, it is an integral part of teaching. Assessment is the way a teacher gets information on how well the students have learned and can apply the material. It also gives vital information about how the teacher’s practices and methods are achieving the stated objectives in the class. Reflecting on this information and modifying future instruction where necessary, is very important in successful teaching. Students get an idea of what they know and what they still need to do. Parents and administrators also get feedback on the performance of the teachers and students (McMillan, 2008). Assessment is very broad and occurs in every class. Formative assessment, such as questioning and worksheets, gives the teacher regular feedback on student knowledge and comprehension. Then summa...