This blog may seem out of chronological order, but this is the time when I look back and think about the school year. Did I leave anything out? What lessons need modifying to make them more effective? Every year, I know that biology teachers everywhere try to present interesting and important lessons…but if you are like me, you see misinformation posted online, talk with people who obviously don’t remember one thing they learned in biology, and hear the denial of science in the opinions of many others. These people had science classes in school…. What happened?!
We need to emphasize to our students why biology is so important in their lives, not just once, but throughout the year. Some students just don’t seem to like science, but in my experience, many of these students struggle in biology because they have difficulty with the vocabulary and the technical reading. Some of them may be in a home where scientific information is not trusted. Whatever the reason, science teachers need to keep up the good work of encouraging scientific literacy in their students.
One way to do this is to start the school year with lessons that explain what science is, and why it is important. I used a resource for many years, which I “preserved” (I didn’t write it.) called the Science Knowledge Survey. I have it available for free on my TPT store.
We need to show that there are many jobs that use biology, with educational requirements from a high school diploma to post-graduate studies. Students may know people with careers in biology, but they haven’t made that connection to the course they take in school. I have a new lesson on TPT called Why Study Biology? The “Learn More About a Career in Biology” sheet could be used throughout the year with each unit.
We also need to show how the scientific process exists to produce objective, research-based information that must be verifiable. The University of California at Berkley has a fantastic website on the process of science called “Understanding Science 101.” Here is an example of an interactive process of science diagram from the website. You can find a lot of resources there…pick something you can work in to your lessons on the scientific process.
Soon you will be on summer break. Decompress and enjoy your time away from the classroom. I encourage you to look back on your year teaching biology and identify something you want to improve for next year. Hone your skills. This world needs biology education, and biology teachers gotta bring it!
- Jane
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