Marcelo

//Task:// Reflective exercise for the end of the semester (Bio 20 - Intro to Bio)

//Objective:// To integrate information obtained during the course and apply it to personal interests

//Author:// Marcelo N. Pires, Ph.D., Saddleback College, mpires@saddleback.edu

//Method:// Asynchronous //Instructions:// Throughout the semester, we have discussed biology by focusing at different levels of biological organization - molecular, cellular, organismal, ecological. In real life, however, these levels are not isolated, but, instead, are part of a continuum and are always interconnected. In this activity, I ask you to choose one topic related to biology that interests you (examples: vegetarian dietary habits, camouflage in chameleons, swimming efficiency in fish, HIV/AIDS, global warming... anything that interests you, really!) and identify how this topic could be better understood by analyses at different levels of biological organization. For example, if you chose HIV/AIDS, you could point out that the study of the molecular basis of HIV reproduction (molecular level), its effects on human cellular survival (cellular level), human health (organismal level) and human populations (ecological level) are all necessary for a throughout understanding of this disease. Post your refection in our Wiki “Reflections” page. You may do some research while preparing your Wiki entry, but realize that, for this assignment, it is ok to raise questions that you are still unable to answer. While raising questions that are important to the understanding of your topic, however, be as specific as possible. //Activity Author’s Note:// In this exercise, I would be looking for the student’s ability to ask pertinent questions and identify critical biological issues associated with a topic of their interest, within the context of the different levels of biological organization that we discussed during the semester. This is an opportunity for them to review topics discussed during the course and to put them in perspective.

Amy McWhorter’s critique of Marcelo Pires’s activity: I’m always hoping that my students appreciate how one class fits into the bigger picture, and I think this assignment does just that! It also seems to hit all of the criteria for an effective reflective activity in Conrad, 2004 (p. 75). I am glad that you give them some examples of topics that would be good for this type of reflection. The best ones would be topics that were not directly discussed during the course. You might also consider providing reliable resources for students to do a little reading up on these types of topics, especially if they haven’t had to do those types of searches ever before. I’m also thinking that you could continue this by keeping the wiki up after the course is over and encouraging students to come back. In the meantime, you can give each post a little feedback, perhaps answering questions they raised or providing links to organizations with more information on the topic. I suppose the last suggestion would depend on the class size!
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Marcelo,
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This is a marvelous activity in the way it links the topic to students’ personal interests to critical inquiry. And by using a wiki, it provides for leveraging of these elements among students in the class.

To tweak your instructions a bit, look at the last couple of sentences and see what you can do to clarify. You mention questions in a way that suggests you had earlier mentioned that, but you hadn’t.

LeeAnn