Overcoming a Scientific Paper

A few weeks ago, I gave my students an assignment that made them panic. It was just 4 simple words, but the affect it had on the class was astonishing. I told that that they needed to...Write A Scientific Paper. Instantly, I was met with a chorus of complaints and whining before I could even describe the assignment. However, I persevered through the negativity to explain the project. It made me wonder why my students would be so terrified of writing a scientific paper.

Why Do I Put Myself Through This?
I have a few reasons that I think it is super important for high school students to know how to write a scientific paper. First, one of our school goals at Aurora is to improve reading and writing skills across the curriculum. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to practice both their reading and writing. They practice their reading because they have to find credible resources on-line and extract useful information from them. Then they have to summarize the articles in their own words to make it fit into their paper. They of course practice their writing by using proper grammar and style in their paper. Another reason I have students write a scientific paper is because writing formal paper is going to be important for them if they continue their education in college. Any major will require students to be well written, and if any of my students choose to pursue science, they will be expected to be able to write a 5-10 page scientific paper. I want to expose them to writing a scientific paper in high school before they get to college. It is better for them to struggle through it as a high school sophomore, where I can give them lots of advice and time and encouragement, then to never have them do it and be unprepared when they get to college. When I was in college, I had the privilege to lead a few labs, and during that time I got to know my professors fairly well. One the the biggest complaints science professors and Wayne State College had about incoming freshman was that they can't write scientific papers. This is frustrating for professors who feel like they are teaching junior high skills to college freshman, and it is frustrating for students who feel like professors have unattainable expectations for something they have never done before. Hopefully, because of this assignment, my students will be more prepared to face these challenges than the average high school student.

What Is The Assignment Like?
As I mentioned in a previous blog (Plant Project), we do a project where students try to get radish plants to grow better using household items. Then, I explain what things a good scientific paper should include.

1. A descriptive title
2. Abstract: summarize your entire paper into a paragraph.
3. Object: 2-3 sentences (include hypothesis)
4. Introduction: why is the experiment important, what do plants need to grow, what is in your independent variable that should help them grow or hurt their growth? (Have at least 2 internet sources)
5. Methods and Materials: explain what you did so I could do your experiment at home.
6. Results: have a graph showing your results with a paragraph explaining it.
7. Conclusion: Was your hypothesis right or wrong? Why did you get the results you got? How could you make your experiment better for next time? What are the implications of your project? (Have at least two internet sources)

I also show the students a few scientific papers, so they can see how every single one follows these basic rules.

What Challenges Do Students Present?
There are a few challenges that students present that get on my nerves and make the project more difficult. The first one is "How long does it have to be." I do not know when or where they get it in their heads that all writing assignments are good if they are long enough and bad if they are too short. If you can get everything you need to include in a paragraph that is great. I wonder how many English teachers focus more on quantity rather than quality. (I guess it is easier to tell a student that they failed because they don't have 500 words than it is to explain why their writing is poor.) I probably had to tell my students 25 times that I don't care how long it is as long as they explain everything I ask them to explain well.

Another challenge that comes up is getting students to wrap their heads around a writing assignment that takes more than a 1/2 hour to complete. They are so used to scribbling together a crappy writing assignment the period before it is due (and passing because they have enough words) that they can't even contemplate spending several days and multiple hours making something they can be proud of.

I read an article about our culture (Losing Is Good For You) that talks about students thinking they can just show up, meet the minimum requirements and still get an A. They are so focused on "what is least I can do", that it never occurs to them to take the time to make something they are truly proud of.

Final Thoughts
I know that writing a scientific paper is challenging and difficult, but I strongly believe it is worth the time and effort. I am very excited to read a few of my students' papers because I know they will be wonderful. For I the time I spend focusing on the students who complain the loudest or are the laziest, there are just as many students working extremely hard to make a wonderful paper. I will post links to some of the best papers, so you can see all the hard work that went into them.

Grapefruit peels
Green Tea
Egg shells

Let them eat...Jello?

Cell Structure
One of the Nebraska State Standards is that students will know the form and function of the parts of the cell. I select the 13 that I think are the most important for an animal cell. After we have spent some time discussing the function of each organelle, I try to get them a hands on project to complete so they can remember the functions.

• Nucleus
• Nucleolus
• Vacuoles/vesicles
• Lysosomes
• Cytoskeleton
• Centriole
• Ribosomes
• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
• Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
• Golgi Apparatus
• Mitochondria
• Cell Membranes
• Cytoplasm

 The final activity we do as a class is to make a model of a cell. I have seen lots of other classes make models of cells using things like paper, a cookie/cake with frosting or clay. However, the aspect of cells that I think students really miss out on is how fluid a cell really is. They see cells under a microscope and everything seems stuck in place and not moving, they see a diagram of a cell and everything is just sitting there and they make a cookie model and everything is just stuck there. However, cells are extremely fluid and everything in the cell is moving all the time. To help show this idea I have my students make a jello cell.(I show this video to get the point across as well).

Here is the outline of the project:

1. Gallon bag = Cell membrane (the bag regulates what comes in and out of the "cell")
2. Cytoplasm = lemon jello (fluid and allows for movement)
3. Plum = Nucleus (The plum has a pit and skin like the nucleolus and nuclear membrane.)
4. Peanut M&Ms = Vesicles (The peanut M&Ms store and transport the peanut)
5. Lysosomes = Gummy bears (bears break things down)
6. Cytoskeleton = Pull and peel licorice (long and stringy like cytoskeleton)
7. Centriole = licorice nibs (a type of licorice because it is a type of cytoskeleton)
8. Ribosomes = chocolate chips (they are small)
9. Rough ER = fruit roll-up with chocolate chips (looks like a folded membrane sack)
10. Smooth ER = fruit roll-up (same as Rough ER minus the ribosomes)
11. Golgi Apparatus = Fruit by the foot (looks similar to fruit roll-up)
12. Mitochondria = Snickers (gives lots of energy)

The students really enjoyed doing this activity because it was a fun way for them to review the functions of all of the organelles.

 To help this be more than just a screw around and have fun day, each group recorded themselves describing each part of the cycle. I was very proud of how well Block 3 did in their description. Block 3 Jello Cell
Here are the rest of the class videos:
Block 2a
Block 2b
Block 1a
Block 1b

This is also a wonderful way for students to study the functions of the organelles without having to sit and stare at a piece of paper. Once again, it is not trying to memorize the functions, but rather remembering how they described them.Of course, the best part of the activity is when the students get to eat them!!

Macromolecules: My Obsession with Paper Models

If a stranger were to walk into my room, the first thing they would notice is all the bright colored paper models hanging around my room. These models were made by my students and, I hope, help them learn some of the basics of macromolecules. The Nebraska state standards say that students should be able to identify carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. I'm not sure what they mean by identify, but I assume a student should recognize one of these molecules if they see a picture of them, recognize them from a description, and recognize them from their functions. To help students master all three of these skills we have to do more than just give them notes to stare at. Students learn all sorts of different ways, so activities that stimulate more than one of the senses are always good. I do think it is important for students to be able to take good notes because, regardless of how well they learn a concept from notes, if they want to be successful taking college science classes they need to practice taking notes. However, just sitting and writing is ineffective for many high school students. Therefore, each class makes a paper model of each macromolecule.
Carbohydrates
The first complex molecule we discuss is carbohydrates. As they are designing these models, I overhear lots of interesting comments. Students will ask why are they all hexagons and another student will remind them that the monomer is glucose or a student will ask why theirs looks different than another class' model and a student will explain that one each one represents a different carbohydrate. This seems like a great way for students to reflect on what they learned about each macromolecule rather than just stare at a piece of paper. Also, when I review these concepts, I can just walk around the room and point to a model and ask them what it is, how they know that, and what its function is. Instead of them trying to recall what they memorized from their notes, they are recalling the steps they took while building the model and the conversations they had.

Starch

Cellulose

Glycogen

Protein

The next model we made was a protein model. We only talked about proteins in general, but we did discuss primary, secondary, and tertiary structure.We discussed that proteins are a chain of amino acids and then we built that primary structure. Then we discussed secondary structure and the students had to figure out how to give the chain alpha coils and beta sheets (lots of scotch tape!). Then they folded it into the 3-d shape of their choice. Now instead of memorizing what each of these structures are they can just think back to what was the first thing we did, the second thing, and the last thing. I also tweeted pictures of each of the structures so if they couldn't remember, they could just look back at that tweet. Studying tweets of things you did is better than studying a piece of paper.

Tertiary structure of a protein

Lipids

Saturated lipid
Straight chains

Polyunsaturated lipid
Chains with many bends

Monounsaturated lipid
Chains with one bend

Nucleic Acid

ATP/ADP
(with detachable Phosophate)

DNA

RNA

I believe anything that gets students moving, touching, doing and discussing will help them learn more than just sitting and writing. They also really enjoy getting to hang their models anywhere they want in my room and if making and hanging models makes science more enjoyable for sophomores, I am all for it. I posted pictures of these models on my twitter account as they were making them so feel free to check those out as well.

@brandon_timm or #ahsbio

Teaching with Inquiry (easy)

One of the skills I think it is vital for students to develop is a sense of inquiry. They need to wonder why, and then figure out a way to find out. Inquiry projects are virtually mandatory here in Nebraska with the state standards, and they absolutely should be! Literally (and when I say literally I don't mean figuratively http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/living/literally-definition) 5 pages of the standards are about doing inquiry and inquiry can be used to teach virtually any of the other standards. I really enjoy doing inquiry projects because you never know what the students are going to want to do or how they are going to test things. It's amazing how often my sophomores have better ideas than I do. However, I do think that high school sophomores benefit from some structure, so here are the outlines of some of the inquiry projects I do in my classroom. One of the negatives I hear from teachers is that it is too hard to find ways to incorporate inquiry into their classrooms so I wanted to give some super easy examples that I came up with to cover inquiry.

Potatoes
The first inquiry project that we did was about potatoes. We were studying the scientific method and I wanted my students to practice designing an experiment so I made up a scenario about potatoes sprouting. I said that potatoes on the counter sprout but the ones in the fridge do not. Each of my classes came up with a reason why they don't sprout in the fridge and designed an experiment to test it. Then I thought to myself, if these guys are going through all the work of designing an experiment, why not actually do it. 20 pounds of potatoes later, my classes have 3 potatoes inquiry projects currently underway.
This picture is from by third class who chose to test how the amount of moisture affects potato sprouts. The first set of potatoes is the control group with no water added, the second set is set on a piece of fabric that is kept moist and the last is a set of potatoes completely submerged in water. (An interesting side note about the second group is that the fabric is a pair of pants from a mannequin because that was the only fabric I had on hand...Lets just say the mannequin was much more realistic then I thought. My poor sophomores are scarred for life)
The class thought the one with the most water would grow the best but they are starting to disintegrate in the water. One of the potatoes on the counter is the first to start growing sprouts after only one week, but we will see if the group I'm backing (slightly moist) can make a comeback in the weeks to come. One of the nice things about this inquiry project is that it shows the students how easy it is to do an inquiry project. It doesn't have to be a huge ordeal, science can be quick, fun, and easy!

Chicken Liver
A lab activity we will be doing tomorrow also has a little bit of inquiry involved. We are studying proteins and one of the most important functions of proteins is to be an enzyme. My sophomores, however, seem to have no idea about enzymes even though they are so important. We are going to do a lab where catalase (obtained from chicken liver) is mixed with hydrogen peroxide to make oxygen and water. We use a LabQuest oxygen probe to measure how much oxygen is being made. This is a pretty straight forward lab, but I want my students to do more than follow directions. I want them to question why and use the scientific method to get answers. My challenge for them is to find a way to make it happen faster. Their ideas are usually add more liver, add more hydrogen peroxide or make it hotter. With a little prodding they can also come up with changing the pH.This is an easy way for me to change a "follow directions lab" into an inquiry project. (I'll add pictures from class after they do it tomorrow.)

Plant Growth
The largest and most complex inquiry project we do is our plant project. The objective is extremely easy: find a way to help plants grow better. First the students research what plants need to grow, especially what nutrients. Once they have that figured out, they research common household items that occasionally get thrown away that have those nutrients and might help the plants grow. Then they design an experiment to test that household item. My students have tested many things ranging from coffee (helps) to orange juice(nothing grows), from milk (no growth) to Gatorade (growth), from aspirin (no growth) to toothpaste (no growth). They plant the seeds (I have used Wisconsin fast plants in the past but am trying radishes this year) water it, and track growth for about a month. Then they share their findings by writing a scientific paper. (I'll blog about the challenges relating to that later.)

Historic Scientists Presentations

The first graded assignment I have my students complete is a Historic Scientist Presentation. This assignment helps to cover 3 main goals. It helps students see that science and society are interrelated, scientists overcome challenges to reach their conclusions, and it helps students practice presenting information in front of the class. To the right I have the poster I designed to model what I expected for my students. (Pasteur is one of my favorite scientists of all time and I am completely amazed by how much he changed the world in his lifetime)

The First Goal
The first goal of this assignment is for my students to see that society is greatly affected by science and that society plays a large part in scientific discoveries. Last week I mentioned that many sophomores come into class already having decided that they don't like science and that they will never use it. One way to help these sophomores care about the material we are covering is by helping them see how science has affected society. One of the standards here in Nebraska is to "Describe how society influences the work of scientists and how the science, technology, and current scientific discoveries influence and change society." This can all be summed up with this diagram.
One of the scientists they research is George Washington Carver. I ask my students "Why he was so obsessed with studying peanuts? What kind of person grows up wanting to be the peanut man?" The students giving the presentation will usually answer that the only reason he studied peanuts was because he wanted to help the poor, recently freed black farmers in the South. What a powerful example of society dictating what a scientist researches!

The Second Goal 

The second goal of this assignment is for students to understand the challenges scientists face overcoming commonly held beliefs. There are lots of ways students could reach the first goal, whether its talking about nuclear weapons, discussing how cell phones changed society, or learning why science is focused on curing cancer rather than HIV. However, this activity allows us to "kill 2 birds with one stone." and cover two standards with one activity. I think this can be particularly helpful for female students who are researching a female scientist. One of the scientists they study is Rachel Carson (crap...I shouldn't have mentioned killing birds earlier...) who was a whistle blower about the dangers of uncontrolled DDT use in the United States. When the students realize the things chemical companies said and did to discredit her and her work, it really opens their eyes to the challenges female scientists used to face and makes them realize how much more open society is now to females pursuing a career in science.

The Third Goal
The third goal is for students to practice and become more comfortable sharing information to their peers. Last year, I had students write a paper about the scientist but I found I spent most of my time trying to teach them how to write instead of seeing them learn about scientist. I went for the poster and in-class presentation approach to help them develop their public speaking skills which I think are absolutely vital. One concept that is very dear to me is the idea of scientific literacy, where students can do more than just memorize science stuff, but discuss and share it with others in a way their audience can understand. This also helps level the playing field for students who struggle in school because they are poor writers (although these students also generally lack confidence to share info in front of the class, I do my best to ease their discomfort.) One area that I try to focus on is presenting rather than reading. Some students get so concerned about making a mistake or forgetting to say something, they want to just read what they put on the poster. This is an area that I really try to help them improve because watching the back of someones head while they read something you can read on your own is super boring.

Here is the link of the rubric I used if anyone is interested in doing a project similar to this.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/110425052/Scientist%20Writing%20Assignment%20rubric.docx

Does anyone do something like this? Any suggestions for improvements?

Introducing Biology to Sophomores

One of the frustrating aspects of teaching sophomores biology is their attitude toward science before they even enter your classroom. I cannot count the number of times I have told a younger student that I teach biology to which they reply "Oh, I don't like science." It is so heartbreaking to know that somewhere along the line these students' nature curiosity and interest has been crushed before I get a chance to teach them. It would be interesting to poll elementary teachers on what their favorite high school subject was and see how many of them loved science.  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17HGJ5m7f4jMHLRrAgZrKXXF2YVpL-gh85-bopZaQBEw/viewform


I try to overcome this obstacle by telling them that they have never had biology before so they cannot possibly know that they don't like it. Typically the thing they don't like about science is being bored reading sections out of a textbook and then answering review questions about them. They also do not like getting a packet of material for them to figure out on their own while the teacher sits back and waits for them to finish. When they get the chance to actually make their own experiments and test hypothesis how they want they start to realize that science isn't all that bad. 

To me, however, the most challenging group of students to excite are those students who have a strong grasp on what they want to do with the rest of their life and going to college is not part of that equation. Their attitude is that I am never going to use these concepts for the rest of my life so I am not going to learn them. Instead, I am going to do just the bare minimum to pass this class so I can graduate. This is one of the challenges of teaching a class that is required for everyone to take before they graduate. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just teach an upper level science class where every student is in the class because they chose to take it. However, it is vital to get these students to be engaged more than just the bare minimum. 

One thing I try to do is to forget about the science and figure out what skills are absolutely essential to have after you get out of high school. You may never use a Punnett square  the rest of your life, but are there skills you can develop during that unit  regardless of the content. I think the most important skill students can have is the ability to think critically. My students may not care one bit about photosynthesis in spinach leaves, but can they apply prior knowledge to come up with a way to get it to go faster? That is a skill they will need no matter what career they end up going into. It is also super important for them to be able present information in front of a group. If  my high school science class would have presented information on a regular basis using speeches, powerpoint presentations, iMovies, or scientific papers, how much easier would have my college speech class been , or having a leadership role in a college group, (Check out page 3 Homecoming court as Navigators' president)http://wildcat.wsc.edu/stater/archive/2011/september_28_2011.pdf or my teaching career? If they plan on going to college they better be able to take notes in a way that is useful for them, why not start practicing now? They also need to be able to collaborate and work in groups throughout their lives and high school biology gives them a great place to do that!

What other important life skills do you teach? What are other ways you get your students excited to learn?