BIOTECHNOLOGY: Monster or

Miracle?Nancy

KelloggBrawley Union

High School

BIOTECHNOLOGY:Monster or Miracle?

This is a web quest for high school biology students, introducing them to the concepts and controversies concerning biotechnology.

Students research this topic from the perspective of a farmer, a research scientist or a consumer, then share their findings with classmates.

I teach biology and anatomy & physiology at Brawley Union High School in Brawley, southeastern California. I can be contacted at: nkellogg@brawleyhigh.org

Expectations

I was hoping to: Learn PowerPoint for

classroom and presentation applications

Learn how to develop and maintain web pages

Develop skills at manipulating text and graphics

Learn how to create a web quest

Become more adept at using the internet as a teaching resource

Technology skills I learned through participation in the CTAP program:

I learned how to: Make PowerPoint

presentations Create and maintain

web pages Use a digital camera Manipulate (to a small

degree) images used in any computer file

Print photographs Use a scanner

Insert scanned images into documents or presentations

Create a web quest Enhance materials I prepare

and/or present to students with color and graphics

Further integrate and enhance my teaching with the addition of student driven technology-based activities

I also improved my internet search and retrieval skills

The Activity

Students took a survey as a pre-test to determine what they knew and thought of biotechnology.

Students were provided instructions and information to conduct a webquest about biotechnology from the perspective of a farmer, a scientist or a consumer.

Using the rubric at right, they were to make a group presentation to the class while classmates took notes on each others’ presentations.

GENETIC ENGINEERING GROUP DISPLAY RUBRIC

 EXEMPLARY (25 points)

     All Proficient category criteria have been met

     Additional work is included, for example, group members each research more than 2 areas, or 2 or more of the following are included: additional benefits, concerns, examples of application, &/or safeguards

 PROFICIENT (20 points)

     Display is neat, all work is legible; color and creativity are applied

     Each group member was entirely responsible for at least 2 research areas

     Each group member participates in display preparation and presentation

     Presentation describes 3 benefits and 3 concerns/fears about GE in group’s field of study

     Presentation lists 3 examples or products (5 for farmers) of how GE is being used

     Presentation explains 3 safeguards against abuses of GE products

     Assigned vocabulary is defined so that it is understandable to the audience of peers

     The process of GE shown includes a labeled diagram that is complete and understandable to the audience of peers

 DEVELOPING (15 points)

     All of one or parts of two of the Proficient category criteria are not done

 DOES NOT MEET STANDARDS (no score, must be re-done and presented again)

     Two or more than parts of two of the Proficient category criteria are not done

 

The Activity, continued

Students used their notes to write an essay about labeling and/or regulating genetically-engineered products (see rubric at right).

Finally, the survey was re-administered as a post-test.

GENETIC ENGINEERING STUDENT ESSAY RUBRICEssay question: To what extent, if any, should genetically-engineered products

be regulated and/or labeled? EXEMPLARY (15 points)     All Proficient category criteria have been met     Additional work is included, for example: there are NO errors in language

conventions/grammar, more than 2 arguments given in favor of or opposed to regulating/labeling GE products, examples from all 3 areas of study are used

 PROFICIENT (12 points)     All work is neat and legible     Essay is typed, double spaced, between 1 and 2 pages in length     Language conventions are adhered to with few, if any, grammatical errors     Student presents at least two arguments with examples in favor of

regulating/labeling GE products     Student presents at least two arguments with examples opposed to

regulating/labeling GE products     Student states own opinion with valid justification     Student uses examples from 2 of the 3 areas of study (farmer, scientist,

consumer) DEVELOPING (10 points)     All of one or parts of two of the Proficient category criteria are not done DOES NOT MEET STANDARDS (no score, must be re-done and turned in

again)     Legitimate effort made to complete assignment timely for original due

date     Two or more than parts of two of the Proficient category criteria are not

done EXTRA CREDIT (5 points)     Easy-to-understand mindmap notes from other group presentations

attached

Student Presentations

Student presentations included a variety of technology applications: PowerPoint, video, word processing and clip art were among those used

Student Work Samples

Genetic Genetic EngineeringEngineering

Impact On FarmersImpact On Farmers

BIOTECHNOLOGY

Environmentally Concerned Consumer

Biotech:

A Scientific ViewA Scientific View

Although the format was left up to the students, 5 of 7 groups chose to present their web quest findings in PowerPoint productions. 3 are included here:

Student Essays

Student Data

Biotech Pre- and Post-test survey results

0102030405060708090

100

1 3 5 7 9

11

13

Test Question number

Pe

rce

nt

stu

de

nts

mis

sin

g

PRE-TEST% missed

POST-TEST% missed

Biotech Survey, Percent Change Between Pre- and Post-tests

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Test Question Number

Pe

rce

nt

ch

an

ge

in s

tud

en

t re

sp

on

se

fro

m p

re-t

es

t to

p

os

t-te

st

Student Opinion of GE Foods in General

010

2030

4050

6070

8090

in favor of in favor ofundercertain

conditions

opposed to don't know

Student Response

Pe

rce

nt

Stu

de

nt

Re

spo

nse

Student opinion of GE foods:pre %

Student opinion of GE foods:post %

• The graph below shows students’ general opinion of biotechnology/genetic engeineering (GE) before and after the activity

• The graphs to the right show percentages of pre- and post-test questions answered correctly (top) and the change from pre- to post-test (bottom)

Successes

• Learned both sides of controversial issues related to biotechnology and drew their own opinions

• Learned technical concepts related to biotechnology

• Worked well cooperatively and on task

Students: Enjoyed the activity

and became engrossed in their web quest, YEA!!!

Enjoyed the creative opportunity their presentation allowed• Learned or

improved their technology skills

Shortcomings

Time! The activity was postponed on several occasions, then students were not given adequate time in consecutive classes to work on it

Vocabulary concepts were not well understood by all students

Several misconceptions in the subject of biotechnology were not adequately addressed

• Some scientific processes were difficult for students to grasp

• Computer access was limited at times• Not all pre-/post-survey items were learned during the activity

Lesson Revisions

Pre-teach vocabulary and basic genetic engineering processes prior to introducing the web quest

Allow more time -- 2-3 class periods (consecutively) -- for students to research their web quest assignment

Explicitly discuss misconceptions to guide students to appropriate understandings where they have been misled

Revise the pre-/post-survey to better reflect the content learned from the teacher, web quests and student presentations

Summary and Concluding Statement

My use of technology continues to be applied daily and expand as well. My use of technology in teaching includes:

Insertion of graphics into student documents“Mind map” notes made in Word, including graphics and colorSchool web page with current information (including graphics) about course outlines, rules and grading policies, homework assignments and a swim team page (see Nancy Kellogg’s web page at www.brawleyhigh.org)Student assignments using computers to research, conduct image analysis, and create PowerPoint presentations

Next year, I will expand my technology applications as follows:PowerPoint presentations will replace or augment some other presentation forms previously usedStudents will use computers to record and display data as well as for presentations

Summary andConcluding Statement, continued

I learned more than I expected! My most surprising discoveries have come from using my new digital camera and scanner to insert and manipulate images

All of my original expectations were met or exceeded

My confidence in handling both hardware and software issues has greatly improved as a result of participating in this program

I highly recommend this program to all educators, because it allows everyone to work at their own levels and choose their own areas for growth.Han

THANK YOU for the opportunities and support you have provided me!