Chapter 9: Teaching Tasks and Biology Instruction

Intro:

• teaching scenarios and teaching tasks account for a significant portion of the exam

  • roughly 25%

• these questions will evaluation teaching practices as well as biology knowledge

  • no individual questions about teaching styles and teaching methods

Chapter 9.1: Student Misconceptions and How Exam Questions Frame Them

• majority of the questions are what if student scenarios

  • student shares a partly correct, overgeneralized, or mixed-up concept idea with you

    • typically the student struggles with reasoning rather than vocabulary

  • teacher’s job is to determine:

    • 1. what the misconception is

    • 2. how to best address the misconception

      • content gaps require review of terms and concepts

      • reasoning gaps require reviews in connections, simply memorizing will not help

• the best answer is to never just tell the student the answer

  • further explanation is needed to understand where they went wrong

    • ex. evidence, comparisons, models, questions, etc.

• Common biology misconceptions you should recognize quickly

  • organisms change because they need to

    • evolution is not something that is chosen, it is natural process of passing down favored traits

  • all mutations are harmful

    • mutations can be harmful, neutral, or beneficial

  • stronger organisms are always the most fit

    • fitness is defined as the ability to survive and generate offspring

    • strength does not correlate to fitness

  • plants get food mainly from soil

    • although it is true that plants get vital nutrients from the soil, a majority of their food source comes from photosynthesis

      • misconception between inorganic and organic substances

  • energy cycles the same way matter cycles

  • diffusion means movement only when a cell is alive

    • diffusion is the passive movement of substances from higher to lower concentrations, whether living or non-living

  • larger populations always mean healthier ecosystems

    • ecosystems are about balance and not just large quantities

    • ex. density-dependent factors, fall of food chain

  • a scientific theory is just a guess

    • vocabular misconception: a theory is a well-tested supported idea

  • one experiment proves a claim permanently

    • validity requires multiple trials

    • furthermore, science once to be believed true can be reviewed and changed in the future

      • ex. earth as the center of the solar system

• the four ways misconceptions are presented on the exam

  • 1. a student states a plausible idea but it is wrong in a key way

  • 2. student responses that have deep misunderstandings

  • 3. question on how the teacher could reveal misconceptions

  • 4. choosing a response that would improve understanding

• Fun activities and correct explanations are not automatically the correct answer

• Strong responses achieve the following:

  • identifies the scientific concept the student is missing

  • uses evidence and support to challenge the student’s thinking

  • questions that use reasoning not just recall

  • connects the student’s current understanding to the correct concept

  • avoids unnecessary jargon when the goal is concept repair

• Weak responses typically:

  • correct the student without providing proper reasoning

  • focuses on vocabulary when the error is conception

  • task is not target specific

  • task fails to actually confront the misconception

Chapter 9.2: Choosing Models, Representations, and Instructional Supports

Chapter 9.3: Analyzing Student Work and Selecting the Best Next Step

Chapter 9.4: Classroom Assessment, Differentiation, and Lab-Based Learning