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Core Competencies
See how I've met the core competencies while on practicum!
The Pipeline Debate: Environmental Chemistry
An example of how I met the positive personal identity, and the personal awareness and responsibility, and the critical thinking competencies was by teaching a lesson on environmental chemistry. We learned about mining and pipelines. We talked about the pros and cons of pipelines in BC, and I had the students form their own opinion about them. The kids were very engaged with this and made some very well-thought out opinions!
Which pipeline would you have proposed to be built, Trans Mountain or Northern Gateway? -OR- Would you prefer no new pipelines be installed? Explain your choice.
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Some students felt both pipelines were not good because of environmental concerns, because transporting the oil on ships was bad for the endangered Orca, and because not all of the First Nations Bands approved of either one
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Some students approved the Trans Mountain Expansion because there was already an existing pipeline in place, and they felt sending the gas to Vancouver area was going to do less damage overall if there was a pre-existing line already
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Some students wanted the Northern Gateway pipeline because they liked more jobs in small, northern communities. They also thought that this pipeline was a compromise because Orcas do not live in the North Pacific Ocean, and because a majority of the First Nations Bands were for this proposal
Evolution in Pinaceae trees
I demonstrated both Critical and Creative Thinking in my Pinaceae family evolution activity. I used different types of seedlings provided to my by the UNBC Enhanced Forestry Lab. I had Yellow Cedar, Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Larch, Spruce, and Subalpine Fir seedlings. I supplemented each seedling type with a picture of its distribution across BC or Canada, and some information about the tree species such as average age of the tree or anything of note for that species.
Students were asked to go around the room and look at and read about the different trees. I then wanted them to rank the trees in the order in which they think they evolved (building on what they learned about taxonomy in a previous unit).
Which order did you put the trees in? Remember that the simple answer is often the correct answer for science!
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Some students used the age of the trees: they felt that the trees that could live the oldest must have evolved first
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Others looked at the distribution of the trees: the ones that lived across Canada must have evolved earlier, so to make way for the trees that have very specific habitat requirements
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Advanced critical thinkers applied a few strategies: they used strategy #2, but extrapolated to add on appearance and specific traits to show which trees were closely related and therefore evolved around the same time
Overall, I was very impressed by the hard work the class put into this activity. They were very thoughtful and debated with peers over which guess was most correct. After showing them the real order in which the trees evolved, most of them realized they were wrong! I explained to them that being right wasn't the point, it was to learn about taxonomy and how we used to rank species for evolution orders before genetic testing recently came into the picture.
Inquiry About Topics in Plant Biology
Plants have evolved to be increasingly more complex over time
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Plant have adaptations that allow them to succeed in extreme environments
I demonstrated Creative Thinking and Communication through my Plant Biology Inquiry Project. I used the following two "Big Ideas" that I made up to complement the older Biology 11 curriculum: Plants have evolved to become increasingly complex over time, and Plants have adaptations to make them successful in extreme conditions. Students were asked to explore any topic about plants that met one of the Big Ideas that I provided to them. They were given several days in class to research their topic and present their learning to the class in any way they liked! I gave a lot of choice for this project and used a general rubric to assess each unique project.
Students researched a variety of topics: How trees survive in high altitudes, How do plants reproduce? What is the social significance of the four leaf clover and where/how do they grow? What is the baobob tree and why is it known as the Tree of Life in Africa? How do carnivorous plants eat their prey? How does different soil types affect how plants grow?
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Students shared their learning in a variety of ways: Powerpoint presentations, Poster presentations, Booklets, and even a Rap Video! It was a great learning process for everyone involved because students had to challenge themselves by communicating what they had learned to the rest of their classmates. Some needed more prompting than others, or some better partner work during the research, but overall it turned into a very rewarding and fun experience!
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