Value Systems and Science: Khan Academy and Your Essay

Evolution, natural selection...Do these ideas fit your values?  Have you researched them or blindly repeated what you've heard said?  Data are truth.  Many religions seek truth.  Have you thought about truth?  Science and religion share that they are about truth-seeking.  Some students get excited about science when they study it from the point of their own value systems.

First have students jot down ideas for an essay on evolution from any perspective that they would like.  They can make a map of their ideas, or, use an outline, chart, picture, or list.  Let them use any way they would like to form a presentation of their ideas.

Next, have them put an opinion or feeling they would like to share.  They can circle this or put a box around it...Use some way to keep their sentiment or point in focus.

Set these items aside.

Now, here is a video to watch:
http://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/v/intelligent-design-and-evolution?v=qxOEz9aPZNY

Have the students watch the video.  They may take notes.  They don't have to take notes.  They may use any format for the note-taking they desire if they do take notes.

Have them jot down the major points of the film and then box their feeling or opinion about the film they would like to share.

Have students then take some time even a week or two to write a comparison and contrast essay between their initial ideas and the ideas presented in the video.  Have them add information from 5 other sources of their choosing, religious books, newspaper articles, texts or story books, or, even and hopefully at least one journal article...  Be sure to have them cite the sources.  (They can use a style manual for that.  The librarian can help you find one or you can find some on line.  I suggest using a science one or one for publishing articles in a magazine.)

The purpose of this essay will be for the students to examine science from their own value systems as they are.  The work should not be steered by any adult or voice.  Let the student think deeply.  Let them know that this is where they are now in their thinking and their is no "wrong-ness" in thinking their own thoughts.  Explain that throughout life we use our value systems whether cultural, religious or other, to influence how we think and what we think about topics.  If they were writing this essay in 5 years, their views might be different because of their life experiences, their learning, and their deepening of personal views.  Let them know that periodically re-examining where they stand on issues is a good thing.  Stagnation is not a good thing, on the other hand.
Let the students have fun exploring their values and how they relate to science and how they relate to growth in life.
(c) 2012 J S Shipman

Krebs cycle, ATP production, cell communication, and photosynthesis

Part of Science Literacy is knowing what you need to know...

Post under development  Back later...

"I need help with Krebs' cycle, ATP production, cell communication, and photosynthesis as soon as possible."

So...here is a plea from a person who really wants to learn...What can we do...Even better, what can this person do?

Active learning is the best way to acquire and keep information.  Knowing one's own style of learning is also helpful.  Let's look at first steps.

How much time do we have to learn the information?  This number is important for time management.  We can decide how much time we have for each topic.

Jot the time you have down  __________________________________.

Set up a schedule based on your other commitments and the time slots you can devote to this study.  Get a notebook, and all your study materials and handout sheets, if any.  You can use them to help support what  other tools you find.

Now, lets look at each  topic.  Organize what you already know under each heading, even if it only a series of questions that you want answered.

Krebs' cycle 

Cycle...sounds like circle or re-cycle....Maybe it has to do with something going around   (Perhaps that's all you can think of.)  

Add what else you already know here, add your questions, then go to the next topic.  Afterward, come back and add information from other resources.  I'll start you off.  You continue.  I'll be back in a day or so to see if you have made any progress...first, though, let's look at Kreb's Cycle

Krebs' cycle 

Cycle...sounds like circle or re-cycle....Maybe it has to do with something going around   (Perhaps that's all you can think of.)  

Students often start with Wikipedia from a Google or other search engine search.  Okay, let's start here.   I'll be back when you've had a chance to read this.  In fact, you can look up similar information on the other topics and glance through them.  We'll figure out ways to comprehend the information later

Citric acid cycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle

The citric acid cycle — also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle), theKrebs cycle, or the Szent-Györgyi–Krebs cycle — is a series of chemical ...

Evolution - Overview - Steps - Products

ATP production 

Don't forget to add what you already know about ATP production and questions that you may have...

Here are some beginning web search finds:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine_triphosphate, and,

http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/biocoach/cellresp/review1.html 

Cell communication, and 

Don't forget to add what you already know on cell communication and questions that you may have...

Here are some beginning web search finds:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_communication_(biology)

Oh, something else interesting came on the radar:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/insidestory/

...we could look at that, too.

Photosynthesis

Don't forget to add what you already know about photosynthesis and questions that you may have...

Here are some beginning web search finds:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis

But, look at this, too:

http://nhscience.lonestar.edu/biol/bio1int.htm

I'll be back.  Here's a list modified from the above mentioned source (http://nhscience.lonestar. edu/biol/bio1int.htm), accessed June 28, 2012:

Photosynthesis; Plants

• Light Absorption
• Atomic Absorption of Electromagnetic Radiation University of California.
• Jablonski Diagram Molecular Expressions
• Photosynthesis University of Alberta
• Light Reaction
• Harvesting Light
• Photosynthesis by John Kyrk
• Photo systems 1 and 2-Oxygenic Photosynthesis by Sue Merkel, Cornell Univ
• Photosynthesis Animation by John L. Giannini
• Energy Capturing Photosynthesis animation by June B. Steinberg
• Photosynthesis Animation - Light Reaction Central Michigan University
• Photosynthesis McGraw-Hill
• Light Reaction Smith College
• Dark Reaction - Calvin Cycle
• Calvin Cycle Animations by June B. Steinberg
• Interactive Photosynthesis Biochemistry by Garrett and Grisham
• Calvin Cycle Smith College
• Calvin Cycle ASM Press and Sinauer Associates Inc.
• Calvin Cycle McGraw-Hill
• Overall
• Metabolic Processes Terry Brown
• Photosynthesis Forest Biology Virginia Tech
• Photosynthesis University of Aberdeen
• Illuminating Photosynthesis By Rick Groleau PBS
• An Overview of Photosynthesis The Biology Place

Let's try Khan Academy now:

Krebs' cycle; Science Literacy

http://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/v/krebs---citric-acid-cycle

ATP production; Science Literacy

Cell communication; Science Literacy

Photosynthesis; Science Literacy

http://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/v/photosynthesis  which is also available on Youtube:  

 You can find other videos on photosynthesis, Here is one done by two students as a project for a class:

Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xNwZCk2CHY&feature=related.  Accessed June 29, 2012.

Next steps; Science Literacy

Practice makes perfect!  What do you think?  Do you have a way to remember and use the information yet?  Higher order thinking on these topics is your aim.  So, let's work on that next.  Come up with some memory aids or mnemonic devices.

Also, think about the kinds of questions you can be asked on these topics...Put another way, "What is important about them?"  Then, make your reason for knowing them:  "I need to know this because________________."

Think about location, location, location:  Where do these metabolic processes occur in the cell?  What if the cell is prokaryotic like bacteria and blue greens?  What if the cells are eukaryotic like yours?  Or, like a trees?  Whay about in a set of organisms like found in a lichen?

What journal articles are found on these topics?  Have you thought about current research related to these four biology topics?

Think about how you can use this information, because that linkage to you...that formation of, "relevancy," in your brain, is what will let you remember it and use it when you need it in some future, as yet unknown, situation.  That will enable even higher order thinking such as synthesis, and analysis, needed to solve problems... global problems.

You might also wonder who is Krebs.  How did he think?  Isn't learning fun?  Each new idea leads to so many more.

  Source:  http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Adolf_Krebs.  Accessed June 28 2012.

Hans Adolph Krebs

How did he think?

How do you think?  I'll leave you with that thought.  Enjoy.

(c) 2012 J S Shipman All rights reserved.

(All blog posts on Read-about-it.blogspot.com here are copyrighted by the author and J S Shipman.)