This activity is designed for 9th and 10th grade Biology students and can run for a full marking period or longer .
I have for a number of years been unsatisfied with many of the laboratory experiences that arepublished for Sophomore Biology classes. I object to their predictability and to the way that they often present the process of science to students, many students easily getting the idea that critical thinking and problem solving is a no hassle, hands free, direction following exercise in reading. Removing active student participation from the thinking and design process is not , in my opinion, serving science education in the best manner . This exercise addresses this need by using a laboratory approach to focus on the process of critical thinking and scientific method. Student teams will design an experimental procedure to test some environmental variables on the growth patterns of a small crustacean- Triops longicaudatus. (also called tadpole shrimp). This particular organism also demonstrates the concept of diapause and the eggs are obtained in that state.
The goals of this exercise are varied and is not really to leaen about Triops, but rather to useTriops as a vehicle to develop the objectives. They are (1) to teach scientific-anylitical- procedure in problem solving by using scientific method, (2) to teach team learning and communication skills, (3) to teach students to use mathematics to help them solve science problems, (4) to teach students to collect and manage data, (5) and finally to reinforce or teach computer skills. And finally the activity is very inexpensive and requires no sophisticated or expensive or dangerous laboratory equipment.
| Lesson Plan |
Questions about this exercise can be addressed to:
Archmere Academy
Claymont, DE 19703