Curriculum Development
How do Redwood Trees Grow so Tall?
Redwood tree phenomena-based unit plan
Summary
This is a unit I created for sophomore biology students to develop an understanding of plant homeostasis. The storyline question for this unit was: How do Redwood Trees Grow so Tall?
NGSX Model
The unit is based on the Next Generation Science Exemplar (NGSX) method of teaching. NGSX is a phenomena-based learning strategy that incorporates claim-evidence-reasoning discussions and modeling. With this method of teaching, students are provided a “non-Google-able” phenomenon to investigate. As individuals and then as a group, they draw or create a model of their current understanding of the phenomenon, develop questions about what they do not understand (through a “driving question board”) and the instructor leads them through learning activities to expand the complexity of their knowledge about the phenomenon. Students share their models of understanding, the class frequently revisits the driving question board and the instructor facilitates discussion to develop their claim-evidence-reasoning skills.
Mentoring Colleagues
NGSX Presentation - PD DAY
This was a new model of teaching at the high school. A fellow science teacher and I volunteered to present information about this method of teaching and give other teachers the opportunity to consider how they might use the whiteboards, driving question board, etc. in their classrooms. This is the slide deck from the presentation.
In the past few years, our school transitioned from Macbooks with Microsoft Office (Powerpoint, Excel, etc.) to the Google Suite (Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.) using Chromebooks.This presentation was created with Powerpoint.