Summary
The human race has been altering the genes of organisms through selective breeding (e.g. cattle, dogs, corn) for many years. Recently, there have been great advances in our understanding of DNA, these advances have enabled us to modify organisms by changing the genes of these organisms, a technique called genetic engineering. The advances in genetic engineering have brought about many possibilities for ways to combat world hunger, malnutrition, illness, and infertility. These scientific advances are huge steps in the STEM field, however they also bring many ethical questions about how much we should manipulate DNA, or whether we should manipulate it at all. In this project, students had to choose one genetic engineering topic to research. They had to use researched information to create a solid argument for or against the topic they chose and present to their class. They also had to write a reflective essay about another classmate’s presentation about which they had a different point of view.
TIPC Ratings
The Information Specialist conducted a session on research and information fluency for the students. This session, as well as, the skills they learned in their grade level enrichment sessions on research and information fluency helped them determine which sources were valid and reliable. Students conducted their own research to find information relevant to the assignment. They were required to have at least five sources, with one being a print resource. Students also had to contact and interview a scientist or professional in the field of genetics. Students are familiar with Edmodo, and could share their information with other classmates. Students used appropriate digital tools to assess, assemble and justified their data in the form of a presentation. They also had to use the knowledge they gained from their research to write a reflective essay about a presentation that differed from their point of view.
Students could choose to work individually or with a partner, they were required to communicate and conduct an interview with a scientist or professional in the field of genetic engineering. They had to determine the best digital tool to use to conduct this interview with their specialist. The information gathered from their research and their interview was presented in a digital format that was shared with the other students in their class. They were allowed to use Edmodo, HCPSchool, GoogleDocs or any other means of communication to share researched information with others. After the presentations were shared with the class, the students had to write a reflective essay about a presentation that differed from their point of view. This project reflected the authentic, real world tasks required in the scientific arena to promote growth and change of scientific ideas.
Students had to research, organize, assemble, present, defend and justify the data gathered for this authentic, real-world project. This required higher order problem solving and critical thinking skills. In this project each student had present their findings, using the most appropriate digital tools to communicate their point of view to the other students in the class. After all the presentations were shared, each student had to write a reflective essay about a presentation that differed from their point of view. This meant they had to be able to engage in conversations and ask meaningful questions of their peers to gain a full understanding of that student’s research and findings.
Students created, researched, analyzed, interpreted and presented researched data to support their findings and point of view of genetic engineering in the format of a presentation. They had to create an original presentation with the information and data they researched and justify this researched information in the most appropriate way to support their point of view. They had to present their findings in a convincing and persuasive manner. Each topic generated different questions and students needed to determine what information was the most important to present to their audience. Students used prior knowledge and conducted new research in order to generate their presentation. The goal was to persuade the audience to the presenters’ point of view. Students reflect on their presentations and choice of digital media. Students analyze what they did well and where they could aim further development in the future.
Download Files
Genetic-Engineering-53101.zip
Contents:
- Lesson Plan
- Additional Lesson Files
- Student Artifacts
