The four lessons in this module are designed
What Are the Science Concepts and How
to be taught in sequence for approximately one
Are They Connected?
week as a replacement for a part of the standard
The lessons are organized into a conceptual
curriculum in high school biology. The follow-
framework that allows students to move from
ing pages offer general suggestions about using
what they already know about technology, some
these materials in the classroom; you will find
of which may be incorrect, to gaining a scien-
specific suggestions in the procedures provided
tific perspective on the nature of technology
for each lesson.
and its importance to science and to their lives.
Students begin learning about technology by
What Are the Goals of the Module?
developing their own definition of it and learn-
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular
ing about scale ( What Is Technology? ). Students
Biology is designed to help students reach these
continue to explore the concept of scale and
major goals associated with scientific literacy:
investigate resolution ( Resolving Issues). An
• to understand a set of basic scientific prin-
investigation of how technologies can be used
ciples related to the nature and role of
to solve scientific problems related to human
technology in biological science and to the
health ( Putting Technology to Work) allows
effects of technology on human health;
students to gain a deeper understanding of
• to experience the process of scientific inquiry
technology’s importance to our lives. The final
and develop an enhanced understanding of the
lesson, Technology: How Much Is Enough? , allows
nature and methods of science;
students to consider the current state of tech-
• to recognize the role of science in society
nology and design new technologies to answer
and the relationship between basic science
questions of relevance to cellular and molecular
and human health; and
biology. The following two tables illustrate the
• to help prepare high school biology students
science content and conceptual flow of the class-
for the technological world they will inherit.
room lessons.
Science Content of the Lessons
Lesson
Science Content
Lesson 1
Technology; scale
Lesson 2
Resolution
Lesson 3
Microscopy; X-ray crystallography; using technology to understand and solve health-
related problems
Lesson 4
History of technology development; development of new technologies
5
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology
Conceptual Flow of the Lessons
Lesson
Learning Focus*
Major Concept
Lesson 1
Engage
Technology is a body of knowledge used to create tools,
What Is
Explore
develop skills, and extract or collect materials. It is also the
Technology?
Explain
application of science (the combination of the scientific
method and material) to meet an objective or solve a prob-
lem. Scale is a way to represent the relationship between the
actual size of an object and how that size is characterized,
either numerically or visually.
Lesson 2
Explore
It is important to identify the right tool (technology) for the
Resolving
Explain
job. An important consideration is technology’s ability to
Issues
resolve structural details of biological objects. Two objects
can be resolved if they are illuminated with radiation (that is,
a probe) of wavelength (that is, size) that is not larger than
the distance separating the objects. Generally, the smaller the
probe used, the greater the structural detail, or resolution,
that results. Detailed structural knowledge about biological
objects requires information obtained in three dimensions,
not just two.
Lesson 3
Explore
Technologies differ in their resolving capabilities, thus provid-
Putting
Explain
ing different information about an object. Solving a problem
Technology to
Elaborate
requires an appropriate technology or series of technologies.
Work
Technology provides valuable tools for solving scientific prob-
lems of relevance to human health.
Lesson 4
Evaluate
New technologies are developed, and old technologies are
Technology:
improved and refined, continuously. This must be done to
How Much Is
meet the demands created by new and existing problems.
Enough?
*See How Does the 5E Instructional Model Promote Active, Collaborative, Inquiry-Based Learning? on page 9.
How Does the Module Correlate to the
National Science Education Standards ( NSES).
National Science Education Standards?
The content of the module is explicitly stan-
Using Technology to Study Cellular
dards based. Each time a standard is addressed
and Molecular Biology supports
in a lesson, an icon appears in the margin along
you in your efforts to reform sci-
with the applicable standard. The following
ence education in the spirit of the
chart lists the specific content standards that
National Research Council’s 1996
this module addresses.
6
Content Standards: High School
Standard A:
Correlation to
As a result of activities in grades 9–12, all students should develop
Using Technology to
Study Cellular and
Molecular Biology
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations.
Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
• Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
Lesson 3
• Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and
Lessons 2, 3, 4
communications.
• Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic
Lesson 3
and evidence.
• Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.
Lessons 1, 3
• Communicate and defend a scientific argument.
Lessons 3, 4
Understandings about scientific inquiry
• Scientists usually inquire about how physical, living, or designed
Lessons 3, 4
systems function.
• Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons, such as Lesson 3
to discover new aspects of the natural world, to explain observed
phenomenon, or to test conclusions of prior investigations or predic-
tions of current theories.
• Scientists rely on technology to enhance gathering and manipulating
Lessons 2, 3, 4
data.
• Mathematics is essential in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
Lessons 1, 4
• Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria.
Lesson 3
• New knowledge and methods emerge from different types of investi-
Lessons 3, 4
gations and public communication among scientists.
Standard B:
As a result of their activities in grades 9–12, all students should
develop understanding of
Structure and properties of matter
• The physical properties of molecules are determined by the structure
Lesson 3
of the molecule.
Standard C:
As a result of their activities in grades 9–12, all students should
develop understanding of
The cell
• Cells have particular structures that underlie their functions.
Lesson 3
7
Implementing the Module
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology
Standard E:
As a result of their activities in grades 9–12, all students should
develop understanding of
Abilities of technological design
• Identify a problem or design an opportunity.
Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
• Implement a proposed solution.
Lessons 2, 3
• Evaluate the solution and its consequences.
Lessons 2, 3, 4
• Communicate the problem, process, and solution.
Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
Understandings about science and technology
• Many scientific investigations require contributions from different
Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
disciplines, including engineering.
• Science often advances with new technologies.
Lessons 1, 4
• Creativity, imagination, and a good knowledge base are all required in Lessons 1, 4
the work of science and engineering.
• Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural
Lessons 1, 4
world, and technological design is driven by the need to meet human
needs and solve human problems.
Standard F:
As a result of their activities in grades 9–12, all students should
develop understanding of
Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges
• Science and technology are essential social enterprises.
Lessons 1, 4
• Progress in science and technology can be affected by social issues
and challenges.
Standard G:
As a result of their activities in grades 9–12, all students should
develop understanding of
Science as a human endeavor
• Individuals and teams have contributed and will continue to contribute Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
to the scientific enterprise.
• Scientists have ethical traditions that value peer review, truthful
Lesson 3
reporting about methods and investigations, and making public the
results of work.
• Scientists are influenced by societal, cultural, and personal beliefs.
Lessons 1, 4
Science is a part of society.
Nature of scientific knowledge
• Science distinguishes itself form other ways of knowing and from
Lesson 3
other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards,
logical arguments, and skepticism.
8
• Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria such as consistency
Lesson 3
and accuracy.
• All scientific knowledge is subject to change as new evidence
Lessons 1, 4
becomes available.
Teaching Standards
these opportunities for assessment and provide
The suggested teaching strategies in all the les-
answers to questions that can help you analyze
sons support you as you work to meet the teach-
student feedback.
ing standards outlined in the National Science
Education Standards. This module helps you plan
How Does the 5E Instructional Model
an inquiry-based science program by provid-
Promote Active, Collaborative, Inquiry-
ing short-term objectives for students. It also
Based Learning?
includes planning tools such as the Conceptual
Because learning does not occur through a pro-
Flow of the Lessons chart and the Suggested
cess of passive absorption, the lessons in this
Timeline for teaching the module. You can
module promote active learning. Students are
use this module to update your curriculum in
involved in more than listening and reading.
response to your students’ interest in this topic.
They are developing skills, analyzing and evalu-
The focus on active, collaborative, and inquiry-
ating evidence, experiencing and discussing, and
based learning in the lessons helps you support
talking to their peers about their own under-
the development of student understanding and
standings. Students work collaboratively with
nurture a community of science learners.
others to solve problems and plan investiga-
tions. Many students find that they learn better
The structure of the lessons in this module
when they work with others in a collaborative
enables you to guide and facilitate learning. All
environment than when they work alone in a
the activities encourage and support student
competitive environment. When all this active,
inquiry, promote discourse among students,
collaborative learning is directed toward inquiry
and challenge students to accept and share
science, students succeed in making their own
responsibility for their learning. Using the 5E
discoveries. They ask questions, observe, analyze,
Instructional Model, combined with active, col-
explain, draw conclusions, and ask new ques-
laborative learning, allows you to respond effec-
tions. These inquiry experiences include both
tively to the diversity of student backgrounds
those that involve students in direct experimenta-
and learning styles. The module is fully anno-
tion and those in which students develop expla-
tated, with suggestions for how you can encour-
nations through critical and logical thinking.
age and model the skills of scientific inquiry,
as well as foster the curiosity, openness to new
This view of students as active thinkers who
ideas and data, and skepticism that characterize
construct their own understanding out of inter-
successful study of science.
actions with phenomena, the environment, and
other individuals is based on the theory of con-
Assessment Standards
structivism. A constructivist view of learning
You can engage in ongoing assessment of your
recognizes that students need time to
teaching and of student learning using the vari-
• express their current thinking;
ety of assessment components embedded within
• interact with objects, organisms, substances,
the module’s structure. The assessment tasks are
and equipment to develop a range of experi-
authentic; they are similar to tasks that students
ences on which to base their thinking;
will engage in outside the classroom or in which
• reflect on their thinking by writing and
scientists participate. Annotations guide you to
expressing themselves and comparing what
9
Implementing the Module
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology
they think with what others think; and
• interact with materials and ideas through
• make connections between their learning
classroom and Web activities;
experiences and the real world.
• consider different ways to solve a problem or
answer a question;
This module provides a built-in structure for
• acquire a common set of experiences with
creating a constructivist classroom: the 5E
their classmates so they can compare results
Instructional Model. This model sequences the
and ideas;
learning experiences so that students have the
• observe, describe, record, compare, and
opportunity to construct their understanding of
share their ideas and experiences; and
a concept over time. The model takes students
• express their developing understanding of
through five phases of learning that are easily
technology by analyzing and interpreting
described using five words that begin with the
data and by answering questions.
letter E: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate,
and Evaluate. The following paragraphs illus-
Explain
trate how the 5Es are implemented across the
The Explain lessons provide opportunities for
lessons in this module.
students to connect their previous experiences
and to begin to make conceptual sense of the
Engage
main ideas of the module. This stage also allows
Students come to learning situations with prior
for the introduction of formal language, scien-
knowledge. This knowledge may or may not
tific terms, and content information that might
be congruent with the concepts presented in
make students’ previous experiences easier to
this module. Engage lessons provide the oppor-
describe and explain.
tunity for teachers to find out what students
already know or think they know about the
In the Explain lessons in this module, Lesson 1:
topic and concepts to be covered.
What Is Technology? , Lesson 2: Resolving Issues,
and Lesson 3: Putting Technology to Work, students
The Engage lesson in this module, Lesson 1:
• explain concepts and ideas about technology
What Is Technology? , is designed to
(in their own words);
• pique students’ curiosity and generate interest;
• listen to and compare others’ explanations of
• determine students’ current understanding
their results with their own;
about technology;
• become involved in student-to-student dis-
• invite students to raise their own questions
course in which they explain their thinking
about technology;
to others and debate their ideas;
• encourage students to compare their ideas
• revise their ideas;
with the ideas of others; and
• record their ideas and current understanding;
• enable teachers to assess what students do
• use labels, terminology, and formal language;
or do not understand about the stated out-
and
comes of the lesson.
• compare their current thinking with what
they previously thought.
Explore
In the Explore portions of the module, Lesson
Elaborate
1: How Low Can You Go? (Activity 2), Les-
In the Elaborate lesson, Lesson 3: Putting Tech-
son 2: Resolving Issues, and Lesson 3: Putting
nology to Work, students apply or extend impor-
Technology to Work, students investigate scale,
tant concepts in new situations and relate their
resolution, and the utility of technology to solve
previous experiences to new ones. Students
scientific problems, including those relevant to
make conceptual connections between new and
human health. These lessons require students to
former experiences. In this lesson, students
make observations, evaluate and interpret data,
• connect ideas, solve problems, and apply
and draw conclusions. Students
their understanding in a new situation;
10
• use scientific terms and descriptions;
• demonstrate what they understand about
• draw reasonable conclusions from evidence
technology and how well they can apply
and data;
their knowledge to solve a problem;
• add depth to their understanding of con-
• share their current thinking with others;
cepts and processes; and
• assess their own progress by comparing
• communicate their understanding to others.
their current understanding with their prior
knowledge; and
Evaluate
• ask questions that take them deeper into a
The Evaluate lesson is the final stage of the
concept.
instructional model, but it only provides a
“snapshot” of what the students understand
To review the relationship of the 5E Instruc-
and how far they have come from where they
tional Model to the concepts presented in the
began. In reality, the evaluation of students’
module, see the Conceptual Flow of the Lessons
conceptual understanding and ability to use
chart, on page 6.
skills begins with the Engage lesson and contin-
ues throughout each stage of the instructional
When a teacher uses the 5E Instructional Model,
model, as described in the following section.
he or she engages in practices that are very dif-
Combined with the students’ written work and
ferent from those of a traditional teacher. In
performance of tasks throughout the module,
response, students also participate in their learn-
however, the Evaluate lesson can serve as a
ing in ways that are different from those experi-
summative assessment of what students know
enced in a traditional classroom. The following
and can do.
charts, What the Teacher Does and What the
Students Do, outline these differences.
The Evaluate lesson in this module, Lesson 4:
Technology: How Much Is Enough? , provides an
opportunity for students to
What the Teacher Does
Stage
That is consistent with
That is inconsistent with
the 5E Instructional Model
the 5E Instructional Model
Engage
• Piques students’ curiosity and <