Literacy, Language, and Learning in Biology and Drama

At first, I wasn't sure how useful a literacy class would be to my future career as a teacher, but now I'm convinced that I won't teach a day without applying the methods, ideas, and research I learned during this course. On the first day of class, I would have told you that literacy is all about "reading" a literal "text," with letters and words, but my definition has changed so much since then.

To me, literacy instruction is all about giving students the ability to "read" their entire world, their whole lives, as a "text". Teaching literacy is not only teaching students how to understand the texts they encounter while learning the content in your class, but giving them the tools to understand texts in the future, and the power to teach themselves to understand any text they may encounter. In my classes, students need to understand (either through reading or other forms of acquisition) scripts, textbook entries, journal articles, writing prompts, models, demonstrations, performances, diagrams, experiments, films, and web sites. I now know that literacy instruction is critical to students' understanding of these "texts," and that I must support their "reading" and "writing" in these various forms, and teach them how to grapple with all of these texts in the future.

In my science classroom, I am especially excited to teach my students how to "read," compare, and create representations, and to ask critical questions about the representations they see. The comprehension and vocabulary strategies will make my traditional-text-based assignments for effective and useful for my students. And hopefully, using what I learn in this class, I can even reach out to students with different intrinsic motivations or native languages. 

I imagine that a perfect integration of literacy instruction into my content areas would result in this: 

Students of all languages, backgrounds, and cognitive abilities interpreting these "texts," understanding what they mean in other contexts, asking critical questions about the creation and presentation of the text, and being able to  transfer their understanding of the content and their literacy skills into every aspect of their lives.

Wouldn't that be beautiful! I feel like literacy instruction brings a more well-rounded feeling to content-areas, because it gives students' skills that they will absolutely use every day of their lives. Even if they don't become professional biologists, or choose to ignore biology for the rest of their lives, they will have the skills to make sense of all the "texts" that inform their world. 

Assessments that are so much more

When I was in high school, opportunities to demonstrate my understanding sometimes looked like this:

rarely looked like this:

and usually looked like this:

BOOORING. Not to mention frustrating and exhausting. When, besides taking future tests, will filling in bubbles benefit my life? Since when has understanding been gauged by listing what you know? So much of my high school experience resembled a fill-in-the-dot assembly line, it doesn't bear remembering.

In my biology class, we never applied our knowledge to respond creatively to writing prompts of any kind. By doing labs, I learned how to keep a lab notebook organized and succinct. Occasionally we wrote summative lab reports, and once we had the option of an extra-credit research paper about a genetic disorder (I chose Crohn's disease).

It's a shame, really, because I loved the applications of biology - especially labs - and would have enjoyed writing creatively about them or applying my knowledge about them to respond to a prompt. I never felt limited in biology class, but I know that varied assessments would have been liberating.
I loved writing in my English class, and building set in Production Practicum, acting in Theater, and the oral tests in Spanish - but I never did any of these things in the discipline I loved the most.

Ever since declaring my Theater Education minor, I have vowed not to follow in my biology teacher's footsteps (sorry Mr. B). Teachers can assess their students in so many ways - and in ways that connect to students' strengths!

Our students could

• Create models!
• Complete labs and write reports!
• Write and perform a reader's theatre!
• Design, test, and reflect on their own model-based inquiry project (it's like doing a lab, but the outcome isn't written in a teacher's manual somewhere)!
• Write a rap!
• Write (letters, reports, summaries, pamphlets, websites, newsletters, observations, reflections, journal entries) as (doctors, scientists, reporters, farmers, explorers, aliens, concerned denizens, indigenous peoples, waterfowl experts, zoologists) about (environmental problems, common misconceptions, interesting phenomena, unique insights, personal experiences, events of local or historical significance, family concerns, current issues, best practices, ethical concerns, important questions)!
• Create presentations!
• Argue a point of view using science-based evidence!
• Teach material to each other!
• Identify, brainstorm, and implement solutions for a local environmental problem!
• Film an informational video!
• Debate other students, in-role, using role-appropriate costume, vocabulary, diction, and arguments!
• Build something!

The possibilities are endless! (I intend to use all of these. Just watch me)

Best of all, most of these ideas are examples of Performance-Based Assessment - assessments which tie to students real-lives, and engage them in applying their understanding to unique venues using skills they will use as adults. Students not only enjoy PBA more, they can easily see the relevance of what they are learning. I hope that by engaging in these assessments, I'll promote rich understanding of the material among my students.

Of course, PBA takes time, energy, trial-and-error, and (heaven for-fend!) carefully constructed rubrics, but I find that the level of rigor they push myself and my students towards is worth it. When students are in role - either as zoologists writing observations about snails or as students building a bridge - they elevate themselves to the occasion, and the assessment is suddenly more than just a "test" - it's a learning adventure in its own right.

Protein Problems

For me, one of the coolest things going on in biology is stuff like this. That scientists can write unique strands of DNA, create proteins, and begin to predict how they fold is absolutely astounding. Even cooler is the fact that normal, everyday people online can help researchers create Ebola vaccines and develop major breakthroughs in AIDS research.Even more amazing than that, is the fact that human brains are still orders of magnitude better at solving these complicated problems than the most sophisticated computers. How's THAT for biology at work? 

When I'm a teacher I have this dream that I'll have a back corner station for students who want to stay after school, or want to do some science in their free time.This station will include my favorite science books (see previous posts), a large box of Legos (and the newly released set of female Lego scientists), books of DIY safe science experiments, and maybe a few computers where students can play Foldit and Pandemic. In the case of Foldit, knowing that what you do in the game actually solves real-world problems is a huge motivator for young players. How cool would it be to have a handful of high school students contributing to Ebola research? Super cool. That's what.

Brave New World

"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship, Enterprise. It's continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before." 

As a kid, these were the words I looked forward to every week. My siblings and I would sit on the floor of my parents' bedroom, watching star fields fly by, wormholes open, and alien life forms introduce themselves. The characters in TNG, and the family discussions that inevitably followed every episode, taught me that it was so cool to be smart. Wesley, Geordi, Data, Picard, and Dr. Crusher were all so intelligent and insightful - they saved lives and did incredible things with their knowledge. (And, you know, kicked butt in general.) (Especially Captain Picard. #thataccentthough)

A Budding Love
In retrospect, I think a lot of my early interest in science came from the media I consumed. Copies of National Geographic, Ranger Rick Magazine, Reader's Digest, and the newspaper were left out on the table where we read them while eating breakfast. My sister and I watched Bill Nye, ZOOM, and CyberChase on PBS, and we often tried our own experiments and crafts. I listened to NPR while I was in the car with my dad, and he explained information in the science stories I didn't understand.

And my parents had a lot to do with my interest in science as well. Every year, my mom took us to the Natural Resource festival, where we learned about Sevier County's wildlife and forests. Mom and Dad took us kids to the annual Star Show, where Patrick Wiggins from the Clark Planetarium would show us the newest images from the Hubble telescope and the latest findings in space exploration. We frequently visited museums, planetariums, and libraries on family outings, and my parents talked to us about the science and humanities involved in each exhibit. Growing up, I was constantly told that being smart in math in science "ran in the family;" my maternal grandfather was a doctor, and to be honest, this comparison boosted my confidence that I could do well in science subjects. 

If you don't think this is cool,
I feel bad for you, son.

In high school, fascinating exhibits such as Body Worlds and films such as Gattaca solidified my love of biology. I think that these experiences really connected to me because I had the tools to "dissect" them - I had been taught how to evaluate characters and appreciate themes in films, I knew how to navigate a museum with interest and confidence. More than anything, I think I connected to biology because I had a willingness to experience the awe and wonder I have always felt during these experiences, grounded in my earliest memories as a child.

My encounters with science throughout my life have been varied, interesting, and always fun. When I think of science, I think of challenging problems and exciting discoveries. I love learning about the process of science, and especially the story of the scientists. I always feel wonder considering the complications of science itself, and the human side of science. 

A Brave New World

But I know that my experience is, in many ways, unique. Not all students have had the opportunity to connect to science as I did, and even when science is shown in a "fun" way, not all students appreciate it the same. In fact, one of the problems I run in to quite frequently while I teach is assuming that students are just as excited about what I'm talking about as I am. In a way, I think teacher enthusiasm is a boon for students, but I'm also aware that some students "check out" because they feel as thought they can't connect to me or to the material.

Knowing this, I know it will be important to find and connect to my students' funds of knowledge - What do they watch? What do they like? What do they know already? How can  I get students to talk about what they know, what they've seen, and how they feel about it? What science are they seeing in the media they consume, and how can I tie it into my lessons? Is there a problem that they would particularly like to solve?

I also think it will be important to engage students in reflection and discussion of what they learn and its implications - discussions that involve the authentic questions and engage students in higher-level thinking. Using comprehension strategies and vocab strategies, I want my students to be able to understand what they see and read about science, so that they can use science texts to inform their world and see wonder in science.

And I hope I can give my students the same opportunities I had - stimulating field trips and films, combined with conversations that will help them make sense of what they see. By integrating these experiences with performance assessments and the chance to work as scientists (in role), maybe, somehow, I can teach my students that science is more than facts and diagrams, but a way to approach the world - a way that can fill one with wonder and fascination.

Excited for Biology?

You should be, because I’ve got some great news: 

SCIENCE IS AWESOME.

Especially biology.

In biology, we study the chemical reactions and living relationships that we all need to live on this rock we call home - we study everything from the smallest strand of DNA to the climate of the entire earth! 

Biologists save lives, take video of working human brains, create new cells, take apart DNA and put it together again, go to the deepest depths of the ocean and the driest deserts on earth to observe life, create models of extinct animals, and work with some of the weirdest and most beautiful creatures on our planet:

Ever taken an antibiotic? Thank a microbiologist!

Ever been to a national park? Thank an ecologist!

Ever eaten yogurt? Thank a food biologist!

Ever wondered what DNA looks like? Thank a biophysicist or geneticist!
Ever walked through a dinosaur museum? Thank a taxonomist, and a paleontologist or two!
They're all Biologists!

I love biology because there is always so much to learn, from the tiniest chemical reactions that make my body go on 10 mile runs, to the story behind gorgeous vistas like this one in Zion National Park:

Life is complicated and always changing, and WE are a part of it!

The study of biology also includes some of my heroes, great scientists who dedicated their lives to knowing more about the strange and fickle thing that is life.

Rosalind Franklin discovered the molecular structures of DNA and several viruses using x-ray photography. Two colleagues borrowed her work without her permission, and her contribution to the discovery of DNA was unrecognized during her lifetime.

Charles Darwin proposed “natural selection” as the driving force behind evolution, and persevered through his own struggles with his faith, his family, and the society he lived in.

Jane Goodall is the world authority on chimpanzees – she has studied them and lived with them, and is the only human to have been accepted into chimpanzee society.

Louis Pasteur proved that life doesn't just appear out of nothing, developed the vaccine for rabies, and developed the process we call "pasteurization."

For some hilarious biology comics, visit Beatrice the Biologist.
If you’re interested in the latest and most amazing stories in biology right now, go to IFLScience.com.
And for some really well-done videos all about what we'll be learning this year, check out the videos at Crash Course Biology, where Hank Green presents everything in a very fun and easy-to-follow way.

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The study of life is messy and complicated, and it frequently requires scientists and everyday people alike to ask some hard questions about what is right and what is wrong. If you’re interested in those ethical questions, you should look at these movies and books. 

• Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
• Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
• Origin of the Species – Charles Darwin
• Silent Spring – Rachel Carson
• The Double Helix – James Watson

There are also some great movies about biology and biologists. (Some of these are rated PG-13; watch only with parental guidance.)

• Avatar
• Awakenings
• Contagion
• Creation
• GATTACA
• Gorillas in the Mist
• Jurassic Park
• King Kong
• Lorenzo’s Oil
• March of the Penguins
• Microcosmos
• Never Cry Wolf
• Race for the Double Helix

Silent, savage inequalities

[[Note: This blog post is not related to SCED 4300: Literacy. If you're searching for a post in that vein, look for posts with the label "literacy."]]

I've only read one chapter into Johnathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities, but I know I am in for a ride. A bone-shattering, comfort-tearing, and terribly necessary ride.

Fair warning: I tend to fit in the "advocate" learner category - I learn by feeling and doing, and I do an awful lot of feeling. After the initial shock of the first chapter had sunk in, and the thought "There are still schools like this in America" had landed, I was furious.

But what do you do about it right? I mean, Savage Inequalities is 20-something years old? and besides, living in Utah, it's not like I can exactly force "people of color" into our public schools since not a great majority live in our state anyway. It's not my problem.

But if segregation has its roots in the institutionalized racism that has led people to live where they do (in generally mostly-white and non-white areas), and it is “not the problem” of any of those mostly-white schools to do anything about integration because “the blacks don’t live in our area,” then whose problem is it? Who is going to do the integrating?  When I and everyone else decide that it's "not our problem," it becomes nobody’s problem, and the non-white communities with families in lower socio-economic conditions have no one to pull their students in to the schools with all of the funding. 

What if, by making segregation nobody’s problem, we have created the problem of ongoing segregation that still exists in the United States? Segregation still exists, and in my lifetime, in all of my years in school, I have never once personally viewed an effort to integrate students of other races into the schools I have attended. 

I don't know the answer - I don't know what can be done about it, but I'd like to know - How did this happen? It needs to change, and if it needs to change, where on earth do we start?

An Introduction

Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I've never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl.

- Anne Frank

I'm with you, honey. I keep a private journal, but cringe at the idea of keeping a blog. Luckily, I don't think anyone will be plastering anything I write here all over Facebook. (Of course, that's probably what Anne Frank thought, too...) Let's get started:

 Hello fellow blaggers of the interwebs! 

Opening night of Captain
America at midnight? Yes please!

My name is Nicole. In the real world, I enjoy
singing and performing; reading George Elliot, poetry, and classic literature; running for hours; and eating peaches. I do research projects in biology and theater education, and I'll be speaking at TEDxUSU about it in October. I love spending time with my best friend and spouse, Ryan - together, we enjoy hiking, singing, cooking, and doing science in our kitchen.

In the interwebs world, I read xkcd and What-If, Sandwich Monday, and NPR. I like to stay updated on the latest news (and jokes) in science and technology, and current issues in the world, and I use Facebook and Twitter to stay connected with #OverlyHonestMethods, Mighty Girls, the BBC, and, of course, Doctor Who.

Biology and Drama are to me...

... two sides of the same bridge leading to discovery, examinations of human nature and human endeavor, and creativity. Through drama, I hope my students learn empathy, collaboration, intellectual rigor, creativity, problem-solving, and expand their abilities to reflect critically on their experiences and efforts. Through biology I want my students to learn team work, intellectual rigor, creativity, problem-solving, and expand their abilities to reflect critically on their scientific methods, results, and assumptions. I believe drama can be just as hard intellectually as biology, and that the study of science can develop students' empathy and sense of ethics and justice as much as any art. 

How did I get here?

I knew I was good at Biology, but I didn't want to let Theater go. So I did both. And it was only after I chose both that I became passionate about integrating each into the other. I see so much potential for student growth, and I like a good challenge!

Literacy Is...

... defined differently depending on the situation. A person could be functionally literate, but not culturally or critically literate. 

In my classroom, I want my students to attain "critical literacy" - the ability to read, understand and critally analyze both traditional and non-traditional texts, and apply their learning to discussions, experiments, individual and group projects, and their engagement with others within and without my classroom. Without critical literacy, science is nice, but not essential - drama is fun, but not important. Both are vital to a developing and imperfect society, and so I define (and will strive for) literacy in my classroom: the ability of my students to use what they learn to change their community, to change each other, and to change themselves. 

Thanks for Reading,

now go do something fun.