Marta Toran's Page

Marta Toran replied to Marta Toran's discussion How Well Does High School Biology Prepare Students for College?

"Hi Cheryl, Thanks for your reply. My research project focuses specifically on Biology 1/ Introductory Biology courses in high school because it is assumed that the main purpose of AP Biology is to prepare students for college courses. I am trying to…"

Jan 22, 2011

Cheryl Hollinger replied to Marta Toran's discussion How Well Does High School Biology Prepare Students for College?

"Marta, What if you don't fit in either category? I teach AP Biology."

Jan 22, 2011

Marta Toran replied to Marta Toran's discussion How Well Does High School Biology Prepare Students for College?

"Please feel free to also add your thoughts here if you wish to see everyone else's and have an open discussion about the topic. But don't forget to submit the survey, it's only 5 questions, and it would be a huge help for my research…"

Jan 21, 2011

Marta Toran replied to Mike Mantala's discussion Is it reasonable to label viruses, prions, and the like as "bordercases of life?"

"I agree with Alison that viruses should be considered "borderline" living because they are acellular and do not carry out most of the characteristics of living things. The one thing that unites all living things is nucleic acid (which even…"

Jan 21, 2011

Marta Toran posted a discussion

How Well Does High School Biology Prepare Students for College?

Hi Everyone, I'm on the final stage of data collection for my Master's project. My study focuses on the transition between high school and college biology courses, in terms of content knowledge transfer. I have had around 2000 students participate in the student section, and now looking for high school and college bio teachers. If you teach or have taught Biology 1/ Intro Biology in high school, would you please consider taking this very quick survey? I also need some people to interview over…See More

Jan 18, 2011

3 Comments

Colin Matheson replied to Marta Toran's discussion Our Favorite Evolution Resources in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"One of my favs is http://evolution.berkeley.edu/ There are a few great little web quests for students to do (check out analogy and homology) You can also find What did T-Rex taste like (spoiler alert: Chicken) here…"

Oct 11, 2010

Ian Carmichael replied to Marta Toran's discussion Our Favorite Evolution Resources in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"Some other interesting resources - although you've probably got these tagged somewhere 1. NAP's Teaching about evolution and the nature of science (free pdf download) 2. Science Evolution and Creationism by Fancis Ayala (Templeton…"

Oct 3, 2010

Marta Toran replied to Marta Toran's discussion Our Favorite Evolution Resources in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"Looks really good Mark, thanks, I'll check it out. The title might throw people off, but it seems like an accurate portrayal of Darwin's character. What about the rest of you, anyone shown it in class yet? If so, what kind of discussion…"

Sep 15, 2010

Mark replied to Marta Toran's discussion Our Favorite Evolution Resources in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"If you haven't watched the BBC production of "Creation" that is pretty good for a video. It takes the Darwin character to some real depth and looks at his struggles with faith, family and science. I think it offers students a great…"

Sep 15, 2010

Marta Toran added a discussion to the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

Our Favorite Evolution Resources

I thought it would be useful to have a discussion on our favorite resources for teaching Evolution. Here is one of mine that I am always impressed by every time I visit: the NOVA Evolution series. You can watch programs for free by streaming them, there are interactive activities, interviews with scientists,etc. The programs are really interesting. Check out the NOVA Evolution Series here. See More

Sep 15, 2010

4 Comments

Mike Pilliod replied to Marta Toran's discussion Homeschooling and Science in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"As usual, David, I agree with you! I've known some seriously gifted college students-turned-professionals who were homeschooled throughout their entire academic career (K-12). I've even known some of the same individuals who were…"

Sep 18, 2009

David Knuffke replied to Marta Toran's discussion Homeschooling and Science in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"I take your point. But be careful about education as "immunization" from zealotry and bigotry. As an anecdotal experience, it makes sense, but I don't know that I have ever seen hard data on that correlation. There are certainly…"

Aug 19, 2009

Colin Matheson replied to Marta Toran's discussion Homeschooling and Science in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"Interesting points about the rights of the individual, David. At the same time I can see Marta's point, if some states are so obsessed with what is being taught and ensuring fair and equal access that they are requiring lockstep curriculum…"

Aug 19, 2009

David Knuffke replied to Marta Toran's discussion Homeschooling and Science in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"It's an interesting point, but I think it misses the mark. Of course it is a concern. I do not feel that any parent who home school's their children so as to bias their education in support of their particular religious dogma is doing…"

Aug 18, 2009

Tom Wanamaker replied to Marta Toran's discussion Homeschooling and Science in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"It's a generalization, but I think it's fair to say that a large proportion of kids are homeschooled because of their parents' conservative religious beliefs. It's a safe bet that most of them are not being taught very well when…"

Aug 18, 2009

Elissa Hoffman replied to Marta Toran's discussion Homeschooling and Science in the group Fervent Evolution Discussion

"Ouch - that is a heck of a course title. Anyway, of course I'm worried about the quality of science in homeschool situations. Not everyone homeschools because of religion, although around here that seems to be the case in the majority of…"

Aug 18, 2009