March 2009 Blog Posts (5)

A Synthesis Blogging Whitman

Dare I say, "trust me?" You'll have to visit this one to see how the topic of "evolution" mentioned within the text of Whitman's Leaves of Grass led me to post this article here. Evolution & Literature, yum.......

Back in September I… Continue

Added by Sean Nash on March 23, 2009 at 10:40am — No Comments

The Octopus Gets Due Respect

My last post was a highlight of a train wreck of a children's book. If you know me, you know that I don't like to dwell long on things negative. And thus- this post was published.

Regardless of your take on The Septapus, I have felt the need for a review of a really super piece of children’s literature since publishing that post. I guess I just feel the need for some positivity to balance out the force. In reality, I am not a… Continue

Added by Sean Nash on March 21, 2009 at 7:38pm — No Comments

Inquiry Introduction to Probability

One of my favorite activities to do with 7th grade science students is to allow them to explore probability as we begin our unit on Genetics. I'm constantly reminded that they often view three possibilities as being equally possible. I determined to use inquiry as a method to help them see the relationships that exist with two factors. This activity uses coins (or poker chips having sides labeled as "heads and tails." When we finish the first day, students have data from their class, but not… Continue

Added by Glen Westbroek on March 9, 2009 at 7:56pm — 1 Comment

Attack of the Septapus -or- Why are you doing this to my kid?

Fuel

(I thought that perhaps a few of the bio geeks here would get a kick out of this one.)

Lately, my students and I have been studying not only the effectiveness of biological illustrations, but also the efficacy of their own illustrations to personally enhance the knowledge of abstract concepts. As well, I have been engaged in some short but interesting discussions with Dr. Mishra at MSU concerning the validity of… Continue

Added by Sean Nash on March 9, 2009 at 12:21am — 3 Comments

The Power of Visualization?

I think the TPACK framework is one of the most influential things I have learned about/grappled with this past year. As an instructional coach in the middle of an educational technology implementation, this is one piece I have relied on heavily for personal focus and planning.

One thing I worry about with concepts of this depth (that possess a graphic illustration so perfectly simple) is that the real idea gets misinterpreted by any… Continue

Added by Sean Nash on March 5, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments