The ability to ask insightful questions has always been the hallmark of great sc
ID: 73301 • Letter: T
Question
The ability to ask insightful questions has always been the hallmark of great scientists, engineers, and thinkers. You arc cut from the same cloth as the greatest scientist and engineers in history and on the pathway to becoming a great scholar in the field of biomaterials and biomedical engineering There are a number of fascinating topics in the field of Biomaterials. Please reflect on this semester and select the most interesting in biomaterials Please briefly describe why it is most interesting Design two (2) intriguing/inspinng/insightful questions related your favorite topic in the field of biomaterials. One question should have an answer and the other question should be unanswered at this time Create an answer for your first question. Propose an experimental approach to develop an answer for your second question. You will be assigned points based on the elegance of your question and answer, Now imagine that you partner with Jules Verne and build a time machine and travel 5-10 years into the future. Describe how your topic would have progressed within that time span, Outline a K-12 project proposal (l page max) that highlights an innovative way to teach elementary, middle, or high school students about your favorite topic. Be creative!Explanation / Answer
The most interesting in Biomaterials is having a wide range of applications like
b. 1Q. Two spider silk proteins have been particularly well-studied - what are these proteins? Why are these proteins impressive as biological materials?
2Q. Why is the mass production of spider silks (for human use) difficult? How are researchers overcoming this hurdle?
C. 1Q. Two spider silk proteins have been particularly well-studied - what are these proteins? Why are these proteins impressive as biological materials?
Ans -MA (major ampullate) silks
-Flagelliform silks
* strength and extensibility "toughness), silks outperform most other biomaterials
2Q. Why is the mass production of spider silks (for human use) difficult? How are researchers overcoming this hurdle?
D.. biomaterials research has experienced an evolution in terms of the topics that constitute the frontiers of research and those that have the greatest impact in past 5-10 years
The evolution of three important aspects of biomaterials research, namely: targeted diseases, therapeutic/diagnostic approaches, and biomaterials development, are noted here.
e. Teaching for elementary school students
1. "I know a word"
You can begin this skills game by saying, "I know a word that starts with the same sound you hear at the beginning of butterfly." Students will raise their hands, and you choose one to tell you a word the starts with "B." Once they tell you the word, toss them the ball. They choose someone else to tell them another word that begins with that letter, passing the ball to the student who gets it right. As the game continues, change the letter every so often. Play until everyone has had a turn. You can use this game for beginning sounds, ending sounds, middle sounds etc.
2. Rhyme time
Say, "I need a word that rhymes with cat." Pass the ball to someone once they give you a correct rhyming word. Keep changing the starting word and continue the game until all kids have gone.
3. Practice counting
You can have your class practice counting by twos, fives and tens. Pass the ball clockwise or counterclockwise, with the student who receives it saying the number that comes next. For example, you say, "We are going to count by fives. Five!" The person next to you says "ten," the next one says "fifteen," and so on.
4. Spelling review
For older kids, you can pass the ball and go through your spelling words one letter at a time. For example, you say, "We're going to spell the word their, as in 'This is their ball.'" The first person says "T," the second person says "H," the third person says "E," and so on. If one says the wrong letter, the next person says correct letter and fixes the mistake.
5. "I need a synonym"
This is a great vocabulary building exercise. You can use the ball or a pair of flyswatters, depending on the age of your students. You say, "I need a synonym for mad." Choose someone to give you another word that means the same thing, such as angry, furious and enraged. For older kids, you can put a list of synonyms on the board and divide the class into two teams. Have one person from each team come up and compete. Whoever slaps the board with the flyswatter and says the correct synonym wins a point for their team. In the end all of your students win a better vocabulary.
6. Reinforce other skills
What other subjects are you teaching? You could adapt these games to fit pretty much anything. "I need a name of an explorer." "I need you to name one of the phases of matter." "I need to know one of the reasons for the Civil War." Be creative!
7. Roll dice to have your students answer story questions.
"What is the plot of the story?" you might ask them. "What is the setting?" You can introduce more reflective questions such as, "Why did this character do what he or she did?" and "What was the author's purpose?" You can write these questions on cards or purchase them fromreallygoodstuff.com.
8. Sight Word Slap Game
Write your sight words on the board. Separate your class into two random teams. Let one person from each team step forward and hold a fly swatter. Call out one of the sight words. The first one to slap the correct sight word gets a point for their team. Continue until everyone has gone. This is great for helping sight word recognition.
Suggested Activities: The Artsy Side of Creative
9. Use different voices or accents when reading stories to the class.
10. Dress in costumes of storybook characters to leave a lasting impression, or let students dress up as characters to retell stories.
11. Turn your room into the environment of what you are learning about. When the class is learning about fairy tales, turn your classroom into a castle. When you're learning about animals, turn your classroom into a jungle.
12. Create class songs about topics they need to know, or use the music of singers like Hap Palmer and Jack Hartman. You might also borrow songs and games from coworkers. Songs are catchy, and children learn quickly from them.
Teaching for Middle/High School students
Problem: The content is too hard.
This is really half the problem. The other half – especially with older students – is their fear of “looking stupid” by asking questions.
Solution #1: Allow anonymous questions.
Put out a “question box” where students can submit questions any time. Give each student an index card and ask them to write something about the reading assignment they did for homework. If they don’t have a question, instruct them to write a comment on the reading. Collect the cards and use them to lead a class discussion. You’ll easily recognize what parts of the reading confused a lot of students and they won’t feel embarrassed.
Solution #2: Allow them to work together.
We can’t do this all the time; individual students need to be assessed. Ask yourself: is the goal of this activity for them to learn the content, or for them to be assessed? If you want them to learn the content, why not let them work together? When they bring in their homework, do a quick survey for completeness, then put them in pairs and let them review the homework together. Encourage them to make changes if their partner’s answer looks right. When they’ve finished, review as a class. Students may be less embarrassed to share a group’s answer than their own and you may be able to complete the review more quickly.
Solution #3: Try a jigsaw approach.
No, we’re not talking about puzzles or scary movies. If you’re introducing new, difficult content, divide the class into groups and ask each group to master only one portion of it at a time. If, for example, you’re teaching the American Revolution, have one group focus on the Continental Congress, one on Washington’s Army, one on French support for the war, and so on.
Ask them to do a reading on their topic – to become the class “experts” on that subject. Then split up the class into new groups that include one “expert” on each topic. Ask these new groups to work together to write an essay or complete a worksheet that requires information about all the topics. They will teach each other in the process. Learn more about the Jigsaw Approach.
Problem: There’s too much information to present in too short a time.
Sometimes there’s no way around it: you simply have to get a lot of information out there in a short amount of time. So you opt for a lecture and just want your students to absorb the content. Instead, they fall asleep or stare out the window. What can you do?
Solution #1: Keep it “bite-sized.”
Remember: research shows the average student’s attention span is as long as her age. So even high school kids can only handle about 15 minutes. If you have a lot of information to convey, re-arrange your lesson plans so you never lecture for more than 10-15 minutes.
Break up large concepts into smaller sections – give a brief lecture, then do an activity to help it “sink in.” Repeat this process over several days. You’ll increase participation – and improve comprehension, too.
Solution #2: Keep them busy.
Don’t allow students to stare into space while you talk. Give them something to stay connected. Try “fill in the blank” lecture notes. Delete key words and phrases in your lecture notes to create a “fill in the blank” worksheet. Then ask students to fill in the worksheet while you lecture. Another fun variation – lecture bingo.
Solution #3: Look into the future.
Before a lecture, give students a prediction activity. For example, tell them you will be lecturing on Shakespeare and ask them to predict what you will say, or give them a set of true/false statements and ask them to take their best guess.
As you lecture, instruct students to compare their guesses with what you actually say.
When the lecture is over, have a class discussion and evaluate how accurate student predictions were.
Problem: The lesson emphasizes the teacher, not the students.
Solution #1: Keep them busier than you are.
The traditional classroom of yesteryear had the teacher at the front of the room, droning on while students doze. Re-imagine your classroom as a place where students are busier than you are.
Keep the “sit still and let me talk to you” moments as brief as possible; get those kids working! Give them worksheets, activities, discussions, and projects. That doesn’t mean you get to sit around -- you will still be busy, moving from student to student or group to group, correcting, evaluating, or providing feedback. But now everyone is busy and involved.
Solution #2: Use groups.
Homogeneous grouping? Heterogeneous grouping? Tracking? Forget the buzz words: having students work in groups is one of the best ways to increase student participation. Don’t keep them in the same groups all the time –give them a chance to be the “smart kid” who can help someone one day and the kid who needs help the next.
Take a traditional worksheet or activity and give it to students in groups. Offer a reward to the group who finishes first with the most answers correct and watch them go! Note: it helps to have additional prizes available to keep groups motivated after the first group “wins.” Even high school students enjoy these competitions.
Solution #3: Give them a voice and a choice.
Do students ever get a “say” in your classroom? Of course you need to make most decisions, but there must be some things you could leave up to them – whether it’s what color chalk you use today or how long they practice a specific activity.
Kids tune out because they feel like their ideas don’t matter. Show them their opinions are important and they’ll pay better attention and speak up more in class.
There will always be some unreachable student who won’t respond, even with these efforts. But if you give these a try, you may be presently surprised at the previously unreachable students who just might join in!
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