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PBL Unit Name: Building Community for All
Facilitator Name: Gabrielle Weinert
School Practicum Location: Ben Davis 9th Grade Center-Indianapolis, IN
Grade: 9th
Subject(s): Biology
Course Name: Biology I & II
PBL Unit Description & Content Topics Addressed: This project is designed for an introductory genetics unit, specifically to meet ninth and tenth grade biology standards. Students will work in groups to study genetic diseases in order to propose an accommodation to the school principal which would assist students, staff, and/or community members who have said disease. In the process, students will learn about Mendelian genetics, Punnett squares, inheritance patterns, information literacy, presentation skills, and disability advocacy and awareness.
PBL Unit Planning Form: Building Community for All PBL Planning Form
A. Learning Goals: Content Knowledge & Skills Addressed (Standards)
B.1.2 Analyze how the shape of a molecule determines its role in the many different types of cellular processes (e.g., metabolism, homeostasis, growth and development, and heredity) and understand that the majority of these processes involve proteins that act as enzymes.
B.4.1 Develop and revise a model that clarifies the relationship between DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.
B.4.2 Construct an explanation for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.
B.4.5 Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from: (1) new genetic combinations through meiosis, (2) viable errors occurring during replication, and (3) mutations caused by environmental factors.
B.4.6 Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.
B.5.3 Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support a claim that organisms with an advantageous heritable trait tend to increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait.
B.5.4 Evaluate evidence to explain the role of natural selection as an evolutionary mechanism that leads to the adaptation of species, and to support claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and/or (3) the extinction of other species.
SEPS.3 Constructing and performing investigations
SEPS.4 Analyzing and interpreting data
SEPS.8 Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
9-10.LST.2.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
9-10.LST.2.2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate, objective summary of the text.
9-10.LST.7.2: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative sources, using advanced searches effectively; annotate sources; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; synthesize and integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation (e.g., APA or CSE).
B. Authenticity & Relevance (Real-World Connections): Students will need to use their understanding of genetics and their given genetic disease in order to propose an accommodation that the school or district could put into place for the students, staff, and community. Their accommodation will be designed with their specific genetic disease in mind, but it should accommodate more people than just those with that single disease, as most accommodations serve many groups of people. Throughout this project, students will learn what accommodations are, how they help those who need them, and the important role that accommodations play for people with disabilities, not only physically, but mentally with regard to self-worth and respect. The goal is to have the students learn about empathy and that accommodations are not unfair advantages, as many people currently see them.
C. Driving Question: How can we, as caring people, use our knowledge of genetic diseases to make our school a more accessible and inclusive place for people of all abilities?
D. Entry Event: First, I will show a Ted Talk video about accommodations and their applicability to non-disabled people. After the video, I will hand the stage over to the principal and community partner, who will explain to the students what constitutes an accommodation and their importance in schools. He will charge the students with their task, and they will then get the opportunity to talk with two guest speakers who have genetic diseases they can select for this project. The speakers will provide them background on their experience with accommodations and their importance and will answer questions the students propose.
E. Benchmarks & Scaffolding: After learning their groups, students had to establish defined roles for each member along with an estimated timeline and benchmarks they would set for themselves. I would meet with them to discuss their final group contract that contained this information and would check in to make sure they are keeping pace with their goals.
Every week, students will need to write a reflection where they reflect on both their group's progress as well as their individual progress.
Students will spend all their class time in their new groups, and will be provided several opportunities to work together, such as on their Punnett squares practice worksheet.
There will be individual quizzes as-needed to ensure individuals are understanding the content as opposed to one or two group members carrying the team.
There will be two workshops on the 21st century skills: information literacy and presentation skills.
Each group will do a practice presentation the week before final presentations, and will be required to incorporate peer feedback into their final presentation.
F. End Products: Students had to produce a final presentation in the form of their choosing as well as some type of deliverable that they could provide to other schools, businesses, or institutions explaining their proposed accommodation and the benefits it would provide.
G. Formative & Summative Assessment Activities: Formative assessments will take place in the form of weekly reflections, individual quizzes on an as-needed basis, questions throughout class, and class activities and work time. The summative assessments for this course will be the students' final presentations, their deliverable, and their pedigree displaying the inheritance patterns of their disease.
H. Rubric: Building Community for All Rubric
I. Employability (21st Century) Skills Addressed: The two 21st Century Skills that were addressed in this project were information literacy and presentation skills.
J. Community Partnerships:
Steve Samuel, Principal of the Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center
His role was to charge the students with their task, explaining its importance to the school and community, and also help to grade the students' final presentations.
K. Inquiry: Students are able to design whatever accommodation they think would be beneficial to the school and community. Pushing beyond a simple solution, such as a wheelchair ramp, they will have total creative freedom to come up with an accommodation.
L. Student Voice & Choice: Students are given six disease options to select from, and they are placed in groups based on their disease preference in order to ensure everyone has an interest in their topic. Students can also propose another disease if they choose, though it must be approved to be sure there is enough information on the disease for them to adequately research it. They are also able to choose or design whatever type of accommodation they would like as the solution to their problem. Additionally, though they will need to give a presentation, it is completely up to them as to how they would like to present their proposal.
M. Required Materials and/or Tools: Whiteboard, projector, PowerPoint presentations, notebooks or paper, pencils, colored pencils, markers, glue, tape, poster board, worksheets or other activities, computers or other student-accessible devices for research.
N. Examples of Student Work: The sample provided is one that I made, as my students were unable to complete this PBL unit due to the COVID-19 pandemic drastically cutting our class time. This is an example of a deliverable that students would be expected to provide which could be distributed to other schools, businesses, or facilities to explain and promote their proposed accommodation and its benefits.