Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
PROFILES IBSE Teaching/Learning Materials – Overview
Compiled by the PROFILES Working Group of the Cyprus University of Technology*
A module for Science Instruction (Biology)
for Grades 8 to11
Adapted from Nicolaidou, I., Kyza, E. A, Hadjichambis, A., Kafouris, D., & Terzian, F.
(2009). Biotechnology and genetically modified organisms. [Web-based learning
environment]. Cyprus: Cyprus University of Technology. (http://www.coreflect.org).
Abstract
This set of activities allows students to work collaboratively in a guided inquiry
approach to provide an evidence-based answer to the question: “Would you allow the
cultivation of genetically modified soybeans in your country?” based on the results of a
risk assessment and a cost-benefit analysis. The activities also allow students to
acquire a basic understanding of the science related to genetic engineering and
genetically modified plants and consider social, economic, environmental and ethical
issues when making critical decisions about humanity and nature.
* Cyprus University of Technology PROFILES team who have worked on this
document: Dr. Eleni A. Kyza, Yiannis Georgiou, Dr. Christothea Herodotou.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
1
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
Subject:
Science and/or Biology
Grade Level:
8th to 11th grade
Curriculum content: Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering
Kind of activity:
Anticipated time:
Overall Objectives/
Competencies:
Web-based inquiry, computer activity, group work, whole class
discussions, debate.
No time indication in the local curriculum. Suggested duration: 4 x 90 min
Basic scientific knowledge regarding biotechnology and genetically
modified organisms (GMOs), reflective scientific inquiry, credibility of
evidence, evidence-based reasoning, collaboration skills.
Related Sections
1.
Students’ activities
2.
Teacher’s guide
Describes the scenario in more detail and
the tasks the students should perform
Suggests a teaching approach
p. 3
p. 8
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
2
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
PROFILES IBSE Students’ Activities
Outline
In this PROFILES module “Would you allow the cultivation of genetically modified (GM)
soybeans in your country”, you are invited to formulate assumptions, to raise questions
and to investigate several sources related with the issue trying to find some answers
for the initial question posed. During this process you will acquire a basic
understanding of the science related to genetic engineering and genetically modified
plants and consider social, economic, environmental and ethical issues when making
critical decisions about humanity and nature. At the same time, you will experiemce
how scientists usually work as scientific work does not only include conducting
experiments but also includes looking for information and working with sources. The
following templates in the STOCHASMOS workspace will help you in doing that.
Scenario
You have been asked to participate in a national scientific board to decide whether the
local government should allow the growing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs),
specifically genetically modified (GM) soybeans. Before you decide you need to review
scientific data on GM plants and their effect on three areas: the environment, economy
and health. Soybeans are a very important product for economy and health as it is used
for human consumption, as a feed for animals, and for producing vitamins and antibiotics.
There are strong opinions both for and against GMOs. You need to act soon. Your
decision is very important. Examine data on the effect of GM plants, especially soybeans
on the environment, economy, and health to give an evidence-based answer to the
following question: Would you allow the cultivation of GM soybeans in your country?
Figure 1: The scenario
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
3
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
Inquiry Environment
A. Visit the “Library” - Read and investigate the sources that you will find
 Biotechnology
 Genetic Engineering
 GMOs
 Risk Assessment
 Economy and GMs plants
 Environment and GMs plants
 Health and GMs plants
 Key players in Biotech
Figure 2: Library
B. Visit the “Studies” – Read the studies that you will find there about
Economy, Environment and Health:
 Economy
 Expenses and Income
 Income from GM plants worldwide 1996-2005
 Environment
 Pesticide Use
 Health
 The effect of GM soybean diet on rats
 Study on human consumption of GM soybean oil
 Examination of GM soybeans for allergies and toxicity
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
4
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
Figure 3: Studies
C. Visit the “Opinions” tab – Read the opinions that you will find there about
the GM plants:
 Videos Interviews
 Scientists’ accusations of GM plants
 Positions
Figure 4: Opinions
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
5
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
STOCHASMOS Reflective Workspace
Activity 1: Risk assessment analysis
Figure 5: This template will help you conduct a risk assessment and create an evidence-based
argument for the impact of genetically modified plants on the environment and health.
Activity 2: Cost-benefit analysis
Figure 6: This template will help you conduct a cost-benefit analysis and create evidence-based
arguments for the impact of genetically modified plants on economy.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
6
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
Activity 3: Synthesis
Figure 7: This template will help you synthesize the results from both the risk assessment,
which was conducted for environment and health as well as for economy on genetically modified
plant cultivation.
Activity 4: Final decision
Figure 8: This template will help you to write your final decision on whether genetically modified
plants should be cultivated at their country.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
7
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
PROFILES IBSE Teacher’s Guide
Module Content
In the PROFILES module “Would you allow the cultivation of genetically modified (GM)
soybeans in your country” the students will have the opportunity to acquire a basic
understanding of the science related to genetic engineering and genetically modified
plants and consider social, economic, environmental and ethical issues when making
critical decisions about humanity and nature. At the same time one central aim of this
module is that children will experience how scientists usually work, as scientific work
does not only include conducting experiments but also includes searching for data and
evaluating sources. This, in turn, calls for questions to be raised and assumptions to be
formulated regarding the investigation of several sources related with the issue of
genetically modified (GM) soybeans trying to find some answers for the initial question
posed. The GMOs module, hosted in STOCHASMOS platform, will help you in doing
exactly that. We want to achieve an awareness for GMOs-related questions in the
students, thereby offering them the opportunity to partake in a decision-making process,
as during this module students according the scenario are asked to participate in a
national scientific board to decide whether the local government should allow the
growing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and therefore to act as an active
member of society. In order to do so, in this module students will have to be engaged in
processes of evaluating data so as to act effectively. In this way we would like our
students to adopt a more inclusive view of science and to realize that science is not only
about experimental setups.
Introduction
The teaching module described in the following pages runs on the STOCHASMOS
web-based teaching and learning platform (Kyza & Constantinou, 2007), accessible at
http://www.stochasmos.org.
Figure 8: The STOCHASMOS web-based platform.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
8
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
To preview the web-based learning environment visit the webpage
www.stochasmos.org/students and enter the following login details:
Username: profiles1
Password: profiles1
Please note that, in order to use this environment with your students, you would need
to create a copy of this environment, using your STOCHASMOS authoring account.
Overall Objectives/Competencies
This project enables students to:
a. Learn about basic concepts, such as Biotechnology, Genetic engineering,
genetically modified organisms,
b. Provide an evidence-based answer to whether they would allow the growing of
soybeans in their country,
c. Develop a risk assessment about whether they should allow the cultivation of
soybeans, by discussing advantages and disadvantages based on evidence
Learning Outcomes by Lesson
At the end of lesson1, students are expected to be able to:
 State the scenario/mission of the Biotechnology learning environment in their
own words.
 Explain basic concepts, such as Biotechnology, Genetic engineering,
genetically modified organisms.
 Work effectively in groups of two or three.
At the end of lesson 2, students are expected to be able to:
 Develop a risk assessment about whether they should allow the cultivation of
soybeans, by discussing advantages and disadvantages on health and
environment.
 Develop a cost-benefit analysis about whether they should allow the cultivation
of soybeans, by discussing advantages and disadvantages on economy.
At the end of lesson 3, students are expected to be able to:
 Discuss in their group the evidence on the effects of GM soybeans on
economy, health and environment.
 Synthesize evidence on the effects of GM soybeans on economy, health and
environment.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
9
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
At the end of lesson 4, students are expected to be able to:
 Provide an evidence-based answer to whether they would allow the growing of
soybeans in their country.
 Support their group final decision in the form of a debate.
Suggested Teaching Strategy
1.
In order to teach this module, students should have already been taught about
DNA extraction and gene transfer since this module draws on students’ prior
knowledge on molecular biology and Biotechnology.
2.
This project requires familiarization with the STOCHASMOS platform hosting
the web-based Biotechnology learning environment. The STOCHASMOS
platform (Kyza & Constantinou, 2007) is the web-based learning and teaching
platform, which was used to support the development and hosting of various
learning environments for inquiry-based teaching and learning (for more details
visit: http://www.coreflect.org/nqcontent.cfm?a id=4460&tt=coreflect&lang=en).
3.
The Biotechnology learning environment comprises of a) the Inquiry Environment
which provides information on genetically modified (GM) products and students’
mission inside the learning environment, and b) the WorkSpace which consists of
different templates created by the teacher in order to support students’ evidencebased argumentation on whether to cultivate GM soybeans.
4.
For the purposes of this project four templates have been created:
a) Risk assessment template: it supports students in conducting a risk
assessment and creating evidence-based arguments for environment
and health.
b) Cost-benefit analysis: it supports students in conducting a costbenefit analysis and creating evidence-based arguments for economy.
c) Synthesis template: it supports students in synthesizing their results
from both the risk assessment, which was conducted for environment
and health and cost-benefit analysis, which was conducted for economy
on GM plant cultivation. Students reiterate the risks they examined, their
results and their recommendation for each one of the three areas.
d) Final decision template: it provides students with structure in writing
their final decision.
Students can access the templates from the STOCHASMOS workspace.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
10
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
5.
In lesson 1, the students are introduced to the topic of the project. The teacher
connects the topic with previous knowledge on genetic engineering, refers to the
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) debate, and explains to students that
they will access data to take a stance that they will be able to justify. Two videos
which present opposing views on the cultivation of a GM plants found inside the
Biotechnology learning environment can be showed. Students form pairs or
groups of three. Roles are assigned to each student namely, Coordinator
(coordinates activities), Navigator (uses the mouse for navigation and types or
takes notes on paper), and Time keeper (keeps the time). Students enter the
Biotechnology learning environment. They are asked to read the first tap of the
inquiry environment and state the mission in their own words.
6.
During the rest of the lesson, students can explore the learning environment
and learn about concepts such as Biotechnology, genetic engineering, GM
soybeans. If it is necessary, the teacher can explain difficult terms about
genetic engineering in each group or during whole-class discussions.
7.
In lesson 2, students work with the Biotechnology learning environment. They
examine information about GM soybeans, capture evidence using the capture tool
and start working on the templates for the environment, health, and economy.
8.
In lessons 3 and 4, students continue their work inside the Biotechnology
learning environment. They try to reach consensus in their group in synthesizing
what the evidence is for the impact of GM soybeans on the three areas of
economy, environment, and health and make a decision. Students work with the
final report WorkSpace template to make their case and provide an answer to the
research question based on evidence.
9.
The teacher moves from one group of students to another in the class, to
scaffold students’ reflective inquiry, review their work, comment on their
reasoning, challenge them to explain conflicting evidence, encourage them to
engage in evidence-based reasoning, provide support on conceptual issues
and provide clarifications and feedback. Depending on students’ needs and
challenges, as identified by noticing small group discussions, you may also
decide to have whole class discussions with the students at points you deem
important.
10.
During the last lesson, students present their group work to the whole class in
the form of a debate. For the debate, divide students in two groups, one that is
supporting the cultivation of GM soybeans in Cyprus and one that is opposed to
it. Consider having an audience of parents, teachers, students, researchers,
and scientists who can intervene by asking questions.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
11
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
Achieving the Objectives
Objective 1: Demonstrate an understanding of basic concepts, such as Biotechnology,
Genetic engineering, genetically modified organisms
This objective is achieved throughout the four lessons since students, in order to form a
final decision on whether to cultivate genetically modified (GM) soybeans in their
country they are called to read information on biotechnology, genetic engineering and
GMOs. Special emphasis is given in lesson 1 during which students familiarize
themselves with the topic under examination and explore the Biotechnology learning
environment. The teacher can explain difficult terms about genetic engineering in each
group or during whole-class discussions.
Objective 2: Provide an evidence-based answer to whether they would allow the
growing of soybeans in their country, taking three perspectives into consideration: the
environment, economy, and health
Objective 3: Develop a risk assessment about whether they should allow the cultivation
of soybeans, by discussing advantages and disadvantages based on evidence
Objectives 2 and 3 are implemented during lesson 2, 3, and 4. Students explore the
Biotechnology learning environment and capture information on the advantages and
disadvantages of cultivating GM soybeans for the environment, health, and economy.
They present their evidence in the risk assessment and cost-benefit WorkSpace
templates which can be assessed by the teacher by the end of each lesson providing
feedback where necessary. During the last lesson, students are called to state their
evidence-based decision during a debate.
Objective 4: Develop explanation building skills
Objective 5: Develop evidence-based reasoning
Objective 6: Develop problem solving skills
Objective 7: Develop decision making skills
Objective 8: Develop ICT skills
Objective 9: Develop collaboration skills (group work)
The above objectives will be addressed throughout the four lessons. Specifically, students
will work in groups of three or pairs as a means to improve their collaborative skills. Also,
they will use the web-based learning environment on Biotechnology and genetically
modified plants as a means to improve their ICT skills. In addition, through the completion
of the various templates found inside the workspace of the learning environment, students
will explain their arguments, offer evidence-based answers, and a reach a decision thus
solving the socio-scientific problem articulated in the scenario.
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
12
Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
References
Kyza, E. A., & Constantinou, C. P. (2007). STOCHASMOS: a web-based platform for
reflective, inquiry-based teaching and learning. [Computer software]. Cyprus:
Learning in Science Group. Available from http://www.stochasmos.org/
Ministry of Education and Culture (2010). Cyprus National Curriculum. Biology for
Gymnasium and Lyceum (Grade A). Part B. (ISBN: 978-9963-0-4550-1).
Available
at:
http://www.moec.gov.cy/analytika programmata/programmata spoudon.html
Nicolaidou, I., Kyza, E. A, Hadjichambis, A., Kafouris, D., & Terzian, F. (2009a).
Biotechnology and genetically modified organisms. [Web-based learning
environment]. Cyprus: Cyprus University of Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.coreflect.org
Nicolaidou, I., Kyza, E. A, Hadjichambis, A., Kafouris, D., & Terzian, F. (2009b).
Biotechnology and genetically modified organisms. [Teacher’s Guide]. Retrieved
from http://www.coreflect.org
Nicolaidou, I., Kyza, E. A., Terzian, F., Hadjichambis, A., & Kafouris, D. (2011). A
framework for scaffolding students' assessment of the credibility of evidence.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, doi: 10.1002/tea.20420
Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1
Grant Agreement No.:266589
Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education:
teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe
13