CTA LESSONS
Day 1: Meiosis
Objectives:
1. TSW identify the roles of Meiosis in the body through the completion of a graphic
organizer and completing the "stoplight method."
Lesson Plan Module: Advance Organizer
Others Considered: Concept Attainment
My Final Decision: I chose to do the Advance Organizer because I was not sure what I would
use as my “NOs” in the Concept Attainment model. I wanted to makes sure students grasped
the material, so I went with what I knew would work. After completing the lesson, I can now
see how Concept Attainment would have been perfect because Meiosis had very similar steps
and similar results to a process discussed the day before, Mitosis, but altogether the purposes
and results were very different. Students struggled a lot with separating the two, and the
Concept Attainment would have been a good way to clarify those confusing points in the
beginning.
Day 2: Review Nondisjunction, Chromosomal Mutations
Objectives:
1. TSW identify diseases that result from nondisjunction of chromosomes during
Meiosis.
2. TSW identify the various types of chromosomal mutations through the completion of a
graphic organizer/coloring sheet.
Lesson Plan Module: Direct Instruction/Advance Organizer Models
Others Considered: Memory Model
My Final Decision: I chose to do the Direct Instruction/Advance Organizer because the
material flowed from the day before, and it seemed to make the most sense to stick with a
similar process. However, after seeing how difficult it was for students to grasp this material, I
think the use of mnemonics in the Memory Model would have been a great, fun way of helping
students to retain the material.
Day 3: Disorder Detectives Karyotyping Activity
Objectives:
1. TSW analyze the information and karyotype of a patient to identify and record what
type of disease a patient has through the Disorders Detectives lab.
Lesson Plan Module: Simulations Model
Others Considered: Role-Play Model.
My Final Decision: Although the lab normally asks students to “act as a cytogeneticist,” I
chose to leave that part out and use the Simulations Model because I preferred the phases in it to
the one in the Role-Play Model and felt they worked better for a lab setting. I was pleased with
the results and felt it was the right decision.
STUDENT WORK
“THE STOPLIGHT METHOD”
Formative Pre-Assessment Introduced on Day 1
 Self-assessment for Students:
 Students sat in groups of 4, and in the middle of each group were packs of red, yellow,
and green stickers.
 Red = “I have no clue what this means.”
 Yellow = “this kind of makes sense, but I still have some questions.”
 Green = “this makes sense to me.”
 As we went through the material on Meiosis, students could put those stickers next to
definitions, sections, concepts, etc., to self-assess their understanding of the material.
 At the end of class, every student was required to turn in a piece of paper with their name
and any details about sections with yellow or red stickers they had in their notes. (If students
understood everything, they were instructed to write so on a piece of paper)
 Self-assessment for teachers:
 After each period, the sheets turned in by students were read a list of “yellow and red”
topics was assembled.
 For topics that show up consistently, the delivery of the lesson should be reviewed for
future classes
 The Next Day:
 The following day, the list of concepts were written on the board prior to class
 We went into detail on each concept in the list
 Students asked questions and were engaged the entire time.
 Benefits of this Assessment:
 The stickers allowed students to self-assess what areas were confusing to them
without requiring them to ask questions the same day
 Students were able to process the material and come back the following day with a list
of topics provided based on students’ self-assessments
 Because the list was much more narrow than the notes as a whole, students were able
to think of and ask specific questions.
 I, as the teacher, was able to focus and give more detail on those specific areas, and I
tried to include information that was interesting, but not necessarily required of me to
teach.
 Results: I love this method and intend on using it regularly in my future classroom. It
worked better than I had hoped, and I got to experience the engagement of the majority of
the class because of it.
WHAT WAS CONFUSING?
The Compiled Lists from Each Period’s Stoplight Assessment
5TH Period:
 Haploid vs Diploid Cells
 The difference between Mitosis and Meiosis
 The purpose and products of Meiosis
 Homologous Chromosomes
6th Period:
 Haploid vs Diploid Cells
 The difference between Mitosis and Meiosis
8th Period:
 Mistakes in Meiosis
 Haploid vs Diploid Cells
 The difference between Mitosis and Meiosis
 The purpose and products of Meiosis
STUDENT WORK
POST-ASSESSMENT TEST
Conducted Post-CTA
 Students took and exam that covered material on The Cell Cycle, including mitosis, as well
as meiosis and nondisjunction.
 I helped my CT write this exam, but was not able to do it on my own. I did not feel it
accurately reflected the success of the pre-assessment. In grading them I was able to see how
much the formative pre-assessment helped based on certain questions, but I also observed
how much further detail was needed to help students distinguish between Mitosis and
Meiosis.
 ***This confirmed my thought that the Concept Attainment and Memory Models would
have been beneficial for the students.
 On the post-assessment, a bonus was added that asked students to write the names of two
types of Meiosis processes: Oogenesis (females) and Spermatogenesis (males).
 These were discussed in the Stoplight Method review day. These terms are normally
only given in AP or Honors Biology, but I thought it would help students to
understand what Meiosis was for if they had specific examples.
 In that review students were instructed that they did not have to know these terms for
the test.
The majority of students in each of the three periods got the bonus correct. I was
discouraged from going into too much detail with students, and that examples such as the
one above were a bit over students’ heads, but what the post-assessment exam showed me
was that we should spend a little more time explaining and diving into the material instead of
just giving a brief overview of it.
DEVELOPMENT OF CTA
Standards
 AL. SC. BIO. Grade(s): 9-12. (6) Describe the roles of mitotic and meiotic divisions during
reproduction, growth, and repair of cells.
 AL. SC. BIO. Grade(s): 9-12. (8) Identify the structure and function of DNA, RNA, and
proteins
Topic?
Meiosis, Nondisjunction, Chromosomal Mutations; finish with Disorder Detective Lab***
Disorder Detectives Lab needs to go last, so it will be Day 3.
Meiosis must be introduced first, so it will be on Day 1. It will take a long time to go over this
material, so we will have to do Nondisjunction and Chromosomal Mutations on Day 3…
What Lesson Plans?
The Disorder Detectives Lab on Day 3 would definitely be Simulations or Role-Play.
After looking at each in the book, it would be Simulations because it focuses on solving
problems toward goal attainment. Role-playing focuses more on relational problems, and the
plan does not coincide with what I want students to do.
*Finish lesson with 99 Balloons video on Edward’s Syndrome.
To introduce the material on Day 1 should I use Concept Attainment? What would I use as my
“No(s)?” Use Advance Organizer instead; the class is used to it. Make a Prezi for the Meiosis.
Go ahead and include Nondisjunction and Chromosomal Mutations for Day 2 in the Prezi, that
way you can go back and reference where they would occur during Meiosis without having to
open up another presentation.
Use the Coloring/Labeling sheet for chromosomal mutations so that the students can have a
visual of the mutations for the Disorder’s Detective Lab on Day 3.
What Assessments Should I use?
Use the “Stoplight Method” seen in the formative assessment book you have. Introduce it at the
beginning of Day 1 and it will carry over until Day 2. The lab sheet students have to fill out on
Day 3 will serve as their form of assessment for the day.
The post-assessment can be the exam. It will happen after the CTA occurs, but I can still help
write it and gather student examples.
WHAT I LEARNED
 To be more creative with my lessons and that no lesson is perfect, especially not on the
first attempt.
o The Concept Attainment and Memory Models would have added a lot to this unit.
 To always self assess.
o The “stoplight method” opened my eyes to the importance of self-assessment. If I
utilized methods such as this throughout the whole year, I would be able to develop
student understanding before the exam and for my current students, as opposed to
reviewing the tests alone and adjusting for the following year.
o Also, in using forms of assessment such as this throughout the year, students learn
to evaluate their own understanding of material, which is a very important concept
to address that does not get addressed enough in the high-school setting.
 To only feel successful if the students took something from the material.
o As we reviewed Meiosis the second day, I actively watched students start to
understand what we were talking about. I know that “learning” cannot technically
be observed, but theoretically I saw it happening.
 To know where the lesson should go and what students should take from it.
o In order for students to grasp the material, I, as the educator, have to guide them in
the direction of what questions to ask. I need to have scripted questions based on
the objectives and standards of the material prepared prior to the lesson
 Just because you are the teacher does not mean you stop being a student.
o One of my biggest personal struggles is my insecurity in the amount of knowledge
I have about the material; having a degree in Biology does not mean that I know
everything about every specific topic to ever be discussed in a classroom, which
students do not always comprehend.
o I struggle a lot with Meiosis, which is the topic we covered on Day 1 and 2. Even
after reviewing the material and writing the lesson, I had to stop myself at points
when teaching the lesson to make sure I understood what we were going over. I
think the students respected me more for admitting I needed a moment than to just
glance over the highlights on the Prezi and figure it out on my own later.
o I made sure to go over with the class where I got confused and how I got back on
track so that when students reviewed it on their own they could try and use the
same process if they struggled.
 To make sure students know that you support them and want them to learn.
o There were 80 students between the three Biology classes of the day. Every student
learns at a different pace and in a different way than everyone else in the class.
After the observation as a whole, I realized how important it is to make every
effort to ensure ALL of the students know you, as their educator, want them to be
successful. (Not just the high achieving and not just the very low, but everyone that
falls in between as well)