Acting on
to improve personal and public health. Translating our
Information
understanding of science into public policy can raise a variety
About Cancer
of issues, such as the degree to which society should govern
the health practices of individuals. Such issues often involve a
tension between the values of preserving personal and public
health and preserving individual freedom and autonomy.
5
Cell Biology and Cancer
Table 2. Correlation between lessons and high school biology topics.
High School Biology Topic
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Biology of Cancer
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Cell Cycle and Regulation of Cell Division
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Mutation
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Cancer and Personal and Public Health
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Although we encourage you to use the lessons
• Instructors place less emphasis on
in the sequence outlined in Table 1, many of the
transmitting information and more
lessons can be taught individually, to replace
emphasis on developing students’ skills.
or enhance a more traditional approach to
• Students are involved in higher-order
the same or related content. Table 2 provides
thinking (for example, analysis, synthesis,
recommendations for inserting the lessons into a
and evaluation).
standard high school curriculum in biology.
• Students are engaged in activities
(for example, reading, discussing,
How Does the Module Correlate with
and writing).
the National Science Education Standards?
• Instructors encourage students’ exploration
Cell Biology and Cancer supports teachers in their
of their own understandings, attitudes,
efforts to reform science education in the spirit
and values.
of the National Research Council’s 1996 National
Science Education Standards (NSES). Table 3 lists
Most teachers endorse the use of active learning.
the content and teaching standards that this
We know intuitively, if not experientially and
module primarily addresses.
explicitly, that learning does not occur through
a process of passive absorption. But often, we do
How Does the BSCS 5E Instructional
not realize how active students must be for real
Model Promote Active, Collaborative,
learning to occur. Typically, the answer to this
Inquiry-Based Learning?
question is more active than we might expect.
The activities in this module are designed to
offer students the opportunity to participate in
The lessons in this module were designed with
active, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning
the following assumptions about active learning
in biology. But what do these terms mean?
(BSCS, 1999):
Despite their current popularity, many teachers
1. An activity promotes active learning to the
think of active, collaborative, and inquiry-based
degree to which all students, not simply a
learning rather generically. Defining these three
vocal few, are involved in mental processing
key terms specifically will provide a foundation
related to the content.
on which we can build a detailed description of
2. An activity promotes active learning to the
the instructional approach that the five lessons in
degree that it offers extended opportunities
this module advocate and implement.
for students to become personally engaged
with the content.
Conceptually the broadest of the three, active
3. An activity promotes active learning to the
learning, means that students are involved “in
degree that it involves students in thinking
doing things and thinking about the things
deeply about content.
they are doing” (Bonwell and Eison, 1991, p. 2).
These authors elaborate by listing the following
The activities also make extensive use of
characteristics typically associated with strategies
collaborative learning. Collaborative and
that deserve to be labeled “active”:
cooperative learning currently enjoy “favorite
• Students are involved in more than listening.
child” status among the many strategies available
to teachers. Teachers are using group approaches
6
Table 3. Correlation to the National Science Education Standards.
A. The Content Standards
Standard A: As a result of activities in grades 9–12,
Correlation to Cell
all students should develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Biology and Cancer
and understandings about scientific inquiry
• Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations.
Lessons 2, 3, and 4
• Design and conduct scientific investigations.
Lesson 4
• Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and
Lesson 3
communications.
• Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic
Lessons 2, 3, and 4
and evidence.
• Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.
Lessons 3
• Communicate and defend a scientific argument.
Lessons 4
• Understanding scientific inquiry.
Lessons 2, 3, and 4
Standard C: As a result of their activities in grades 9–12,
Correlation to Cell
all students
Biology and Cancer
should develop understanding of the cell:
• Cells store and use information to guide their functions.
Lesson 2 and 3
• Cell functions are regulated.
should develop understanding of the molecular basis of heredity:
• In all organisms, the instructions for specifying the characteristics of the
Lesson 2 and 3
organism are carried in the DNA.
• Changes in DNA occur spontaneously at low rates.
should develop understanding of the interdependence of organisms:
• Human beings live within the world’s ecosystems.
Lesson 5
Standard E: As a result of activities in grades 9–12,
Correlation to Cell
all students
Biology and Cancer
should develop abilities of technological design and understandings about
science and technology:
• Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies.
Lesson 2
• Creativity, imagination, and a good knowledge base are all required in the
Lessons 1–5
work of science and engineering.
Standard F: As a result of activities in grades 9–12,
Correlation to Cell
all students should develop understanding of
Biology and Cancer
should develop understanding of:
• personal and community health
Lessons 1, 4, and 5
• natural and human-induced hazards
Lessons 1, 4, and 5
• science and technology in local, national, and global challenges
Lesson 5
Standard G: As a result of activities in grades 9–12,
Correlation to Cell
all students
Biology and Cancer
should develop understanding of:
• science as a human endeavor
Lessons 2 and 4
• nature of scientific knowledge
Lessons 2, 3, and 4
• historical perspectives
Lesson 2
7
Implementing the Module
Cell Biology and Cancer
Table 3. Correlation to the National Science Education Standards.
B. The Teaching Standards
Standard A: Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based
Correlation to Cell Biology and Cancer
science program for their students. In doing this, teachers
• develop a framework of yearlong and short-term goals for
Each lesson provides short-term objectives
students.
for students. Table 1, Conceptual Flow of the
Activities and Table 7, Timeline for Teaching
the Module, also help teachers plan.
• select science content and adapt and design curriculum to
Using the module helps teachers update their
meet the interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities, and
curriculum in response to their students’
experiences of students.
interest in this topic.
• select teaching and assessment strategies that support
The focus on active, collaborative, and
the development of student understanding and nurture a
inquiry-based learning in the activities helps
community of science learners.
teachers meet this standard.
Standard B: Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. Correlation to Cell Biology and Cancer
In doing this, teachers
• focus and support inquiries while interacting with students.
All of the activities in the module encourage
and support student inquiry.
• orchestrate discourse among students about scientific ideas.
All of the activities in the module promote
discourse among students.
• challenge students to accept and share responsibility for their All of the activities in the module challenge own learning.
students to accept and share responsibility for
their learning.
• recognize and respond to student diversity and encourage all Combining the BSCS 5E Instructional Model students to participate fully in science learning.
with active, collaborative learning is an
effective way of responding to the diversity of
stu dent backgrounds and learning styles.
• encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as Annotations for the teacher that occur the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism throughout the lessons provide many that characterize science.
suggestions for how teachers can model these
attributes.
Standard C: Teachers of science engage in ongoing
Correlation to Cell Biology and Cancer
assessment of their teaching and of student learning.
In doing this, teachers
• use multiple methods and systematically gather data about
Each lesson has a variety of assessment
student understanding and ability
components embedded within its structure.
Annotations draw teachers’ attention to these
opportunities for assessment.
• analyze assessment data to guide teaching
Annotations provide answers to questions
that can help teachers analyze student
feedback. The annotations also suggest ways
for teachers to change their approach to
students, based on that feedback.
Standard E: Teachers of science develop communities of
Correlation to Cell Biology and Cancer
science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific
inquiry and the attitudes and social values conducive to
science learning. In doing this, teachers
• display and demand respect for the diverse ideas, skills, and
The answers provided in the annotations for
experiences of all students
teachers model these qualities.
• nurture collaboration among students
All the lessons are designed to be completed
by students working in collaborative groups.
• structure and facilitate ongoing formal and informal discussion All the discussions in the lessons model the based on a shared understanding of rules of scientific discourse
rules of scientific discourse.
• model and emphasize the skills, attitudes, and values of
The annotations for teachers provide many
scientific inquiry
suggestions about how to model these skills,
attitudes, and values.
8
across disciplines, for in- and out-of-class
or her initial understandings through interactions
assignments, with large and small classes, and
with phenomena, the environment, and other
with beginning and advanced students. In fact,
individuals. In short, the student interprets
you will often find that collaborative activities go
objects and phenomena and then internalizes this
hand-in-hand with active learning.
interpretation in terms of previous experiences.
Collaborative and cooperative learning, which
A constructivist view of learning recognizes that
have long theoretical and empirical histories, come
the development of ideas and the acquisition of
out of different academic traditions, operate on
lasting understandings take time and experience
different premises, and use different strategies.
(Saunders, 1992). In the typical classroom, this
But both approaches share a fundamental
means that fewer concepts and subjects can be
commitment to the notion that students learn from
covered during the school year or, in this case,
and with each other—“learning through joint
in five days of instruction. Nevertheless, research
intellectual effort,” according to one expert (Brody,
suggests that students who are given time and
1995, p. 134). In the interest of brevity, we will
opportunity to thoroughly grasp a small number
leave undiscussed the finer distinctions between
of important concepts do better on traditional
the two, offering in this curriculum a mix of
tests than students who are exposed briefly to a
strategies that put students together and engage
large number of ideas (Sizer, 1992; Knapp et al.,
them in tasks that encourage learning together.
1995). In fact, the intensive thinking involved
in constructing a thorough understanding of a
Finally, the activities in the module use inquiry-
few major ideas appears to benefit all students,
based strategies. All truly inquiry-based activities
regardless of ability.
share the characteristics of active learning. In
addition, inquiry-based strategies emphasize
Tables 4 and 5 illustrate the key components
discovery: the process of observation, followed by
of the BSCS 5E Instructional Model, so-called
analysis, that leads to explanation, to conclusion,
because it takes students through five phases of
or to the next question. Note that an activity need
learning that are easily described using five words
not involve students in active experimentation to
that begin with the letter “E”: Engage, Explore,
be fundamentally an inquiry experience.
Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate.
More than active or collaborative learning, inquiry-
This instructional model allows students to share
based strategies attempt to teach students how
common experiences related to cancer, to use and
biologists see the world, how they think about
build on prior knowledge, to construct meaning,
what they see, and how they draw conclusions
and to assess continually their understanding
that are consistent with observations and current
of a major concept. It avoids excessive use of
knowledge. Such strategies say to the student, in
lecture because research shows that 10 minutes
effect, “This is science as a way of knowing.”
is near the upper limit of comfortable attention
that students give to lecture material, whereas
The BSCS 5E Instructional Model
the attention span in an investigative activity is
The lessons in the module were designed using
far longer (Project Kaleidoscope, 1991). In the 5E
an instructional model to organize and sequence
Model, the teacher acts as facilitator and coach
the experiences offered to students. This model,
much more frequently than he or she acts as the
called the BSCS 5E Instructional Model, is based
disseminator of information.
on constructivism, a term that expresses a view
of the student as an active agent who “constructs”
The following paragraphs illustrate how the
meaning out of his or her interactions with events
5Es are implemented across the lessons in this
(Perkins, 1992). According to this view, rather
module. They also provide suggestions about
than passively absorbing information, the student
effective teaching behaviors that help students
redefines, reorganizes, elaborates, and changes his
experience each phase of the learning cycle.
9
Implementing the Module
Cell Biology and Cancer
Table 4. The key components of the BSCS 5E Model: What the teacher does.
Phase
What the teacher does that’s
What the teacher does that’s
consistent with the 5E Model
inconsistent with the 5E Model
Engage
• Creates interest
• Explains concepts
• Generates curiosity
• Provides definitions and answers
• Raises questions
• States conclusions
• Elicits responses that uncover what students • Provides premature answers to
know or think about the concept or subject
students’ questions
• Lectures
Explore
• Encourages students to work together
• Provides answers
without direct instruction from teacher
• Tells or explains how to work through
• Observes and listens to students as they
the problem
interact
• Tells students they are wrong
• Asks probing questions to redirect students’ • Gives information or facts that solve investigations when necessary
the problem
• Provides time for students to puzzle
• Leads students step-by-step to a
through problems
solution
• Acts as a consultant for students
Explain
• Encourages students to explain concepts
• Accepts explanations that have no
and definitions in their own words
justification
• Asks for justification (evidence) and
• Neglects to solicit students’
clarification from students
explanations
• Formally provides definitions, explanations, • Introduces unrelated concepts or skills and new labels
• Uses students’ previous experiences as the
basis for explaining concepts
Elaborate • Expects students to use formal labels,
• Provides definitive answers
definitions, and explanations provided
• Tells students they are wrong
previously
• Lectures
• Encourages students to apply or extend
• Leads students step-by-step to a
concepts and skills in new situations
solution
• Reminds students of alternative
• Explains how to work through the
explanations
problem
• Refers students to existing data and
evidence and asks, “What do you already
know?” “Why do you think ... ?”
Evaluate
• Observes students as they apply new
• Tests vocabulary words, terms, and
concepts and skills
isolated facts
• Assesses students’ knowledge and/or skills
• Introduces new ideas or concepts
• Looks for evidence that students have
• Creates ambiguity
changed their thinking or behaviors
• Promotes open-ended discussion
• Allows students to assess their own learning
unrelated to concept or skill
and group-process skills
• Asks open-ended questions, such as, “Why
do you think . . . ?” “What evidence do you
have?” “What do you know about x?” “How
would you explain x?”
10
Table 5. The key components of the BSCS 5E Model: What the students do.
Phase
What the students do that’s
What the students do that’s
consistent with the 5E Model
inconsistent with the 5E Model
Engage
• Become interested in and curious about the • Ask for the “right” answer
concept/topic
• Offer the “right” answer
• Express current understanding of a concept • Insist on answers or explanations
or idea
• Seek closure
• Raise questions such as, What do I already
know about this? What do I want to know
about this? How could I find out?
Explore
• “Mess around” with materials and ideas
• Let others do the thinking and
• Conduct investigations in which they
exploring (passive involvement)
observe, describe, and record data
• Work quietly with little or no
• Try different ways to solve a problem or
interaction with others (only
answer a question
appropriate when exploring ideas or
• Acquire a common set of experiences so
feelings)
they can compare results and ideas