Instructional Design
How would you design an instructional unit from a systems and ST perspective?
Suggested workflow for articulating instruction and assessment that leverage systems thinking:
① Identify the biological function you want your students to learn about (this is essentially your focal topic, framed as something biological systems "do") - expand for an example
Example:
A core idea in biology is the central dogma of molecular biology, which describes our understanding of how genetic information is expressed within a cell to produce proteins. This idea is part of the core concept of Information Flow (Vision and Change), summarized in the BioCore Guide as follows: "In most cases, genetic information flows from DNA to mRNA to protein, but there are important exceptions."
How we might frame this idea as a core function of cells:
"Cells use the information encoded in their genes (made of DNA) to produce molecules of mRNA and proteins"
② What would you like students to know and be able to do, regarding the function(s) you articulated? Identify one or more science practices or competencies and systems thinking skills (abbreviated lists are linked below) that support reasoning about this function - expand for an example.
Example:
Say that the target biological function you are teaching is gene expression as information flow at the cellular level (cells use information encoded in genes to produce mRNA molecules and proteins).
Here are some examples of how BST can support reasoning about how a cell accomplishes that function:
At a basic level, for instance, you may want students to be able to:
identify the cellular structures (organelles, molecules) that are relevant to explain how genes are expressed (BST1.a);
identify the relationships among these cellular and molecular structures (BST1.b);
organize system structures and relationships to explain how gene expression works (BST 1.c).
At the next level (BST2), you may have students reason about the rates of certain steps, or the consequences of perturbations, such as:
explain why experimental tests find different amounts of mRNA and/or protein for a given gene in cells from different tissues (BST2.b);
predict the effects of different mutations on protein sequence and structure (BST2.c).
> Science Practices (NGSS)
> Biology competencies (V&C)
- Vision and Change Report (2011)
- BioSkills
> BST skills (shorthand)
Level 1: Describing the system
1a. Identify system components and boundaries
1b. Identify relationships among components
1c. Organize components & relationships to explain a system’s function
Level 2: Analyzing relationships
2a. Characterize relationships qualitatively
2b. Reason about quantitative properties
2c. Predict & explain direct effects
Level 3: Analyzing the system as a whole
3a. Predict & explain indirect effects
3b. Explain emergent phenomena
3c. Predict & explain consequences of system perturbations
Level 4: Reasoning about multiple systems
4a. Recognize & infer patterns across systems
4b. Predict & explain how systems interact at the same level
4c. Predict & explain how systems interact across levels
________Direct links to references:Note: When you merge target concepts of biology, framed as functions, and skills (steps 1 and 2, above), you have standards: statements that describe the knowledge and skills learners should demonstrate. Standards guide curriculum, instruction, and assessment. K-12 science education is guided by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), while at the college level standards are not specified and instructors generate their own.
Example:
Biological function: "Cells use information encoded in genes to produce mRNA molecules and proteins".
Target science competencies: model-building and articulating explanations.
ST skills: [BST-1c] Organize components and relationships to explain a system’s function.
Biological function + Skills = Standard: "Students will construct conceptual models that explain how information stored in genes is used in cells to produce proteins"
③ Develop instruction activities and assessments:
a. authentic case studies and examples of biological systems anchor activities, contextualize learning, and capture student interest;
b. low-stakes problems and question sets that provide opportunities for practice and promote learning (formative assessments) become the backbone of class activities and out-of-class assignments;
c. summative assessments (exam questions) should be closely aligned with the problems students practiced in the course of instruction.
- expand for an example
Example:
Target function: "Cells use information encoded in genes to produce mRNA molecules and proteins".
Target skills: (a) modeling, and (b) explanations.
Activity: "Identify molecular structures and mechanisms that are relevant to explaining how genetic information is expressed in cells. Use the components and processes you identified to create a model that explains how information stored in the beta-globin gene is used in red blood cells to produce hemoglobin."
Need ideas for identifying biological systems and case studies that can serve as context for a unit of instruction or an assessment?
Click here for links to resources:
Follow the link for a deeper look at the structure of BST-aligned assessment