http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Sun, 19 May 2013 14:01:11 PDT Sun, 19 May 2013 14:01:11 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=78477 This is a great site where users will examine major evolutionary concepts, explore teaching methodologies, and address obstacles to teaching evolution.  There are many modules for this site, including topics such as the nature of science, Darwin's theory, human evolution, misconceptions about evolution, and teaching evolution. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80710 To address the critical teacher shortage in math and science, the Teaching and Learning Interchange grant produced three products: two series of online video case studies of accomplished teaching and a resource guide explaining the techniques, ideas for engaging students, assessing learning progress, creating and maintaining a classroom conducive to learning, along with strategies for working with English Learners and Special needs students. Originally conceived for use with pre-service and intern teachers, the cases and resources have been recommended by field reviewers for use at all stages of the teacher professional continuum.The Pedagogy in Practice: Science video case studies document lessons from general science, biology and chemistry; the Pedagogy in Practice: Math video cases cover 8th grade algebra, high school algebra and geometry. Each case is supported by relevant artifacts that develop real contexts for the learning and includes teaching cues and transcripts of classroom dialog. National Board certified and Exploratorium Master teachers deconstruct their own teaching practices and share how they break subject matter standards into mind-sized learning units, then demonstrate those same learning units in action. Teacher reflections on assessment, along with links to resouces found in the Strategies in Practice Resource Guide, provide support for classroom management, lesson planning and essential strategies that describe how to adapt the instructional pedagogy modeled in the videos. All lessons are aligned simultaneously to the California standards for teaching and science subject matter content. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=79890 A lesson on whale evolution based on DNA, geological, paleontological, physiological and morphological evidence. Students will experience the historical discovery of fossils which increasingly link whales to earlier land-dwelling mammals. This experience reveals how scientists can make predictions about past events, based on the theory and evidence that whales evolved. Such predictions suggest the age and location of sediments where fossils of early whales would most likely be found, and even their traits. This lesson also provides confirmation, with multiple independent lines of evidence, that there IS a series of intermediate forms, showing gradual accumulation of changes, linking certain terrestrial mammal groups with modern whales. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80426 In an inquiry-oriented classroom, the teacher is a co-explorer and guide who cultivates curiosity and challenges students to think and act like scientists as they explore intriguing questions. It takes time, practice, and sometimes, a shift in teaching strategies, to create a classroom where inquiry can flourish. This web site is part of a larger Online community of classrooms from 11,000 schools, representing more than 490,000 students track wildlife such as monarch butterflies across North America during the spring migration. The instructional approach integrates various disciplines in science, math, social studies, development of personal ethics, and language arts. Explicit strategies should help both novice and experienced teachers create a climate for inquiry, support productve discussions, generate questions, plan investigations and gather data, guide consideration of evidence, and critically review research reports. Established in 1991 with a grant from the Annenberg Foundation to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Project uses media and communications to improve math and science education. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=76941 WISE is a simple yet powerful learning environment where students examine real-world evidence and analyze current scientific controversies. The curriculum projects are designed to meet standards and complement existing science curriculum, and grade 5-12 students will find the resources exciting and engaging. A web browser is all they need to take notes, discuss theories, and organize their arguments... they can even work from home! A Teacher Area lets you explore new projects and grade your students' work on the Web. Best of all, everything in WISE is completely free. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80436 Puzzled about a topic in biology? Need a biologist to answer your question? Anyone is welcome to use Ask A Biologist. It is intended primarily to serve grades K-12, and to be available as a resource to illustrate the processes of inquiry for teachers. Resources include descriptions of research projects being conducted by biologists at Arizona State University. The articles are written by graduate students in the life sciences departments but they are written about content and at a level that would be appropriate for K6 teachers. Articles include a glossary and images to illustrate key biological principles. Also included are profiles about some people who actually conduct the biological research. This site is designed and maintained by Arizona State University's Life Sciences Visualization Group as an educational resource for K-12 students and their teachers. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=79928 A total of 364 mathematics and science lessons were observed using a structured observation protocol. Each lesson was rated on four components: the lesson design, implementation, math/science content addressed, and classroom culture. Observers rated several indicators within each component and then provided an overall "capsule" rating of the lesson along with a detailed rationale for the rating. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=79447 Classification can (and should) be used to illustrate more than a mere hierarchical grouping of organisms. This lesson introduces students to the building of cladograms as evolutionary trees, showing how "shared derived characters" can be used to reveal degrees of relationship. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=78400 Evolution plays favorites. Only 25 small areas, known as biodiversity hotspots, boast nearly half of the world's plant species and more than one-third of its vertebrates. Conservationists treasure these havens of biodiversity because each one nurtures an abundance of unique species. Visit the hotspots with this new online atlas, which expands on an analysis published 2 years ago by Conservation International, based in Washington, D.C. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=83504 A Year of Eighth Grade Science with Bill McWeeny A Year of 8th Grade Science Contents IntroductionBill's Teaching BiographyBill's Most Influential BooksBill's Teaching PhilosophyAn Interview with Bill McWeenyThe Classroom EnvironmentSetting Up the Year: ThroughlinesSetting Up the Year: NotebooksThe Culturing UnitThe Family Tree UnitThe Cell UnitThe Body Systems Unit - Implementing the Body Systems Unit - The Quiz and Video - The Respiratory Lab - The Circulatory Lab - The Nervous System Lab - The Body Systems Unit and TFU - The Body Systems Assignments and Examples of Student Work The Body Systems Unit: The Assignments and Examples of Student Work, Reactions and Assessment: The Circulatory System Lab Handouts