Peer Review

Cell Biology and Cancer

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Mar 7, 2018 by Health Sciences

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: Features five activities (The Faces of Cancer, Cancer and the Cell Cycle, Cancer as a Multi-step Process, Evaluating Claims About Cancer, and Acting on Information About Cancer) for helping students understand key concepts about cancer -- that "cancer" is a group of more than 100 diseases, that it develops due to loss of control of cell growth, that it is a multi-step process, & more. The relationship between biomedical research & improvements in health are examined, as are the advances in cancer research made in the last 30 years. Students work independently, in small-groups, and as a class with the teacher acting as facilitator for hands-on work. Images, streaming video, case studies, and links to resources are some of the Web-based instruction offered. A Teacher's Guide with background information, student activities manual, and handout masters is provided.
Type of Material:: Cell Biology & Cancer is a comprehensive lesson plan; material is designed to be used in the classroom setting with Web enhancements for individual and group study.
Recommended Uses:: The five activities in this module are designed to be taught either in sequence,
as a supplement to the standard curriculum, or as individual activities that
support or enhance the treatment of specific concepts in biology. Many of the
activities can be used individually to replace or enhance a more traditional
approach to the same or related content.
Technical Requirements:: - Pentium class IBM Compatible w/ Windows 95 or higher, with 64 MB RAM (96 or
128 MB recommended)
- Power PC Macintosh w/ Mac OS 8.6 or newer, with 64 MB RAM (96 or 128 MB
recommended)
- Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser, version 4 or
better
- Apple QuickTime Plug-In, version 4 or better installed for your Web browser
- Macromedia Flash Plug-In, version 5 or better installed for your Web browser
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Cell Biology and Cancer is designed to help students develop the following major
goals associated with biological literacy:
1. to understand a set of basic scientific principles related to cancer as a
cellular phenomenon,
2. to experience the process of inquiry and develop an enhanced understanding of
the nature and methods of science, and
3. to recognize the role of science in society and the relationship between
basic science and personal and public health.
Ancillary purposes are to:
1. deepen students' awareness of the importance of basic research to advances in
medicine and health,
2. foster students' abilities to think critically,
3. help students understand the effects of scientific discoveries on their own
lives, and
4. encourage students to take more responsibility for their own health.
Target Student Population:: High school grades 9-12 are the target student population, however, college
students in fundamental biology/anatomy/physiology and related courses would be
a target population as well.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Basic Biology

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: Content quality is excellent; information is well-documented and current; instructional design is top-level. Organized modules and lesson plans, clear instructions, additional resources are available on the NIH website
Concerns:: None

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: Emphasis is placed on active learning: identifies learning objectives, identifies prerequisite knowledge, reinforces concepts progressively, builds on prior concepts, demonstrates relationships between concepts, is easy to integrate into curriculum assignments, is very efficient (could learn a lot in short time), and can be used to measure student learning outcomes. The Teachers Guide offers excellent scholarly support and strategies for use. It isn't necessary to strictly follow the lesson in order for the learning object to be useful or meaningful. Materials are available online as well as through print/CD-ROM free from NIH.
Concerns:: None

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The site map provides a diagram of all parts of this learning object making
navigation very easy. Technical requirements and links to plug-ins are provided
in the setup. All paths for working the the lessons are obvious.
Concerns:: None

Other Issues and Comments:: Cell Biology and Cancer is one of many curriculum supplements provided by the
Office of Science Education, National Institutes of Health,
http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/
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