MadisonScienceMethods

 What did you learn this week? In our lab section this week, I learned how similarities and differences that we are able to observe across species. Knowing those similarities and differences, we can make predictions about populations and how they can change over time. I learned through our activity how some predators have different advantages than others and that impacts how they can get more prey or get less based on the advantages that they have.  How can you apply what you learned to future teachings? I think that the bean activity we did during our lab section was a very fun way to show those predator and prey relationships. I would definately do something like this in my class in the future if I am teaching this lesson. The bean grabbing was really fun and I think young students would enjoy doing a little competition while they are learning about different predator and prey relationships. I probably would make the activity a little easier to understand the instructions bu...

 What did you learn this week?  Today, we learned about Mutation. We talked about how mutation happens and demonstrated them through the mutation simulations we did in our lab. We also created our own superhero by showing the mutations of a sequence. The superhero activity talked about how there are substitutions in a sequence, and that will not change the overall sequence. There are insertions in a sequence that add amino acids into the sequence and can change the outcome of the person. The last one is deletion, which is when there are amino acids being taken away from the sequence, so it changes the person into a totally different thing.  How can you apply what you learned to your future teachings?  I think the superhero activity would be a fun and exciting activity for elementary students. I would do something similar to keep my students engaged in the lesson. I would probably make the lesson a little more clear for young students to understand and add a drawing p...

 What did you learn this week?  In our lab section, we learned a lot about the DNA structure. We talked about how the DNA structure consists of sugar and the four bases, which are Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine. We also talked about how the DNA strand is a twisted ladder and demonstrated that during our lab activity. I learned about the three components of nucleotides. The three components are the phosphate group, sugar, and nitrogen base. Lastly, during our lab, we learned about the process of building facial features and the building of a child through the genes of their parents. How can you apply what you learned to your teachings in the future?  The activities that we did in our lab section this week were such a fun and exciting way for students to visualize genes, genotypes, and phenotypes. If I were teaching elementary students about DNA , I know they would love the candy activity that we did in class, and they would probably love to eat the candy afterward...