Remembering Tatay on his 70th

Tatay would have been 70 years old today.

Tatay, when he was about my age. 

What I always remember about my father: 

He held my hand to cut my first birthday cake. When I was in primary, he would protect my notebooks with plastic cover. When I was in the intermediate grades up to high school he would draw me laboratory tools and write down their uses. He was not a chemist but working as a laboratory technician, he knows the chemical formula, names, mixing protocols, handling, etc. 

My 1st birthday family pic

When I took the UPCAT he was outside the CEAT-UP lecture hall, peeking through the window and watching me take the exam from 8am to 12nn. He was with me when I needed to go, for the first time to UP Diliman library and waited for the entire day outside. When I was in college, the only time I got sick, I remember him waking me up in the middle of the night so I can take the medicine and be able to come to school again the next morning. 

On my first job, he went with me for my final interview in Manila. When I worked in the research laboratory, he would fetch me late at night after setting up an experiment that would last the whole evening. 

But what I would always remember is whenever our viand has no soup or sauce, there would always be a bottle of Coke to pair with whatever fried meat or fish. For 36 years, he took care of me and I was only given 36 days to return that favor. 

I was there when he got a heart attack on the eve of his 65th birthday and when he was revived at dawn. I was there when he took his last meal, I administered his last insulin shot and made the last adjustment to his oxygen, hoping against hope that he would last another birthday. I think I was the only one to whom he would reminisce his memories as a child with his own father, during his last week. And I was there when finally he took his last breath. 

I feel sad for those who never knew their father, and I pity those who cannot remember even a single good memory with their father. For the things my Tatay did as I was growing up and what he made me witness on his last days, he wanted me to remember: "I am smart and I am strong"; a first born favorite, all along [just like him].

English Language Arts for Science Learners and Science for English Language Learners

Integrative Education starts with a paradigm shift

The RSA video can be accessed from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

A Personal Reflection

Having gone through the three TESOL modules, (the fourth and last module is due this week) I realized that teaching science using English is an interdisciplinary task. NGSS and Science and Engineering practices are included in one of the modules and it is very clear that it is not as simple as including the practices in the plan or classifying learning tasks. They encompass both instruction and assessment. Another point for reflection is looking at the BICS and CALPS or the level of social and academic language proficiency of both teacher and learner. All the S&P practices entail a certain level of communication so it is very important that the teacher knows the level of proficiency of the students, in both receptive (listening and reading) and productive (speaking and writing) of the students. Every teacher must also exert effort in organizing the lesson in a way that it will address lexical (vocabulary), syntax (grammatical structure), and discourse (academic understanding) levels of language. The key to effectively using English as the language of science is first for the teacher to overcome difficulties as an English Language Learner (ELL), herself/himself. For instance, how can one define a quality blended learning objective if there is inferior language proficiency? 

Let me share some of the entries that I posted on the discussion fora. The first is a T-chart that compare and contrast two views about science education which was constructed after a study on the 21^st century skills. This module made me reflect on my own application of the science and engineering practices. I think I need to analyze deeper how I really do instruction as far as making my students develop these practices according to their level of language proficiency. The second entry is a reflection about differentiated instruction based on varying levels of language proficiency. We must acknowledge that media poses a threat to the depreciating interest of students to academic English language. Teachers, must therefore exert more effort to become better models of academic discourses in English. The third is a synthesis of the challenges, the tools to use and proposed teacher training activities. The third is a table that highlights the alignment of S&P practices for recommended assessment techniques for EL in science. 

 

SERVICE LEARNING IN MHCC-Can

 MHCC AS HOST SCHOOL FOR THE SERVICE LEARNING WORKSHOP

Service learning is defined by different educating institutions and organizations but there are four salient points that characterize what service learning is: first, it is a pedagogical model or a teaching approach; second, it is applying knowledge into a realistic situation; third, it is a civic engagement; and fourth, it requires reflection. Service learning is putting academic skills into relevant use to address a community or social need. It is much more than volunteerism or community outreach activity. Last June 26-27, 2015, Mary Help of Christians College served, for the second time, as host school for another TEA-ILEP Small Grant Project. The seminar-workshop, Instituting Service Learning as a 21^st Century Skill, was funded by the US Department of State through the International Research and Exchanges Board. It was one of the winning projects for the Fall cycle (February)  grant competition. Last year, MHCC-Canlubang was also the host school for the seminar workshop on Improving Science Instruction through Science and Engineering Practices. For this school year, the Service Learning workshop was participated by 62 teachers, education students and supervising professors from six different schools and colleges, including the three basic education schools of FMA Philippine Province. 

The seminar-workshop was designed as a mentoring session between the master teachers and the pre-service interns. During the first day, a comprehensive input on the definition, attributes and rationale of service learning was presented. Teacher participants also shared their assessment practices, which were eventually transformed into service learning proposals. Also on the first day of the seminar-workshop, the TGC fellows Ms. Susan Groff and Ms. Amanda Wallace gave an input about what service learning is and both of them shared practices and successful service learning projects in their respective schools. Ms. Groff also demonstrated a website where students can actually compute carbon footprint which is relevant for an environmental service learning project.  Ms. Wallace also presented actual photos of students participating in an environmental group. What was emphasized in both of their sharing is that a service learning project need not always be a funding project or the students need not always go to a poor community to be able to serve the society. Service learning can be carried out through direct or indirect service and through advocacies, as well. Day 2 sessions was concluded through an extensive discussion on the 21^st century skills through a collaborative think-aloud exercise. 

 

GLOBAL ECOLOGY PROJECT

Link for Mr. Randy French's blendspace class.

https://www.tes.com/lessons/irx_7mIjYXlxHA/introduction-to-global-ecosystems-november-2015

DNA and the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

Teaching about the Alphabet of our Identify

Source: http://www.unacknowledged.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DNA.jpg

One of the most memorable professors that had a positive impact on me was Dr. June Faith Escara-Wilke. I can still vividly remember her American accent, although she is a Filipin, Tagalog was not her first language. Even before she taught in UPLB, she was already a professor of Molecular Biology in the US . One of the concerns of her students was that her American accent added difficulty in understanding the lesson; nevertheless, upon knowing our difficulty Dr. Wilke tried her best to speak in Filipino once in a while which was a great relief to us. In the 90’s, the field of molecular biology and biotechnology was still in its germinal stage in the Philippines. But despite the absence of sophisticated laboratory instruments, Dr. Wilke was able to inspire us to appreciate DNA. I must admit I’ve never heard about it in high school and so as the rest of my classmates, I suppose. We used to have a joke about taking Genetics as a major because it was really specializing in imagination. We imagine the DNA,RNA and protein. We view the chromosomes under the microscope but we imagine the processes that happens such as the transposons or the changing loci of the “jumping genes”. Dr. Wilke was a game changer - she actually one of the few professors who made use of popular magazines and even brought her own gadgets to our lecture class. When I was an undergrad, Molecular Biology was only a lecture class and there was no sophisticated biotechnology laboratory yet. Dr. Wilke brought samples of DNA, a hand-held UV light, protective glass, gloves, etc. The use of informative text such as the National Geographic and Time Magazine instead of textbook was not a common practice back then. But reading such material actually inspired me to read more classic papers. 

As an undergraduate Biology major, my very first encounter with the central dogma was during a lecture on replication (I think in my Biodiversity class). Imagine a lecturer who uses only chalk and occasional handwritten transparencies. It was really an effort to understand such an abstract concept. Back then, it would have been better if there was a brief historical background to help the students see the bigger picture. 

A brief history of DNA research leading to the PCR experiment can be downloaded from this link: https://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/bme215/Spring10/Reading%20Materials/Polymerase%20chain%20reaction.pdf

CONSTRUCTIVISM: Strengthening the bridge between the 21st century skills and the Science & Engineering practices

CONSTRUCTIVISM: Strengthening the bridge between the 21st century skills and the Science & Engineering practices 

 “Do not confine your children to your own learning for they were born in another time!”

The Hebrew proverb reminds us that our learners, or shall we say the millennials, have cognitive needs that are different from what their educators had when they were still learners themselves. Furthermore, the Flynn Effect provides the challenge for teachers to cope with the advancing level of intelligence of the new generation of learners. In the 21st century classroom, the teacher is no longer the lone authority on the subject matter but rather a co-learner and a facilitator of meaning making. Hence, there is no other more crucial educative moment for constructivism than the present time. 

Murphy (1997) defined constructivism as a paradigm where “knowledge is constructed by the individual through his interactions with his environment”. In this view, the learners do not passively receive information and practice rote learning but rather actively participate in the endeavor to “make sense of the world” through experiences that provide opportunities to develop meaning and understanding. In the most practical way of defining how a teacher would know if a learner understands, we can consider the six facets of understanding based on the Understanding by Design framework proposed by Wiggins and McTighe. A learner understands if he/she can explain, interpret, apply, perceive another perspective, do self-reflection, and express empathy. The BSCS (2004), through various NIH modules on science education, equates the constructivist approach into active learning which means that are involved “in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing”. The NIH modules are all designed for active, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning in biological science. In an active learning class, students are involved in more than listening. Teaching strategies place less emphasis on transmitting information and more on developing students’ skills. Students are involved in higher-order thinking such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Instructors encourage students to explore their own understandings, attitudes, and values through more opportunities for engaged activities such as reading, discussing, and writing. In addition, academic learning time is spent more on integrated and collaborative tasks.    

The 5E Instructional Model is one example of an instructional design or framework that  exemplifies constructivism as an approach the acknowledges the role of the student as an active agent who “constructs” meaning out of his or her interactions with events (Perkins, 1992). According to this view, rather than passively absorbing information, the student redefines, reorganizes, elaborates, and changes his or her initial understandings through interactions with phenomena, the environment, and other individuals. In other words, the student interprets objects and phenomena and then internalizes this interpretation in terms of previous experiences (NIH-BSCS, 2004). A constructivist view of learning recognizes that the development of ideas and the acquisition of lasting understandings take time and experiences (Saunders, 1992). The key components of the 5E model, so-called because it takes students through five phases of learning that are easily described using five words that begin with the letter “E”: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The role of the teacher based on these 5Es are further explained in the table below. 

Source:  BSCS-NIH, 2004