Welcome to Biology Concepts for Educators! This is an electronic lab manual that will be your primary resource for the laboratory component of your Biology course. In this book, you will find information to help you learn about Biology, a subject you will not only teach someday in your classroom, but one that you also need to understand as an individual making choices every day that involve biological concepts. This lab manual also will help you learn to DO science using an inquiry approach. Inquiry [hover: a systematic methods for investigating a testable question. See NRC, 2000 for more.](NRC, 2000) is an essential part of scientific thinking, and one that requires practice.
My hope is that you will confront that information head on! The activities in this lab manual are designed to pose questions that you will test through experimentation, data collection, and observation of authentic biological phenomena! The answers to the questions lie in the evidence, and sometimes you will find that the evidence does not match your preconceived ideas. Trust the evidence! This is what inquiry learning is all about!
One of the goals of this book is to help you become more comfortable doing science as inquiry. It is the authentic practice of science, and this practice is strongly emphasized in your state science standards (IDOE, 2010) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NRC, 2013) that guide expectations for teaching. Beyond the fact that inquiry is part of the standards, it is the best way for you to change misconceptions and develop a deep understanding of what living things are doing. And that is the goal!
Dr. Tom J. McConnell is a science teacher educator at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He holds a MS in Secondary Science Education from Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and a BS in Biology and a PhD in Science Education from Purdue University. He taught high school biology for 14 years prior to moving into higher education, and served as a postdoctoral research associate at Michigan State University after completing his doctoral studies.
Dr. McConnell’s teaching includes courses for elementary and secondary science education majors, including Biology Concepts for Teachers. He is also a faculty member in the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowships program at Ball State. His research and publications are directed toward professional development for teachers with an emphasis on teaching science as inquiry. These projects have included Problem-Based Learning for Teachers, Engineering STEM Success, and the Conservation Educator Academy at the International Orangutan Center. He also serves as the director of the East Central Indiana Regional Science Fair, and sponsor of the Cardinal Association of Teachers of Science, a student affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, Inc.
Lab 1: What is Inquiry?
Lab 2: Experimental Design
Lab 3: Do Plants Respire?
Lab 4: Osmosis
Lab 5: Microscopes
Lab 6: Biodiversity Presentations
Lab 7: Time in Mitosis
Lab 8: Mendelian Genetics
Lab 9: Pedigree Analysis
Lab 10: Predicting Inheritance
Lab 11: Bioethical Decision Making
Lab 12: Classification
Lab 13: Protist Diversity
Lab 14: GLOBE Biome Project