“Students will understand and describe how technology impacts science and society.”
One question that comes up frequently in my class (understandably at the moment, considering we are learning about outer space) is: “Why do I have to learn about this?”. One of the key components of this bioethics/genetics unit is that there is a clear correlation between the learning in the classroom to “real life.” After learning about genetics, this unit provides an immediate response to students asking, “Why should I care about this?”. One way that this unit could connect to the strengths/interests of my students is via a connection to sports. A potential topic for a controversy in genetics debate could be that of “designer babies”: how could genetic engineering alter the landscape of sporting events?
A debate would be assessed mostly with student participation, although I think that it would also be necessary to scaffold the assessment with pre-and post-debate written assignments. For example, a pre-debate assignment could be a graphic organizer that scaffolds the opposing opinions. This would serve as a formative assessment document for the teacher, but would also be a “cheat sheet” for the students to use during the debate. A post-debate assignment could be a reflection paragraph, in which the students self assess their performance in the debate, as well as describe which side they believed “won”. By including these additional assignments, more language demands are hit in the context of the debate (writing/reading as well as listening/speaking).
The most important thing I’ve tried to consider with unit planning is feasibility: ideally, I would love to teach XYZ all in one block period, or fit a lot of content into the unit, but is that really possible? I am not just considering time restraints, but also how long students can stay focused/engaged on one assignment.