Syllabus point: Discuss the ways in which developments in scientific knowledge may conflict with the ideas about the origins of life. (Module: 8.4-Life on Earth)
This is a discussion which has caused quite a lot of heated discussion between people taking sides of either science or religion. This bullet point would be great for values to be integrated into the teaching the bullet point because it gives students a chance to listen to others opinions and respect that others have different opinions regarding the concept.
A possible teaching strategy could be to separate the class into debating teams (randomly) as those who may have views that are different to the side they have been put in they can observe how the other side thinks. Students select 5 people from their group to debate for their side. Each group will go out and research their side of the argument. So one side could debate that different cultures and science are complete opposites in their views; whereas the other side could look at the point of view is that science and different cultures views on the topic aren't complete polar opposites.
Your idea on a debate is one that students would enjoy a great deal. It will work very well as long as students learn to respect each other’s opinion. It will also help students understand the content in the dot point and uses a ‘gather information from secondary sources’ skill (BOS, 2009). Furthermore, giving the students specific websites to gather information would streamline the activity. Setting a few guidelines prior to the debate would certainly help with classroom management as well as creating a supportive and comfortable atmosphere for students to express themselves. Students can be given points on which they have to argue for or against.
ReplyDeletePresenting the theory of evolution in an unbiased manner would help students understand that individuals can hold different opinions yet be completely fair about a particular issue (Alters, 2001).
Alters, B., Alters, S. (2001). Defending evolution in the classroom: a guide to the creation/evolution controversy. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1NrssPvr7CwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=teaching+evolution+controversy&ots=8eSEiWrUzf&sig=QxdUmxjSIPjBg_6HucmyLij60NI#v=onepage&q=teaching%20evolution%20controversy&f=false
Board of Studies. (2009). Biology Stage 6 Syllabus. NSW: Board of studies. Retrieved from http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/biology-st6-syl-from2010.pdf