Transcript Is it possible to conquer the impossible?

Population Dynamics
Unit Portfolio Presentation
Jennifer Tate
Unit Summary
The earth is home to many different life forms,
including plants, animals, humans, and other
organisms. Populations of various species co-exist
within an ecosystem, often having to compete for
limited resources of food, water space, and
shelter.
The human population has grown at a
constantly increasing rate over the last two
centuries. This growth has resulted in changes in
landscapes, oceans, and atmosphere that interfere
with life-sustaining natural systems. These systems
when out of balance endanger the survival of
many plant and animal populations.
Curriculum-Framing Questions
• Essential Question
How do interactions among species affect the world?
• Unit Questions
Why is the interaction of an organism essential for its survival?
What affect does increased population have?
How does habitat destruction affect biodiversity?
How does human activity affect the environment?
• Content Questions
What abiotic factors affect the growth and survival of its survival?
What is pollution?
What steps can humans take to reduce their impact on the environment?
Why has the human population increased?
What is natural selection and how does it work?
What is adaptation?
Vision of What I Hope to Accomplish
This project will help my students develop
21st century skills by:
☻Acting on creative ideas to make tangible and useful contribution to
the domain in which the innovation occurs.
☻Understanding the interconnections among systems.
☻Demonstrating ability to work effectively with diverse teams.
Gauging Student Needs Assessment
Purpose of the Assessment
To gather information about what students already know and what they
wonder about population growth.
What I want to learn from my students?
I want to find out what they already know about the unit questions and
interactions among populations of humans, plants, and animals.
How I have tried to promote higher-order thinking?
I ask students to find relationships and draw conclusions about
population dynamics.
How does the assessment information help me and my students
plan for upcoming activities in the unit?
I can identify misconceptions and plan my lessons around those
misconceptions.
What feedback or additional ideas I’d like?
I would like help on my assessment. I think I need to elicit more higherorder thinking, but I’m not sure how.
My Goals for the Course
• Find ways to get my students more
interested in learning science
• Learn about different kinds of technology
my students and I can use
• Share ideas with other teachers
Goals for My Students
• To learn how scientists collect and think
about data
• To become more independent learners