My students need two skulls from an ancestral hominid, Homo habilis, and one skull from one of humanity's closest cousins in the animal kingdom, the lowland gorilla.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
Real scientists think critically! Students in my biology class are not only being taught what scientists think, They are learning HOW scientists think. These students know the importance of weighing evidence and considering theories for themselves.
I am just finishing my first year teaching at a high school in New Orleans that, only two years ago, was leading only one in four freshmen to graduation. After investing students in the idea that intelligence is a hard fought, but important, commodity, and that each of them has the ability to attain a high level of intelligence and success, those numbers have turned around drastically. My tenth graders are pushing themselves in a way that makes me very proud, and I am ready to greet each of them on the graduation stage in two years.
Like most teachers, the basic tools I need to give a baseline education are on hand. Biology textbooks, workbooks, scales and calculators are all available to me. Unlike many schools, however, I lack the tools to allow my students to really engage science in a meaningful way by conducting labs and sensing first-hand the thrill of discovery.
The unit that most piqued their interest this year (and the cornerstone of the biology curriculum) was evolution. Specifically, our own evolution from primordial primates to modern man. The abstract nature of evolution caused some difficulty, but the passion for the subject was palpable since each student yearned to discover "Where did I come from?" But, in order to capitalize on the innate interest in the subject, I need to be able to concentrate their efforts, not on textbooks and images, but on real scientific experiments and analyses.
In order to visualize the sometimes complicated path that human evolution has taken over the last 5 million years in the minds of my students, I am asking for a series of "fossils" to help me describe the process. After first reviewing the characteristics of apes using the gorilla skull, I would then present them with the partial skull of an early hominid and have the students compare and contrast the two skulls, describing how some adaptations might be beneficial. I would also use this discussion to speak to the incomplete nature of the fossil record and the effect that it has on the "theory" nature of evolution. Also, I could discuss what it means to be a theory, the role of evidence, and factors and findings used to piece together the theories around human evolution, etc. By using the fossil-style Homo habilis and the complete Homo habilis skulls in tandem, I would hope to make clear not just the transition from ancient primate to both man and ape, but also leave my students with an idea of how discoveries in science alter a theory to make it stronger, even if it goes against current understandings. And that this process is true of science, in general.
Learning to be a scientist by reading about science is like learning how a machine works by reading the owner's manual. In order to get the full experience of discovery, to really comprehend both the minutia and the immensity of scientific problems, students must engage in scientific processes. These materials will allow my students to, over the course of several classes, explore a complex, scientific idea in depth. And, hopefully, I can impart my own passion for the subject into my students through this process. A passion that will not be attained by simply learning a curriculum standard verbatim, but only by analyzing, evaluating and questioning the standard from many angles until it becomes an innate piece of knowledge to be expanded upon.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. M. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.