The plan this week is to wrap up Unit 1: Nature of Science, and transition to Unit 2: Ecology and Systems Biology. We began Unit 1 with the Milk Lab, and tomorrow we will take some time to revisit the results observed across my 5 classes. Students will work in small groups to devise strategies to organize the results. Students will also receive an explanation about why the food coloring swirled the way that it did after addition of soap to the various types of milk tested. If time permits, we will also practice a few simple unit conversion math problems to help students develop the skills needed to complete the math worksheet from last Tuesday.
The reason for this weekend post is actually to give interested students a chance to preview a few videos before Tuesday. In that lesson, we will practice “respectful scientific discourse” in the context of a class debate around the Golden Ratio. Students learned about the Golden Ratio from a video we watched in class, and in lessons the following two days, we watched additional videos which presented the concept of pseudoscience. The sequencing of these lessons was intentional, and many students seem to agree that the Golden Ratio can be viewed as pseudoscience. On Tuesday, students will watch another video that explains the Golden Ratio in a different light. In the video, the presenter refers viewers to a series of videos by Vi Hart. I strongly encourage students to take the time to watch these videos. She speaks quickly, but the content is fascinating and just might make you question your position on the Golden Ratio.
The Art of Science 