In this case, that step is a new instructional technique. We admit it. For years we conducted our biology classes in a traditional didactic format. One way of doing this is to provide students opportunities to show their understanding of scientific concepts as the concepts relate to other aspects of their lives. Working together in small groups and sharing ideas enable students to explain, clarify, and justify what they have learned.
Students come from different cultural backgrounds and have varied learning styles.
The NSES recognize that teaching methods should address these variations. Thus, we chose to begin our journey into the age of educational reform with concept mapping. We introduced the technique with a collaborative activity in which each group produced a concept map. Since the students had already spent time in class covering the characteristics of living things, we chose this to be the topic they represented on their practice maps. Each group was given a packet of sticky notes, an overhead transparency, and a marker.