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Embedding natural selection throughout the biology curriculum
In lower secondary science education, chemistry and physics curricula seem to focus on developing robust explanatory models, such as the...

Christian Moore Anderson
Oct 15, 20216 min read
2,520


How I teach SA:V in biology & where some explanations fall short
In this post I will explain where I think many typical explanations fall short on the concept of surface area to volume ratio (SA:V) in...

Christian Moore Anderson
Sep 8, 20217 min read
3,449


Why Ebbinghaus' forgetting curve isn't useful for teaching
Ebbinghau's forgetting curve has seen a resurgence in popularity. While I agree that knowledge is essential for domain specific...

Christian Moore Anderson
Aug 27, 20214 min read
5,315


Concept maps for homework with my IB biology (KS5) course: How I did it, and what I learnt
Update I like concept maps, I think they're a valuable tool, but students do need training and I found that they also need motivation....

Christian Moore Anderson
Jun 1, 20218 min read
913


How excessive use of the respiration equation can cause problems:
Cell respiration and its relationship to photosynthesis is one of the fundamental concepts of biology. It sits up high in the hierarchy...

Christian Moore Anderson
Feb 18, 20214 min read
1,288


On life as a flow: making meaning in secondary biology education
I once approached a physics teacher to lend me his expertise and opinion on my sequence of lessons for Gravity, Mass, and Weight. His...

Christian Moore Anderson
Jan 6, 20215 min read
270


Teaching variables: Does X affect Y?
While the scientific method doesn't exist , experimental methodology remains an important concept for secondary science education. It is,...

Christian Moore Anderson
Nov 4, 20204 min read
294


Beyond the scientific method: Philosophy in the biology curriculum
During my teacher training we had to write a masters' level essay on the implementation of the How Science Works component of the English...

Christian Moore Anderson
Oct 14, 20208 min read
562


Beyond description: Begin your biology curriculum with autopoiesis
When beginning secondary education in science the physicist may discuss energy, or forces, possibly even motion, the chemist may discuss...

Christian Moore Anderson
Sep 1, 20205 min read
778


The scales of curriculum planning: why sequence isn't king.
In the UK, the knowledge curriculum seems to be enjoying high levels of popularity. The pendulum has swung (and rightly so) away from...

Christian Moore Anderson
Jul 31, 20205 min read
3,739


Inheritance via 'Nature and Nurture'? Is it time to change what we teach?
During my training year as a teacher I taught one lesson that went really well with a bottom set science class. It generated a lot of...

Christian Moore Anderson
Jul 3, 20208 min read
678


Contextualising biological components: Cellulose, an example
Cellulose is an incredibly important component of cell walls, plant cells, plants, and whole ecosystems. However, cellulose can only be a...

Christian Moore Anderson
May 7, 20203 min read
263


Making systemic interactions explicit in biology lessons: diagrammatic representations
Biological systems are highly complex and non-linear. Students will struggle to see the wood for the trees unless the multitude of...

Christian Moore Anderson
Mar 1, 20205 min read
743


Developing a biologist’s gaze: the organism in its environment
Ideas in this blog post eventually developed into a much more advanced idea presented in my book . Life exists within the context of its...

Christian Moore Anderson
Feb 20, 202011 min read
549


The problems with Mendelian genetics in biology education
Mendelian genetics is ubiquitous in secondary school biology curricula and the Punnet square is iconic to genetics. Think about the...

Christian Moore Anderson
Feb 12, 20205 min read
4,108


How typical biology curricula get it wrong: The need to contextualise components
Should mitosis be taught alongside meiosis or separately? Should organelles be taught together or separately across the curriculum? How...

Christian Moore Anderson
Feb 3, 202011 min read
1,863


The knowledge curriculum in biology: How retrieval practice and knowledge organisers may distort it
How the 'cult of pedagogy' of pedagogy can distort the knowledge of the biology curriculum One of the defining characteristics of my...

Christian Moore Anderson
Jan 23, 20205 min read
745


The hows & whys of biology: Classroom questions that elicit explanation
Explanation in biology is split between two big questions. These questions should inform how we teach, and the answers we expect from...

Christian Moore Anderson
Jan 5, 20203 min read
701


The problematic use of glucose in the definition of respiration and photosynthesis.
Why is the word glucose problematic? Cellular respiration, which is the oxidation of organic molecules for the production of ATP, is...

Christian Moore Anderson
Dec 23, 20195 min read
1,271


The problem of defining DNA to young secondary students
How should we define DNA (or in some cases, the nucleus) in secondary school? Since beginning teaching biology I have seen such things...

Christian Moore Anderson
Nov 20, 20194 min read
894


Organelles: teaching them with purpose
How many biology courses begin with cells? Most Year 7 courses (11 years old) begin with cells. Then at 14 years old GCSE biology courses...

Christian Moore Anderson
Sep 19, 20192 min read
680


The strand curriculum in Year 7 biology
This post is somewhat old now, for my more advanced ideas check out my book. The big ideas in biology transcend all its individual...

Christian Moore Anderson
Mar 16, 20197 min read
1,574
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