Standards
The curriculum unit is intended for 11th and 12th grade Anatomy and Physiology students who may or may not have previously completed a high school biology course, and still lack mastery of some foundational concepts from biology. The curriculum unit incorporates Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for High School Life Sciences (HS-LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes and HS-LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits) and specifically emphasize the associated Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) (LS1.A: Structure and Function, LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms, LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits, and LS3.B: Variation of Traits).
The performance expectations in HS-LS1 are intended to help students formulate an answer to the question, “How do organisms live and grow?” The content of the curriculum unit addresses whole-body effects of the skeletal system and the roles it plays in sustaining the human organism (i.e. the primary functions of the skeletal system presented previously) as well as the requirements needed to maintain life at the level of the cell. Because many approaches for augmenting bone regeneration aim to enhance cellular and sub-cellular activities, students are able to draw a direct line from the coordinated activity and inactivity of different cells or organelles (e.g. osteoblasts and osteoclasts) and the specific roles they play (building or removing bone components) through to the organ system (skeleton) and the variety of functions they perform (e.g. providing support and protection).
The performance expectations in HS-LS3 are intended to help students formulate answers to the questions, “How are characteristics of one generation passed to the next? How can individuals of the same species and even siblings have different characteristics?” Examining approaches for augmenting bone regeneration that may involve manipulating DNA provides the avenue to address genetics and heredity in this unit.
The curriculum unit necessarily also incorporates NGSS Science & Engineering Practices (SEP); 1 - asking questions (science) and defining problems (engineering), 2 - developing and using models, 3 - planning and carrying out investigations, 4 - analyzing and interpreting data, 5 - using mathematics and computational thinking, 6 - constructing explanations (science) and designing solutions (engineering), 7 - engaging in argument from evidence, 8 - obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
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