Human Centered Design of Biotechnology

Rationale

There are several reasons why I am creating a curriculum unit about honey bees. First, it addresses a huge problem that not only affects beekeepers, but also all of humankind. The world is in trouble if we lose our most prolific pollinator. It will have devastating effects to the biosphere and to our food supply. The unit will provide a context for students to explore science in a way that develops connections and relationships that are natural and relevant across different learning objectives.

The second reason for this unit is that the new Virginia Standards of Learning for science will be fully implemented this year. The new standards include an overarching section entitled, “Science and Engineering Practices,” which is closely aligned to the design thinking process that is the focus of the Human Centered Design of Biotechnology seminar that Professor Anjelica Gonzalez is leading. The curriculum unit will address Virginia’s new (2018) “Science and Engineering Practices,” which seem to be aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Science and Engineering Practices. Virginia’s Science and Engineering Practices address the engineering design process as well as computational thinking and the use of computers to create real and virtual artifacts.

Finally, when I conducted research about engineering and design in education, I found compelling information to support its incorporation in the classroom. The main idea of the book titled Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom is, “Children should engage in tinkering and making because they are powerful ways to learn.”¹ The work of Montessori, Piaget, Papert, and Dewey resonates throughout the idea of making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. Tinkering is described as, “What happens when you try something you don’t quite know how to do, guided by whim, imagination, and curiosity.”² In today’s classrooms, the emphasis is placed on high-stakes testing, and we have moved away from best practices. The result is that most, if not all, of the fun has been removed from learning. I want this unit to excite my students, spark their creativity, and renew their love of learning!