Lesson Plan

Map for this unit

The timing for the unit is at the discretion of the teacher. Here is the scope and sequence as I see it. Feel free to pick, choose, and adapt what is presented here. We imagine that this investigate unit will take in conjugtion with formal lessons on cell biology. The traditional 'cell as city' unit will work well to provide and conceptual framework for understanding the cell. This unit will encourage the students to reimagine the cell as dynamic and manipulatable units.

Cells as Machines – One class session

This lesson is meant to be a introduction to thinking about cells as machines. The second point of this lesson is an introduction to the concept of synthetic biology. Once the concepts have been introduced the students should engage in a discussion using the questions found under the 'Informal Assessment' heading. Students should be encouraged to use the ideas presented in class and prior knowledge. These discussion found at the end of each lesson will provide the teacher with data on what the students understand and which areas need to be retaught.

Introduction - Cells as Robot – One class session

This lesson is meant to compare a cell to the NXT set. We are breaking the cell structure and function into three parts, which represent the next three portions of the unit-inputs, processing, and outputs. Once the concepts have been introduced the students should engage in a discussion using the questions found under the 'Informal Assessment' heading.

Pre-challenge – Building and programming the Ball Hunter - One or more class session

In this lesson students will learn how to build and program the Ball Hunter, which is our analog for the neutrophil cell. Teachers should expect to take one class session to go over the design and program. The students, working in team, will take another one or more session to build the bot. There will also need to be a trouble-shooting session to make sure all bots are functioning properly. This will be crucial when heading into the next part.

Part A – Inputs (Receptors and Sensors) – One class session

In this lesson students are taught how cells take in inputs from the environment. Specifically we look at the ligands binding to receptor in a cell and how NXT sensors pick up a signal. We also discuss the events that follow the intial signal pick up. This lesson leads to the challenge where the sensors on the bot are changes or moved. Students should be encouraged to think about receptor modification in cells and what the resulting response would be.

Challenge 1 – Modifying the Input – One or two sessions

In this session students will be asked to engage in two modifications of the two sensors, the ultrasonic and color sensor. Students should use one class session to plan out what the modifications should be and what the expected results should be. Before the modifications are executed and data is gathered students should get the lesson about presentations and graphs from the next session. Student should be given one or more class sessions to execute their plans and measure the response.

Presentation of Results – Two sessions

Each group of students should explain what the modifications they executed and what the response was. They can make a graph and a slide-show depending on the availability of the computers and competence with graphing. Presentations to the entire class will the class to build a body of knowledge that will aid the students in the next sessions. It also mimics how researchers present data from on-going experiments. It also allows other students to offer suggestions and interpretations regarding the experiments that other groups conducted. Talking about data will help students process their understanding of how the bots work and aid them in the final presentation.

I am continuing work on the next two parts and the final project and presentation. They should be ready over the next six months.