A virtual certificate with text "Celebrating 10M users on Bluesky, #2,846,337, Kay Lewis ‪@kaylew.bsky.social‬, joined on Jan 1, 2024"

Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #2,846,337!

1 more week to school for me.

I am finally accepting my ADHD status and adjusting how I do things.

Oh my goodness! Why didn't I do this sooner!
Anxiety down, confidence up.

Plus I just finished planning my week in a fraction of the time - & that is with the high- vs low-energy options.

Love Kami for feedback on documents, such as grading assignments etc.
I tried Miro, not a fan.
Pleasantly surprised about Canva.
The others are new to me.

I currently use OneNote and Microsoft Whiteboard, though not collaboratively so far.

Yup. It is worth it. Especially now that you officially a 2-book author and people will start searching for you online.

A cohesive domain name makes it easier to standardize your online presence etc. Good time to do the same with email, if not already.

Hello all. I planning to have a research paper reading activity with my CAPE (GCE equivalent) students coming school year.

I'll be introducing recent papers on a relevant topic and host class discussion on it. Maybe group presentation?

I am looking for advice on doing something like this.

Lol. I will try to finish it faster. 🫠

I have an October deadline to start experimenting and implementing in the classroom, so that should help.

3 - What’s viable for one teacher will have evolved through a history of adaptive interactions with their subject, students, and school.

THIS squared! Great defense vs cookie cutter warriors. Plus it grants space to explore adaptations to YOUR class and students' needs.
Amen. Ase. Allelujah!

"Rather than linear cause-effect, in complex systems feedback loops are the norm, leading to unforeseeable outcomes."

I really hope systems thinking becomes an integral of teaching biology & general science. Because it would really help us suss out the snakeoil salesman of every stripe.

1 - ""...Today we realise that the rule “vary only one factor at a time” is appropriate only to certain special types of system, not valid universally...""

This was a new one for me. I still teach "one variable at a time" wrt experimental design. Now considering introducing this concept as well.

So many gems from this article.

Here are the really luscious ones, for me.
I'm not sure if a 'thread' works here, but check the following replies... 1/ 🧵

Book ordered and waiting. 10 more days...

It is taking me a bit longer to figure this one out as a stand alone diagram.

A point where I am stuck: does darkness increase the rate of conversion between pigments?

Still a great diagram. I definitely get the hourglass part.

Ahh ok.

So basically in succulents, the rate of photosynthesis could be slower, all other factors being equal?

Maybe why they tend to grow relatively more slowly?

(Was composing this days ago, but got pulled away).

Lots of feedback loops in this one.

Ahh two stock-and-flows interacting. 😊

The inverse relationship between non-grass species and the natality of grasses...is it due to non-grasses crowding out the grasses, or some other strategy?

Ok I see.

I like that it shows the connection between glucose and impact on chloroplasts density in the leaf etc.

Question though, what do you mean by distance of leaf?

Yes that is what I like about it.

When I use in my planning it really gives a framework that I can work in.

Plus many of the students I work with may never study Biology again so making it relevant to their everyday life helps a lot.

Right. 😊
Yeah I forgot to make the pipe.

I'm trying it on them today as I am circling back to osmosis with them. They're having issues applying the concept to experimental scenarios in exam questions.

But also each lesson is supposed to have Content, Context and Relevance.

Context would be the lesson's connection to the Big Idea of the Unit it is in.

Relevance refers to possible everyday-life connections. For example being able to check Aunty's blood pressure.

I still use it whenever I can.

If I may jump in.
Big Ideas / Concepts featured prominently is my postgraduate Diploma in Science Education.

It was placed at the level of teaching Unit. So it was more like the overall theme of several lessons.

Personally I use it a similar way now.

I'm going through @cmooreanderson.bsky.social blog post about using the stock-and-flow diagram to explain osmosis.

At first I was stumped but after drawing it out I can see that it shows osmosis as a dynamic process.

Esp how the isotonic condition is not static but water is still moving.

Just came across a graph I want to use in my upcoming lesson about anaerobic respiration and oxygen debt.

I am thinking of opening the lesson with the graph, then ask questions to prompt discussion.

OR do a stock-and-flow and show connection to the graph.
Source: x.com/andrewchen/s...

Reflecting on a lesson...

I used the 'bottle & balloon' model of as an example of using models to understand a biological process.

It included this slide to demonstrate one of the model's limitations.

Video here clipchamp.com/watch/tHU2bZ...

Comments welcome. 🫠

Ok I understand better.

The more I do the diagrams it really becomes obvious how pervasive feedback loops are in biological systems.

Another reason why looking at it as systems really makes sense!

Haven't used in class yet. But doing gaseous exchange next week so I'll be able to use it.

Exactly. Too often environmental impact is an afterthought.

Ok I see. Stay focused on the direct relationships.

Could I still talk about how activity influences the feedback loop?

Also do all the relationships in such models have to be part of feedback loops?

For example in the population growth model example, extreme weather is not part of a loop.

All the best to the teachers going out to school today!

Ok I see.
Those terms have far more specific meanings here.

Respiration-related stock-and-flow diagram updated. @cmooreanderson.bsky.social