Week 2

    This week we discussed the three dimensions of science learning. The first dimension is the core ideas of science. Included are physical science, life science, earth science, and lastly engineering, technology, and application of science. Each of these core ideas is critical in their own way to successfully teach students science. The next dimension is practices, for this students will ask questions, construct evidence based arguments, design investigations, etc. The third dimension is how students connect the three domains of science, crosscutting. This idea consists of energy and matter, cause and effect, and structure and function. 
    We then discussed the eight characteristics of living things. All living things must be able to maintain homeostasis, reproduce, metabolize, respond to stimuli, grow and change, have cellular composition, genetics and heredity, and perform movement. each characteristic was familiar to me and I had an understanding of each characteristic from previous learning. What was surprising to me was the debate whether a virus is a living thing or not. In the beginning I believed it was a living thing, but after discussion, I was not sure. A virus requires a host cell and does not metabolize so it cannot be living with no host cell. While on the other hand, with a host cell a virus appears to be a living thing. Due to this, a question I have is that when a virus has a host cell, is it considered a living thing?
   Towards the end of lab we talked about what an argument consists of. A successful argument must have a claim, evidence, and reasoning. Each component is equally important as the other and plays a role in proving a point. This idea is important to have elementary students practice as it is a lifelong skill.


Comments

  1. Kendra KalkwarfJanuary 30, 2025 at 7:00 AM

    Hey Taylor! I was also familiar with the characteristics of living things, but it was cool to use them in a more complicated discussion about viruses and whether they are living or not. I think that is a really good question you brought up, and I would be interested in finding out the answer as well!

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  2. Katelyn GradyJanuary 30, 2025 at 7:05 AM

    Hello Taylor! Like you I was also very confused at first when presented with the questions regarding if a seed, egg, and virus is a living thing. I have never thought about the characteristics of living things for things that have some characteristics, but not all. A tip that I learned is to only classify something as living if it has all the characteristics. That is the rule that I go by. I hope that helps you as well! Like you, I also enjoyed learning about claim, evidence, and reasoning to have a successful argument. Great post!

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