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In a recent Scientific American blog post, guest blogger Rob Dunn writes about surgeon Bill Parker and his hypothesis for an unrecognized function of the human appendix.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/01/02/your-appendix-could-save-your-life/

The article is an interesting read and can be used in support of a lesson or unit on scientific process. How many 'maybes' could your students identify for the results that researchers have observed?

It could also be used an engage/extension piece for a discussion on symbiotic relationships. How might you use the post in your own lessons?

Jonathan M. Edquid
Science Coordinator
Laying the Foundation
A Division of the National Math and Science Initiative
www.ltftraining.org

Hi Jonathan, I teach high school science. I like to incorporate the study of science process within the science content my students are learning. I have found that this method helps my students better understand the nature of science. It is important for students to see how scientists modify their theories when they have new information. Students need to understand that new theories are based on detailed, carefully performed scientific experiments and are not just the whim of an individual. I am so glad you posted this blog to the discussion boards so we could share our teaching ideas. I have a subscription to Scientific American and when I read this blog I had intended to incorporate it as a reading assignment for my anatomy class when we were studying the role of the appendix. My plan is to have my students read the opinion article and then read abstracts of the primary sources cited within the article. Then we would discuss how scientists' understanding has changed. Finally, as homework they would do some research about why scientists thought the appendix was/is a vestigial organ. The following day we would discuss what they found. I also bring my own sources to enrich the discussion. I like using this method because it forces my students to read technical journals. It also forces them to evaluate the credibility of sources. Most of the students in my anatomy class have a very high reading level. Those that do not receive the abstract along with a summary of the abstract that is at their reading level. All students have a list of questions that help them sort through the information and focus on what is important. I've attached a copy the sheet I give them.

Attachments

Current_Events_Summary_Sheet.pdf (0.02 Mb)

Hi Ruth and Jonathon,
Thank you for sharing your Current Events Summary Sheet, Ruth. After just having read and reviewed an article about argumentation, I think your assignment sheet and an article like the one Jonathon shared would be a great engagement before students do their own inquiries where they have to conduct experiments in order to collect evidence to support claims they may want to make about something. That way students can make precise claims that they support with evidence just like real scientists. I highly recommend this article: Argumentation Skills: Doing What Real Scientists Really Do
It shows one way one might rewrite existing inquiry labs to give students practice in argumentation skills.

Fascinating post, Jonathon. So often when we discuss science we take the 'company line' and keep covering the same old content, year after year. Word is that the human body contains about 100 trillion cells, and about 10 times that number of microorganisms in our gut. Those bacteria have the potential to make us sick, or heal us. We hear about E. coli on a regular basis as a 'bad guy,' but it is one of the first bacteria to inhabit a newborn's digestive system. Other species have integral roles in the managing the immune system, metabolic function, and allergy prevention.

There are so many connections that students can make beyond standard science. There is the whole issue of antibiotic resistance, but we might want to have our students inspect how lifestyle factors affect gut flora (including the appendix). Things like hygiene and exposure to potential pathogens at an early age may actually improve our immune system function. Diet could also provide a host of variables to consider - western diets high in sugar and animal fat, Mediterranean diets low in dairy and high in vegetables, Asian diets, African diets, and so on. Why do those regions have lower incidence of IBD? Why is the incidence of asthma greater in western cultures with improved medical care and relatively high control over food supply?

Also, as teachers, we need to continue to develop our knowledge of advancing technologies and scientific thought. We don't need to understand every detail, but we need to be able to steer our students to ask pertinent questions.

If you haven't read the blog, it's definitely worth the read.

Great article! I could see students reading this article (depending on subject area) but reading it in stages to set it up more like a mystery or challenge that the students have to try to figure out as they go through the article. Here is an example of what I mean: Use the first part of it to set the stage on Bill Parker's idea. Stop the reading right after his idea about them storing beneficial bacteria in our body. Have a discussion about that idea to make sure that students understand it but then have groups of students brainstorm how they think they think Parker's idea could be tested. Let the students share their ideas and record their proposed experimental ideas on a chart paper. Next, have students read the section about not being able to use lab rats, etc. Stop right before the information on C. diff. Have students analyze their ideas in light of the limitations of experiementations available and adjust/create new ideas. Continue with the article, stopping before the results are given. Have students discuss how Grendell's experiment compares with their own proposals. Have them discuss what they think the results would be and what those results would mean for us. Finish the article and have students reflect.