Section: BIO6843 Teaching & Learning PSI Biology | BIO6843 Teaching & Learning PSI Biology (2025)

Section outline

Select section BIO6843 Teaching & Learning PSI Biology
Welcome to Teaching & Learning PSI Biology

Background: Online

Grading

Pedagogy

Course Materials

This course is designed for teachers to learn the content of PSI Biology, and how to teach that content to students. This is a rigorous biology course that builds upon foundational topics in physics and chemistry, pulling them together to represent a capstone of science education. Topics include origins of life, chemistry of life, membranes & enzymes, prokaryotes, eukaryotes, energy processing, gene expression & protein synthesis, mitosis & meiosis, genetics & inheritance, evolution, classification, ecology, and anatomy & physiology.

Grade Distribution:
Module Exams 70%
Final Exam 10%
Labs 6%
Mastery Exercises 6%
Short Answer Assignments 6%
Reflection Paper 2%

PSI course pedagogy combines brief bits of direct instruction on a topic with formative assessments questions designed to help students construct deeper knowledge as they solve increasingly complicated problems together in groups. There are three major sets of problems to solve:
Formative assessment problems built into a SMART notebook presentation and linked to student polling devices accompanying classwork and homework problems labs and virtual activities.
In the online version of the course, students have the option to watch a video or read direct instruction slides, then answer formative assessment questions about a topic. Once you've solved those problems you can move on to more practice by downloading the word documents with additional problems.

All of the course materials needed for this course can be found at https://njctl.org/courses/science/biology/
These materials include:
SMART Notebook presentations with direct instruction and formative assessment questions linked to polling devices
Classwork and homework documents with extra practice problems and answers
Labs - guided or inquiry versions with embedded videos to show teachers how to set up the lab
Multiple Choice Review Guides
- Select activity Directions on how to access NJCTL's Library
  
  Directions on how to access NJCTL's Library URL
- Select activity Click here to access NJCTL's Library
  
  Click here to access NJCTL's Library URL
- Select activity Graduate Student Handbook
  
  Graduate Student Handbook URL
- Select activity Course Syllabus
  
  Course Syllabus File
- Select activity Weekly Office Hours Wednesdays 5-7pm ET with Course Instructor
  
  Weekly Office Hours Wednesdays 5-7pm ET with Course Instructor URL
- Select activity Announcements
  
  Announcements Forum

Module Exams	70%
Final Exam	10%
Labs	6%
Mastery Exercises	6%
Short Answer Assignments	6%
Reflection Paper	2%