For my practicum experience I have two mentor teachers that I spend my time with.

My

first mentor teacher is in her 17th year of teaching and teaches 2 chemistry classes, 3 honors

physical science classes and one AP biology class. My second mentor teacher is in her second

year of teaching and teaches three honors biology classes and three environmental science

classes. A majority of my time this semester was spent observing science that is not reflective of

my content background. Concerning my content background, Biology, I spend time in one

honors biology class and the AP biology class and the rest of my time with chemistry and

physical science students. I believe my experience is atypical for someone who is striving to be

certified to teach biology but is a great opportunity for broad field certification. I have learned a

great deal about chemistry and physical science content while getting to strengthen and further

my biology content background with the AP biology course.

For my undergraduate degree I studied Exercise Science and a large number of my

coursework is connected to the study of the physiology of the body. In this Master’s program I

have expounded upon my knowledge and taken coursework in Genetics, Evolution, and Animal

Biology. Each of these subjects have played an integral role in my content mastery.

In Genetics, graduate students were challenged to explore the content further and display

our understanding through in-depth writing. This knowledge has been helpful in the classroom as

my students are presently learning about genes and inheritance. An area of struggle for them has

been calculating probability, understanding linkage, and differentiating between sex-linked and

sex-limited traits. With the knowledge I have acquired, I have been able to use case studies as a

means to help students grasp the context of the science as well as help further develop their

reading comprehension skills. With the case studies they are able to think analytically, formulate

questions, and engage in real-world phenomenon to retain knowledge.

 Animal biology and evolution provided me with more tools to help students understand

phylogeny to the extent that students are expected to master it. Areas that students typically

struggle in is reading cladograms and following the loss or gain of evolutionary traits. During my

time in the class, graduate students selected certain sections of the curriculum to present and

instruct undergraduate students. Cladograms were also an area these students struggled with.

Having the ability to lecture on the subject prepared me to address the common misconceptions

that students have.