Students, who develop a proper understanding of the prevailing scientific concepts, can make out a meaning out of life science (utica.edu, (n.d). They will be equipped with crosscutting concepts that they were exposed to in the earlier grades they attended. In high school, learners are exposed to the structure and functions; energy and matter in ecosystems and organisms; how inheritance and variation of traits come by; evolution and natural selection; and the interdependence of relationships in the ecosystem. The crosscutting concepts that students are exposed to, enable them handle different academic challenges across different fields of science (static.nsta.org, 2017).
The structure and function aids students in the investigation of different systems and structure of cells, which are considered basic units of life. In the same breath, structure and functions equips students with basic knowledge on the functionality of cells and how they aid in supporting life (gapsc.com, 2016).
Regarding variation of traits and inheritance, students will be better placed to understand the connection of the relatedness from one generation to the next. High school students will be in a position to understand the relationship that exists between chromosomes and the DNA of the body. Students at this level of education can tell what brings about gene mutation or altered gene expression (static.nsta.org, 2017).
High school students will manage to use models; conduct investigations into causes and effect of different phenomena in science; construct explanations and design workable solutions to the challenges. This is the time when behavior change is registered because students get to learn how achieve the targeted results through either experimenting, observation or by simple understanding since the acquired knowledge is retained because they can comprehend whatever they learned. Good examples include WHST.9-12.9, WHST.11-12.8, RST.11-12.1 and HS-LS1-3 since they represent areas that behavior change will be realized (static.nsta.org, 2017).
References
gapsc.com, (2016). Georgia Professional Standards Commission Guidance for Interpreting and Implementing Rule 505-3-.01: Requirements and Standards for Approving Educator Preparation Providers and Educator Preparation Programs (Effective date 10/15/16). Retrieved from: https://www.gapsc.com/EducatorPreparation/Resources/Downloads/Rule_01_Guidance_V1_%2011-15-16.pdf
static.nsta.org, (2017). Topic Arrangements of the Next Generation Science Standards. Retrieved from: http://static.nsta.org/ngss/AllTopic.pdf
utica.edu, (n.d).Bloom’s Taxonomy of Measurable Verbs. Retrieved from: https://www.utica.edu/academic/Assessment/new/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20-%20Best.pdf
