Updating Old Questions: A Mere Model of a Cell

Let’s upgrade this task which a teacher sent in to me.

The Initial Task

Create a 3d model of a cell and show the organelles and structures that make up a plant or animal cell.

This task is a perfect example of focusing on the hands instead of the brain. It’s all about the product, not the thinking. As the task’s directions continue, this becomes even more apparent:

• Cells must be 3-dimensional with a front, back, and sides. It cannot be a piece of paper with things glued on it.
• Plant cells must be rectangular and animal cells must be circular.
• Use toothpicks and pieces of paper to label the pieces.
• Cell parts should be located in the correct places.
• The nucleus should be bigger than the ribosome.
• The chloroplast should be green.

Every single direction is about how the product should look. But we’re ignoring that the most brilliant biologist in the class is restating facts we already know! They’re stuck at the bottom of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Oh, and this was a culminating unit task… for high schoolers 😱!!

The Upgrade

So first, I’ll make sure I’m actually asking questions, not just giving directions. Questions prompt thinking. Directions just tell students what to do.

I like to aim for Analyze at first. So, I thought students could compare the parts of a cell to the parts of something that isn’t a cell. Like a cruise ship, a human body, or Playstation, or whatever. I’ll base the whole thing around Systems – things with interworking parts.

Part 1: Introduce another system. A cell is a system because it has a bunch of parts that work together. Students will each pick another system. They’ll make a list of a dozen or so of that item’s components.

Part 2: Find related parts. We look for parts in the new system that serve a similar function to a part in a cell. I’d start specific and then open it up:

• Which part of your system is most like a nucleus?
• Which part is most like a cell membrane?
• Continue connecting parts from your system to parts of a cell.
• Which parts of a cell have no related part in your system?

Part 3: A conversation. Students write a conversation between the cell and the other system. The systems will discuss their similarities and differences.
In the end, students can act out this conversation, film it as a video, write a story, turn it into a comic book, or whatever! These products will show off students’ thinking about cells and systems. They’re not just labeling pieces.