UNEDITED Student Responses "The most important thing Mr. Gensic taught me..."

At the end of each year I use Google forms to have students answer a number of survey questions to help me grow as a teacher.  This is a great way to gather meaningful student feedback quickly and have it recorded without losing it.  In the student survey, one stem I provide is... 

"The most important thing Mr. Gensic taught me was..."

I feel this is a great piece of reflective professional development because it helps me see what students are taking away from the class.  I do NO COACHING of how to answer this question.  I don't say, "Please think more broadly, not content."  I leave it to the student to communicate their response.

Here is the spreadsheet of students' answers to that question along with what my brain thinks as I am reading the responses.  I did no editing of student responses to maintain integrity of the post. 

The most important thing Mr. Gensic taught me was...	I'm thinking...
N/A	ok
How to grow popcorn seeds.	ok
Biology	For sure
That Justin Bieber ripped of Fievel when he sang "Never say Never", and that almost everything can be tied back to natural selection.	Nice, I play "Never Say Never" from Fievel in my head many days while teaching.
everything	ok
Cell parts	ok
That Justin Bieber ripped of Fievel when he sang "Never say Never", and that almost everything can be tied back to natural selection.	Thank you google forms for double submitting this student's survey
The most important thing Mr. Gensic taught me was to look carefully at problems to make sure that I don't skip over anything and to develop a better understanding of the situation.	Fantastic
The facts about evolution	facts=evidence, ok
The process of protein production.	ok
the postitives and negatives of meat industry.	ok
Genetics and evolution	ok
He taught me everything we needed to cover for the ECA	ok
How to state an argument and support it.	good
How DNA & RNA works.	ok
THAT IMMA GENIUS!	you are, anonymous student
Natural Selection	good
His passion for biology was really infectious. I learned more about different ways to study and how various issues relate to biology.	good
genetics/evolution	ok
biology	that's the title of the course, good
Research from many sources is very important	fantastic, please hold others accountable for this, except your wife, she only needs one source
evolution	ok
Not all Bio teachers are horrible	funny
The nitrogen cycle and how everything connects to natural selection	good
To be interested in the topic you are learning about.	good
Learning about the positives and negatives of a meat tax.	good
The most important thing he taught me to think outside the box, and to question more things in a good way.	outside the box!!! me too!!!
Genetics and evolution.	ok
genetics	ok
Do the study guides. They are very important to your understanding.	yes! do the study guides.
Evolution	ok
nothing i knew everything from last year	sorry, I messed up here, I need to dig deeper
Genes	ok
everything to help me pass my ECA	ok
genetics	ok
Put down an answer even if you don't know it.	ok, always try
gene	ok
everything.	better than nothing
a lot about science vocab	ok, words are important
Do your best	always
How to swish 3s	I didn't shoot any baskets in front of you, except in the trash. However, I would always hold the follow through. Yes, hold the follow through.
about important topics such as the meat tax and how to think deeper	good
Everything	ok
Everything.	ok
About cells	ok
Teachign how to think more about things.	"how to think" that makes me feel good inside
Teaching me to think deeper into things.	fantastic
about cells	ok
Species must be able to adapt	or go extinct, I prefer adapt.
genes	ok
I don't know	ugh.
that heredity does not ultimately determine who you will be.	I hope you feel empowered.
proteins are the basis of traits.	ok
Information about the four macromolecules	soo important ;)
How to support a role even if you don't agree with it	Lawyers?
How genetics can impact your whole life.	good
The biology isn't as boring as people think.	There are people that think biology isn't important?
Biology can be enjoyable	"can be"
Biology	name of course, probably could have said this the first day of class
Cell Cycles	cycles? Why the "s" at the end?
To stay focus and on task and work hard and you will be rewarded in the end	Is this student just telling me what I want to hear?
It was in the beginning with the cell parts	Why do you think that was so important? grade focused?
I learned a lot more about evolution from Mr.Gensic ( Sorry couldn't think of anything specific).	Thanks for the honesty.
learning can be interesting	"can be"
Pass eca	ok
...more about the basis of life and macro and micro molecules.	ok
I don't remember	ok, not ok
About Biology and other topics.	ok, other topics?
mitochondria creates energy	What is it, the sun?
About homeostasis	good
everything about cells	ok
I learned that that there is a theory that everything on earth has a common ancestor, and that genes don't control everything.	good
what homeostasis is	good
All the things he taught us about the meat tax	ok
the mitochondiria is the powerhouse of the cell	ok, I hope that helps you later in life somehow.
most of the stuff about the meat tax	ok
If you want something, you need to work to achieve it	once again, is this what I wanted to hear or an actual answer?
the ecology information	ok
biodiversity matters.	good, I just planted different plants around my house for that reason.
science :)	Science?
spreadsheets	good, outside of the box thinker.
the evolution of the planet.	I taught about this?
I think everything about biology.	ok
the value of bioloogy and its relevance to the real world.	fantastic
In biology winners must reproduce!	but not now, teenager.
To think outside the box	cool, I think.
Not sure.	me either
The most important thing Mr. Gensic taught me was everything. I found it all very helpful and intriguing.	I am glad you were able to discriminate
everything	ok
think outside the box	Am I a weird teacher?
Genes affect who you are	good
Genetics and the ecosystem	ok
The most important thing Mr. Gensic taught me about would have to be either nanotechnology, or the food industries corruptness.	ok
There are many controversial topics in biology	very true, this is one reason I like teaching it.
Positions on the meat tax	ok
evolution	ok
He taught me how to more accurately record data from an experiment.	awesome
How everything connected to the real world.	fantastic
How to work with people in group projects better.	Are you an honors student who already knows how to work in groups?
how to appreciate science and how it actually applies to the real world.	fantastic
evolution	ok
How the Cells in our body work and do anything for us.	good
How close humans are to other species and organisms (chimps)	good
gentics	ok, "genetics"
Have fun with the material being taught and get involved.	Have fun, I would have to agree.
Modern day issues have more than two arguments or perspectives, and it is important to listen to each side.	Awesome.
When reading the book The Genius In All Of Us, we can change our genes so that we be the person that we want to be and that genes can be changed.	good
Genetics	ok
It is more important to learn than to worry about your grade	I agree
Cell cycle	ok
A lot about biology	ok
Parts of a cell and how cells are made.	ok
photosynthesis.	ok
How biology isn't all about the body	good point.
how humans became humans from the very first cell in the world and how cells are structured.	good
i dont know	sorry
Studying is important	I think so.
Keep trying	Absolutely
Everything	ok
How important it is to know things about our enviorment and the things around us that we don't think about and evaluation..	Good, I wonder what you mean by evaluation.
The meat tax unit	ok
Always pay attention and don't be on your phone the whole class.	Please, don't be on your phone the whole class
Cell function and how Cells are made	ok
Good study habits	good
stay fired up dont quit	Stay fired up. I still have middle school cheerleader cheers from playing basketball that I cheer to myself at different times. "Be aggressive, B-E aggressive"
Evolution	good
Evolution	good
evolution	good
Pay attention	good
Genetics/evolution	good
how cells multiply	good
differences in meiosis and mitosis	Very important
what the body does and how things happen inside of us.	good
Genetics	good
How poeple are different.	great
Biology	ok
meiosis and mitios	ok
bio is hard.	interesting, relative to the other responses.
Genetic unit overall.	ok
To be a man	Hmmm???
that ball=lyfe	I am not sure what this means...
(:	:)
The different opinions other roles have about biology and life.	great
I learned about mitosis	ok
More about science and about Mitosis and Meosis	ok
...............things?	things?
?	?
sex cells and healthiness	healthiness?
Always study	never sleep, just study.
Study	study

I hope this was a humorous educational post.  Here is a link to the complete form.

Lake Michigan Adventure!

I am lucky...lucky to live in an area with ample fresh water. I get to spend a week this summer on the Lake Guardian Ship as a teacher-researcher from July 12th to the 18th. I am one of 15 educators throughout the Great Lakes chosen to be a part of this program.  It is called the Lake Michigan Shipboard Science Workshop.  We will be researching microplastics, nutrient cycling and mussels while departing and returning from Milwaukee, WI.

I am a little nervous about that much time on a boat, but this is a boyhood dream.

Vacationing on Lake Michigan every summer as a kid, this opportunity is beyond anything I could have imagined as possible.  I've been on boats, but not out on Lake Michigan.

Connections with curriculum and students' lives will be plentiful, relevant, engaging and add other buzzwords here.  I will certainly develop lessons/activities and potential PBL or Socio-Scientific Inquiry style instruction that connects to my experience and student's experience.  For now, I have reading to do and celebration on being selected into this program.

I will be sure to generate materials that help in developing blended learning and overall improved instructions.

Misconception Comics, Skits, Crafting Dialogue

There are a lot of misunderstood situations in biology.  Based on misconception research, I generated a set of True/False questions that lead even the best students to get multiple questions wrong.  After completing this, students are given the correct answers and must complete a comic strip that shows two people discussing the evidence that show why the statement is either true or false.  Some of the questions are debatable.

Here is the set of questions.  Email me at john.gensic@gmail.com for a set of answers.  

Write T for True, F for False.   Name: ________________ Your Question: _______________

1.) ______ The energy for plants is something that can be spread around a plant and taken up by the roots

2.) ______ Populations will increase indefinitely because the resources are unlimited.

3.) ______ Cells are within the human body, but do not make up the body.

4.) ______  Plants cannot sexually reproduce.

5.) ______  Asexual reproduction is restricted to microorganisms only (bacteria).

6.) ______  Sexual reproduction always involves mating.

7.) ______ Hermaphrodites usually reproduce by having sex with themselves.

8.) ______ Boys get their traits from their dad and girls get theirs from mom.

9.) ______  Inherited traits are blended, but the male parent's characteristics are stronger in expression or always dominant.

10.) ______ Harmful genes are recessive.

11.) ______ Hermaphroditism is the same as asexual reproduction.

12.) ______  There are no fossils that are part reptile part bird.

13.) ______ Evolution has never been observed.

14.) ______  Ecological communities and ecosystems change little over time.

15.) ______ Dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time.

16.) ______ The main source of oxygen in the world is trees.

17.) ______  Protein is the genetic material passed from parent to child.

18.) ______  During sex, the child is passed from the  dad to the mom.

19.) ______ You really can’t do anything about genes you inherit.  They determine your destiny.

20.) ______ Hair is made of protein cells.

21.) ______ Hair is protein made by cells.

22.) ______ Plant get most of their mass from the ground they grow in.

23.) ______ Fingernails are protein made by cells.

24.) ______ Mushrooms are a type of plant.

25.) ______ Bacteria only serve negative purposes.

26.) ______ Bacteria are still evolving.

27.) ______ Bacteria are done evolving, they have already done endosymbiosis to become eukaryotic.

28.) ______ All living things have DNA.

29.) ______ Fossil Fuels will form rapidly, so we will never run out of them.

30.) ______ Life on earth is made of mostly carbon to carbon bonds.

31.) ______ Lipids are made of cells.

32.) ______ Life on earth is made mostly of hydrogen to hydrogen bonds.

33.) ______ When a cheetah eats a water bison, the cheetah gets all of the energy from the bison.

34.) ______ Most plants take in most of their water through their leaves.

35.) ______ Most plants take in most of their water through their roots.

36.) ______ If a parking lot is abandoned, it will stay a parking lot for the next 1,000 years.

37.) ______ Humans don’t go through Natural Selection because of hospitals.

38.) ______ The cell membrane in animal cells is the same as the cell wall in plant cells.

39.) ______ Organisms can make a decision to adapt to their environment.  

40.) ______ Humans are the end of evolution.

41.) ______ Evolution is continuing to happen into the future.

42.) ______ The mitochondria makes sugar

43.) ______ DNA is made of cells

44.) ______ A eukaryotic cell is multicellular.

45.) ______ Plants and chimps do not have a common ancestor

Misconception Scoring Comic/Skits:    Names: ______________________________________________

____ 2 pts. One person starts out with the misconception (incorrect idea)

____ 2 pts. The other person is correct.

____ 8 pts. The correct person must provide evidence (through a situation, observation, location, conversation) for the correct position.

_____ 2 pts. The person who was incorrect in the beginning must re-explain the situation that shows that they understand the correct situation.  This person cannot simply state, “Oh, now I understand.”  They should say something like…  “Now I  understand because __________(insert evidence here)”

_____ 2 pts. Must have a rough draft of the comic/skit before making final product.

Total: _______________/16 pts.