Felicia R. Goodman, PhD

• Lesson Plan for Cellular Transport, Photosynthesis, and Cellular Respiration

• Exemplar work from graduate-level courses

  • PhD dissertation from LSU​

  • M.S. thesis from LSU

• Select scientific publications

  • Paper 1​

  • Paper 2

  • Paper 3

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The Georgia Standards of Excellence for Biology focus on the following topics: the structure(s) and function(s) of cells, genetic variation and inheritance, taxonomy, the interdependence of organisms on one another and on their environment, and, finally, natural selection and the theory evolution. They also require students to engage in particular process skills, e.g. construct arguments and explanations from evidence, develop and use models, plan and carry out investigations, analyze data, etc. These topics and skills are aligned with all three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards, which were adopted by the National Science Teachers Association as national standards in science education (National Research Council, 2012). That is, the Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science and Engineering Practices. I believe that I am highly qualified to teach this content.

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I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in three years from Tulane University as well as a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Human Ecology (with a concentration in Molecular Nutrition) from Louisiana State University in two and six years, respectively. The focus of my graduate work was studying the effects of dietary fiber on the pathophysiology of the obesity and diabetes; work which I presented as both oral and poster presentations at Experimental Biology, a national conference for researchers in various fields of Life Science. I paid my way through the latter by working as a Graduate Research and Teaching Associate, and supplemented my income by teaching nutrition at a culinary school and tutoring student-athletes in a wide range of biology and chemistry courses. After graduation, I published my graduate research in a series of peer-reviewed articles, and continued my science career by working as a postdoctoral research associate at several prestigious biomedical research laboratories in both California and Louisiana.  Therefore, I have hands-on experience with laboratory research at every level, from the design and grant writing phase, all the way through implementation – using techniques such as RT-PCR, Western blotting, and in vitro cell culture – and analysis to publication and presentation. In short, I have the in-depth theoretical knowledge of biology and chemistry necessary to complete a doctoral dissertation; the practical expertise needed to ensure successful outcomes in the laboratory; and the confidence and ability to communicate the most salient information in a variety of professional and scholastic settings. I have included copies of my master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation, and publications in which I am first author, as evidence of my content knowledge.

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As part of my Master of Arts in Teaching at Georgia State University, I took several classes in order to augment my knowledge of pedagogical strategies including, but not limited to, the 5E instructional model, gradual release of responsibility model, argument-driven inquiry, differentiation and scaffolding strategies, etc. (Moore, 2014).  My favorite course was “Nature of Science” in which we read the works of several famous philosophers of science (Firestein, 2012; Kuhn, 2012; Chalmers, 2013), and discussed the importance of consistent, explicit inclusion of nature of science elements in our lessons in order to foster scientific literacy. As science educators, we want our students to recognize the power and effectiveness of science at explaining and predicting natural phenomena. Teaching our students about the nature of science is an important component of this lesson, because it provides our students with a better understanding of the inherent limitations of science which, in turn, allows our students to utilize scientific information more successfully. For example, our students need to know that (1) despite being based on close, repeated observation and/or experimentation, scientific knowledge is (and always will be) tentative and uncertain, and that (2) science cannot solve all kinds of problems and, therefore, should not be asked to compete with supernatural explanations of natural phenomena.  These examples are just a few aspects of science that are frequently misrepresented by individuals or organizations who, for various reasons, try belittle science in general or misrepresent scientific evidence in order to support their own unscientific agenda.

 

If we want our students to be successful in life as well as in the classroom then we need to adequately prepare them for the deluge of information that they will be confronted with every day. They need to be critical consumers of scientific information, and the only way they will be able to do so effectively is if they are armed with the knowledge of science can and cannot do. In short, the best way to fight deliberate misinformation and intentional misdirection is through education! For example, if students realize that science is only capable of disproving or invalidating possible solutions - not proving them - then they will understand the importance of tested explanations and observations for establishing relative probabilities that something is true. Then they will be less likely to throw out the proverbially baby with the bathwater when, say, someone comes out with a single study that links vaccines to autism. If students realize that science is conducted by human beings who are fallible creatures with a whole bunch of internalized biases and conceptual paradigms about how the world is supposed to work then they are less likely to lose patience with scientists when they change their mind, yet again, about whether or not fatty foods like butter and eggs are good for you.

 

 REFERENCES

1. Chalmers, A. (1982). What is this thing called science? 2nd ed. University of Queensland Press.

2. Firestein, S. (2012). Ignorance: How it drives science. Oxford University Press.

3. Kuhn, T. (1996) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3rd ed. University of Chicago Press.

4. Moore, K.D. (2014) Effective Instructional Strategies: From Theory to Practice. 4th ed. SAGE Publications.

5. National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards. Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. The National Academies Press.