Teaching Credential Candidate

California Polytechnic State University

1921
Hope St.

San
Luis
Obispo, CA 93405

805-748-5806

jengdahl@calpoly.edu
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jessica-engdahl/79/a19/741/

Jessica Engdahl

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My Unit Planning Process

In my three-week unit on Variation of Traits, I employed Universal Design and

Backwards Design to represent material clearly, set attainable learning goals, and make my
content relevant to my students.
1. Identify Desired Results
a. I began by choosing a broad topic, such as Variation of Traits, that I know
will be relevant to my students lives. I then identified Next Generation
Science Standards and Common Core State Standards that directly
addressed my topic. Once the standards were found, I developed Enduring
Understandings from the standards, asking myself: Which portions of the
standards can my students apply to their lives, or transfer? Which portions of
standards do my students need to retain to be academically successful in the
future?
I then formulated Essential Questions in simpler language to better guide
my more detailed lesson planning, anticipating their thought processes.
2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
a. In order to more accurately determine if my students attained the desired
understandings, I developed evaluations for my students that will allow me to
assess their level of subject mastery (Wiggins, 2005, p. 18). For my
evaluations, I considered Project Based Learning requirements, the school
environment, and the level of excitement I wanted my students to have
about the subject. The most critical aspect was incorporating a variety of
assessment methods to keep the students engaged and the evaluations
fair for various learning styles (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005, p. 23).
Assessments must be varied so students from different strengths can
succeed; variation of assessment, or expression, is a component of
Universal Design. Universal Design makes my assessments fair because I
am accounting for different learning needs in my classroom.
3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
a. At this stage, lesson planning is filling in the fine details of the unit plan
skeleton that has been formulated. The goal of this stage is to determine the
specific facts, concepts, principles,processes, procedures, [and]
strategies that the students will need to attain the high level of material
retention I expect of them (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005, p. 18-19). In this
stage, I can apply hands-on activities appropriately because I have
identified and planned for the enduring understandings I want to emphasize.
This stage relies heavily on my ability to provide multiple means of
representation and engagement to increase enthusiasm and make the
content accessible to all my students, whether they have a learning
disability, physical disability, are high achieving, or are an English Learner.
By utilizing this three-step planning model in conjunction with Universal Design, I am
confident that I can effectively plan and deliver a challenging, stimulating, and lasting unit for
my students.

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My Unit Plan

Title
Grade
Timeframe
Conceptual Focus/Big
Idea
Overview

UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN: UNIT PLAN OVERVIEW

Mutation Madness
9th
3 weeks
Variation of Traits
In this unit, students will continue to apply their knowledge of DNA and inheritable
traits to discover what mutation is, how it can occur due to environmental factors, and
how the resulting traits are expressed in a population. In project-based learning style,
students will discover different categories of mutation and understand how each kind
affects individuals and populations differently. Students will determine why certain
traits are more prominent in populations than others. Students will perform short
experiments modeling trait variation in a population. To finish the project, students
will create a fictional scientific research team to examine a specific species
experiencing detrimental mutations, conduct a short survey, write an abbreviated
scientific journal article, and communicate their results to the class.

THE BIG PICTURE

Essential Questions:
How does the environment influence or cause mutation?
How does mutation affect an individual or population?
What causes traits to be more or less prominent in a population?
How can the environment affect which traits are more or less prominent in a population?
How do humans influence trait distributions in populations?
Enduring Understandings:
Different combinations of nucleotides lead to differences in organisms.
New traits arise through mutation spurred by chance and environmental factors.
Traits are expressed in unequal amounts in a population.
Content Standards:

Next Generation Science Standards:
HS-LS3-2. Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result
from: 1) new genetic combinations through meiosis, 2) viable errors occurring during replication,
and/or 3) mutations caused by environmental factors.
HS-LS3-3. Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of
expressed traits in a population.

Common Core State Standards:
RST.9-10.3. Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking
measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the
text
RST.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and
phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 910 texts and
topics.
RST.9-10.5. Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including
relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).
RST.9-10.9. Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including
their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or
accounts.
RST.9-10.7. Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual
form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an
equation) into words.
SL.9-10.2. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g.,
visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

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WHST.9-10.2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events,

scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.

Formative Assessments:
Jumpstarts
Discussions
Exit tickets
321s

Summative Assessment:
Students will create a fictional research team to evaluate a species experiencing high levels of
mutation in its population. They will conduct a short survey to discern trait distributions and
percentages of mutation in the population. They will conduct research on the species to discover how
the mutation affects the organisms. They will hypothesize why the mutations are occurring in the
population. They will write a short, simple scientific journal article about their survey, research,
and conclusions. They will present their findings to the class, or scientific community, in a media-
driven, oral presentation.

UNIT READINGS
Fiction Text (s)
Non-Fiction Text (s)

Supporting ELLs

Principles of UDL

Genetics text, Gale database, relevant newspaper and journal articles

MAKING CONTENT ACCESSIBLE

Vocabulary Vocabulary sheets will go into interactive notebooks to support
ELL students with academic language.
Grouping Emerging ELL students will be placed with Bridging ELL
students as added language support.
Translation websites Duolingo, translators, audio books in their language,
and Newslea will provide ELL students with the appropriate language
scaffolding for each student.
Graphic organizers Each student will make a graphic organizer for the
different kinds of mutations. They can create them in whatever form they
prefer as long as the rubric criteria are met.
Representation I will represent my material in as many different ways as possible in
order to reach all my learners. For example, I will use a short video to show how a
mutation occurs, have the students manipulate M&M DNA strands to reinforce the
effect mutations have on Amino Acid production, and give a short podcast and written
paragraph for students to listen to and write in class. By employing visual, tactile, and
auditory methods of material delivery, I can ensure that material is accessible to every
student.
1. Short videos
2. Physical games
3. Tactile model
4. Scientific literature
5. Podcasts
Expression Students will have varied assignment formats in order to give every
learner a chance to succeed. Written paragraphs summarizing their research, artistic
presentation boards illustrating their interpretation of data, and oral presentation of
their findings are some ways that students will be able to prove what they have
learned. The different methods of assessments allow every student an opportunity to
succeed.
1. Written paragraph

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2. Graphic organizers
3. Exit tickets
4. Jumpstarts
5. Visual display boards
6. Oral presentation
Engagement Without a personal connection to the material, students will have a
difficult time learning and retaining the information. In my unit, I will begin with an
entry event to get the students excited about the unit, find relatable connections
between the material and the students lives, and use media to maintain enthusiasm.
For example, the students would study organism populations in their communities and
share experiences they have with those organisms, including how mutations and
environmental factors will effect them.
1. Entry event
2. Share personal experiences
3. Video
4. Connections to the students community
Essential Academic
Language

1. Mitosis
2. Meiosis
3. DNA
4. Chromosomes
5. DNA strand
6. Nucleotide
7. Base pair
8. Mutation
9. Frameshift mutation
10. Missense mutation
11. Nonsense mutation
12. Population
13. Substitution mutation
14. Fitness
These terms will likely be challenging to some, if not all, the students in my class. To
scaffold learning these terms, I will use word walls, graphic organizers, Quizlet, and
small group vocabulary practice to reinforce them. For additional help, students can
work with me directly to complete Vocabulary Builders for the words, which further
address origin, pronunciation, and use of the words.

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My Assessment
Planning Process
Consistent with the Backwards Design philosophy, my assessments are planned
once I have identified the crucial learning goals for my students. The assessments are
designed to both:
1. Reinforce the content in the students, and
2. Serve as evidence that they have sufficiently met state standards for learning as well
as my standards for their learning.
Not every student learns the same way or is able to thoroughly convey their learning
in the same way. For this reason, multiple means of representation, expression, and
engagement are necessary in order to give every student a chance to succeed (Cast,
2011). My assessments reflect the scaffolding and supports I give in instruction to every
student, and cover many different ways of conveying information to give students multiple
opportunities to do well.
Along with state standards, I expect them to meet societal standards such as oral
speaking skills and technical writing. I designed the scientific journal article assessment
specifically to build their comfort and proficiency speaking to a large group of peers. This skill
is crucial for a large number of professions and community functions and will likely be an
asset to them in the future. Technical writing is also an important skill, as many students will
inevitably move on to careers that require reports or document writing of some kind.
Nearly as important as the assessments are the rubrics that accompany them. In
order to ensure that grades are assigned correctly to the students that earn them, a rubric is
created to:
1. Guide me in my evaluation of students work,
2. Serve as a transparent guide for student evaluation of their own work,
3. Aid my efficiency as a grader,
4. Guide my instruction by showing me what concepts I need to revisit in my
classroom.
When I employ rubrics, I can return assessments to students faster than if I used a
purely subjective method. Rubrics create much more solid guidelines for grading to equalize
and streamline the grading process. Additionally, when I am able to grade student work
quickly, I can evaluate my classs understandings and misconceptions much more quickly. In
this way, my assessments somewhat guide my classroom instruction because they highlight
the weaknesses in past instruction that I can strengthen with future instruction.
In short, assessments are planned based on learning objectives derived from state
standards and critical societal skills, and are used as an evaluation tool for the students and
myself to modify our performance and my instructional strategies. Assessments will serve as
a tool to improve the course as a whole.

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Assessment
Mutation Madness Scientific Journal Article
Great news researchers! Now that you have completed researching your mutating creature
and they mystery surrounding it, it is time to collect your findings and share them with your
scientific community. As we have practiced in previous units, you will write a concise, to the
point, informative article that will describe your research process, including how you started
(hypothesis), how you designed your study (methods and materials), what you found
(results), and what it means to the rest of the world (conclusion). You will then present your
article to the class in a ten minute oral presentation to the class, and submit a hard copy to
your lead funding corporation (thats Ms. Engdahl!).
Please use the template below to guide your writing! I am here to clarify any questions you
may have. We will have two team work days on Tuesday and Wednesday of November 4th
and 5th. Presentations will be on Friday, November 7th.

Title of Article with All Major Words Capitalized Goes Here

Last Name 1, First Name1 Middle Initial1, Last Name2, First Name2 Middle Initial2, Last Name3,
First Name3 Middle Initial3
(example : Engdahl, Jessica S., )
ABSTRACT. This abstract should be no more than 150 words. Tell me what you did! What organism
did you study, how did you study it, what did you find, and what does it mean? This should be very
short! It is like a movie trailer; you are just giving me an idea of what your project was.
INTRODUCTION.
Your introduction should give me background on your organism and why it needed to be studied.
Think about questions your audience may have, like:
1. Why is your organism important?
2. What is happening to it?
3. What is the history behind it?
4. How might this affect humans, or your readers?
Your article should be between 300 600 words.
MATERIALS AND METHODS.
This section is all about how you conducted your study. What materials did you use to complete your
research? What sources did you use? Did you go outside into the field or did you collect resources
from the library? How did you collect your data?
Do not give a numbered list of your steps. Write it into a paragraph, 250-400 words.
RESULTS.
Copy and paste your tables and graphs into this section. Use the data table we made in class and label
it Table 1. Copy and paste the graph you made of mutations over time in here as well, and name it
Figure 1.

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Mutants (# organisms with Mutations)

For example:

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Time (Year)

Figure 1. Describe what your figure is showing, including what the axis are (with units) and any other
information critical to the understanding of the figure.
Mutants (# organisms with mutations)

Time (Year)

1987

19

1992

49

1997

93

2004

123

2009

Table 1. Describe what your table is showing, including what the columns are (with units) and any
other information critical to the understanding of the table.
CONCLUSION
This section should contain your interpretation of your results. Why did what you find matter? What
does your data mean? Why is this important?
REFERENCES.
List your references, or the places you researched, here. Use EasyBIB or Citation Machine to create
correct citations. Please use MLA format.
Example:
Peek RM, Jr., Blaser MJ et al.. Nature Rev Cancer 2002;2:28-37.
Moss SF, Blaser MJ. Nat Clin Pract Oncol 2005;2:90-7.
Medof ME, Kinoshita T, et al. J Exp Med 1984;160:1558-78.

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Works Cited
CAST (2011). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.0. Wake_eld, MA: Author

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (Expanded Second Edition).
Alexandria, VA, USA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
(ASCD). Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com

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