Biology Unit - In Class Experience

Our second unit in Science class was biology. In this unit, I learned about how cells divide, what happens when cell division goes wrong, and about organ systems such as the respiratory and circulatory system. Also during the unit I participated in various tasks such as dissecting frogs, and making a video project on mitosis.

During the biology unit, the event that I enjoyed the most was the frog dissections. During frog dissections, I was given the opportunity to cut up a dead frog and study its internal organs. I was able to take a close look at the frog’s stomach, heart, liver and its exterior features. Although some people were very scared of the whole frog dissection, I was ready to get my hands dirty. Also, I never really “respected” the frogs. I was as inhumane as I could be. I took pliers and ripped out the frogs eyes. Also I ripped off its limbs and completely skinned it. I was quite satisfied with the experience of the dissection because I got to have fun and learn about the organ systems of a frog at the same time.

The topic I found the least interesting in this unit was the lesson on cancer. It wasn’t that I disliked the topic; it was just that the lesson seemed dragged on. The lesson took upwards of 45 minutes when only a few concepts were explained. I felt that the number of slides in the PowerPoint lesson by reducing the number of times things were repeated. All that was in the lesson was what cancer is, what the different types of tumors, carcinogens, and how to prevent cancer. All of this could have easily been summed up in ten to fifteen slides but it was but the presentation ended up at almost thirty.  

I wish the grade 10 curriculum included more body systems. For example, I would have really liked to learn about how the nervous system works. I don’t know much about it but it seems like one of the coolest systems in our body, and I would have really liked to learn about it this year. Also, I think the grade 10 biology curriculum should include more time to study the parts of cells. I found that the parts of cells (i.e. Golgi bodies, mitochondria etc.) were not talked about very much in lessons, and I had to refer to a small section of the textbook to remember what they do. Unfortunately for me, I forgot about them in the textbook, and since it isn’t in the PowerPoints, I forgot to study them. If I fail my biology test, that is probably the reason.

I think the other students in my class also share the same interests as me, for the most part. During the frog dissection, most of the class was really into it; they really wanted to chop up the frog and others stayed away from it, watching from a distance. I think that groups for the dissection should have been made with an equal amount of people who wanted to participate and not participate in the dissection. That way, the people not participating had less people to watch the process around. For example, in my group two others and I participated in the dissection, and we had one onlooker. The onlooker must have found it difficult to see around three people since all sides of the table were covered. If groups were custom designed to have an equal number of participants and onlookers, I think it would be easier for everyone to enjoy the experience.

The one thing I absolutely hated about the biology unit was that it was all mere memorization. In the seven biology PowerPoints there were well over 150 slides. This would not be too much of a problem, but unfortunately the subject of Biology makes you memorize everything. If you have a good photographic memory, you’ve gotten yourself a 100 in biology. In chemistry, I didn’t really have to study, I knew the concepts and I could use my head from there. That is why I like Math, Chemistry and Physics. I memorize a few things and just think from there on out. I don’t have to memorize hundreds of slides of information. For example, in math class this year when I learned about quadratic equations, I never memorized the equation. I just derived the entire quadratic equation on the back of my test. I hate memorizing, thinking is much more practical. I don’t have to study as much, I can be lazy, and who doesn’t like being lazy?