Sheila M. Martin-Corbin
During my teaching career at Cooperative Arts and Humanities Magnet High School, I have taught different science courses including biology in grade 10, and anatomy and physiology in grade 12. At Coop High School, much emphasis is placed on the specialized Arts classes to be integrated with the academic courses, the goal being to improve student academic performance. Teachers are encouraged to collaborate and team teach in an effort for students to make the connections to real life experiences and experience meaningful and challenging performance tasks.
My goal is to engage students during class and further develop their critical thinking skills, and successfully meet state standards as described in Unit 5 on Diseases and Populations. According to standard D32, students should be able to describe how bacterial and viral diseases are transmitted and be able to explain the roles of sanitation, vaccination and antibiotic medications in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. This goal would be achieved through activities such as class debates, discussions, presentations, hands-on activities and experimental design. I would also like for my 10th grade students to explore scientific investigations that model transmission and spread of an infectious disease and provide opportunities for students to conduct research, role play and work in small teams to examine case studies of infectious diseases from different countries and evaluate varied approaches in solving health-related problems caused by infectious diseases.
