Part 1. Your Interest in an Aspect of
Unit Content
I
have to say that the area in which interests me the most is cellular
respiration. I think our bodies are such amazing structures and it is so
difficult for me to wrap my mind around the ideas around topics such as this.
What I think is so amazing is that our body can take one tiny molecule of
glucose, then break it down to pyruvate and continue the process all the way to
the ending point of the electron transport chain. I find it even more amazing
that from those original glucose molecules, we end up with nearly 36 ATP. How
can all of this be happening inside my body all the time! For me, molecules are
such a difficult thing to understand. I have never seen them perform their work
yet I am amazed by their abilities everyday.
Something
that I find interesting about the process of learning about cellular respiration
is the funny and creative ways that people choose to try and remember all of
the steps involved. Some people work well with pictures, such as the one shown here. Where others choose to go to different
extremes, such as the teacher who created the YouTube video below to help his
students remember the process.
When I look at these two different sources, I
can also see that people have different ideas about the complexity in which
they need to know this topic. For example you can just learn the basic steps
and the final outcome. By doing this, a person can understand the process and
why it happens. However, a person can also dive much deeper into the topic by
learning all of the molecules and enzymes involved and at what exact step each
is utilized.
To
put it mildly, I find cellular respiration a fascinating topic to learn about.
I find it interesting the our bodies can work with the ATP production of either
aerobic or anaerobic respiration depending on the situation. I have really
learned to love science over the last few years, and it seems to me that the
more I learn the more I realize I don’t really know. This may sound a bit
silly, but it is true. I can’t wait to learn more so I can discover even more
topics that I know nothing about!
Sources
Mr. Hsu, scienceteacherhsu.Cell Respiration" - Cellular Respiration Song.
Retrieved February 18,2013. Web. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aZrkdzrd04
Image of cellular respiration. Retrieved February
20, 2013. Web. http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/images/ch9res.jpg
Part 2. Thinking About the Course
- What one assignment or activity you performed in this unit are you the most proud of?
The one project I
performed in this unit that I am most proud of is my written assignment on
Autism Spectrum Disorder. This was a topic that I only new a little bit about,
and the paper helped me to see a few different perspectives on the issue. What
made it even better was that, being a mother, I could relate to the different
ideas on the subject. Also, I generally enjoy writing papers because I feel
that it pushes me to broaden my horizons on any given subject.
- What do you now understand best about the information in this unit?
I feel that I had a
great advantage coming into this course, because, thus far, everything we have
been learning about I learned in my BIO 181 course last semester. So, in
general, I feel that everything we have gone over has been a great review and
refresher. I feel that the information we have explored thus far has really
helped me to further understand the material, and the textbook puts the ideas
into simple terms that make sense.
- What actions did you take for yourself to enhance learning or enjoyment of the material?
As I said before,
many of the topics we have covered thus far have been review; furthermore, many
of the topics are also coinciding with the BIO 201 class I am taking this
semester. With this being said, I feel strongly that when I read and review the
information for each chapter, it is really helping me to know the material and
really understand how things work. I have enjoyed the labs and at every
opportunity I try to explain what I am doing to my daughter. Talking about the
subject, even if it is in kindergarten terms, has helped me see the material
from yet another perspective.
- When did you feel most “connected” with the course? Most distanced?
Most of the time I
have felt equally connected with the course. The only time I felt disconnected
with the course was during the “What Molecules is That” lab. That is one moment
where I felt frustrated and a bit like I did not understand the material. I
feel that I could have avoided that disconnect if I had started on the project
sooner and not waited until the last minute. Aside from that, I have not had a
moment where I felt “most connected”. I have enjoyed the material fairly
equally and all in all I feel that I have had a pretty good understanding of
the material presented.
- What could I offer you to help your understanding or enjoyment of the material?
All that I can say
for this question is that I think you have done a wonderful job of presenting
the material in an easy to understand method. The online learning environment
can often be challenging, but I feel that you have given us great information
to use in our studies. In fact we may even get a little more. Not only do we
have the textbook and lectures, you also have also provided us with great
information to utilize from the Internet. Furthermore, you seem to always be
available for questions. In fact I do not think I can even count the number of
times you have said to call or email if we have questions. All-in-all I feel
that this is a great course, and the material has been presented in an easy to
use and understand format.
