1. W540 Computers in the Curriculum
Student Contributors in Inquiry-Based Learning
Your Name: Lauren Zoerhoff
ePortfolio URL: http://lzoerhoff.wix.com/eportfolio
Title Cellular Respiration and Students as Contributors
Overview In this lesson, students will work together to examine the processes of cellular respiration.
Students will be able to contribute in different ways-tutorial designers, scribes, researchers,
coordinators- to help develop class understanding of Glycolysis, the Krebs Cycle, and the
electron transport and ATP synthesis to recognize that this is the basis of energy generation for
all animal life on Earth.
th th
Resources & This lesson is intended for a 9 -10 grade biology class. It is to be completed at the beginning of
Preparation the cellular respiration and fermentation unit so that students are able to plan and contribute,
then use these contributions throughout the remainder of the unit. This lesson is intended to be
completed in four class sessions.
Resources:
Daily computer/smartphone/tablet access for all students
Video recording equipment and editing software (if students choose to make a video tutorial)
Possible websites (please note that students can choose whichever websites or software they
would like to use, so these are just suggestions)
For tutorial designers:
Screencast-O-Matic (for making a screencast)
Voicethread (for making an audio tutorial)
Prezi (for making a visual tutorial)
For scribes:
Google Docs (for notes)
Bubble Us (for concept map)
For coordinators:
Corkboard Me (for staying organized)
For researchers:
Google Groups (for discussion forum)
Preparation:
Create a blog page to serve as a shared location for students to post all of their contributions.
Create a page on the blog where possible resources (above) are posted.
Prior to session four, ensure the team of coordinators has the necessary lab materials
Enable online survey
Theory to There is a lot of literature that indicates the advantages of developing students as contributors
Practice in the classroom. Collis and Moonen have proposed a model that they claim will increase
student engagement called the “Contributing Student” model. In this model, the instructor
simply facilitates students learning from peer-created materials (Collis and Moonen, 2006, p.

2. 55). Similarly, in his book, Who Owns the Learning, Alan November claims that when students
are able to contribute to something meaningful, it enhances their motivation and overall desire
to learn (November, 2012). November indicates several means by which students can
contribute, including the following: tutorial designers, scribes, researchers, coordinators
(November, 2012). These are the roles that have been incorporated into this lesson plan and
that will guide student learning.
Standards Indiana State Standards:
B3.2 Describe how most organisms can combine and recombine the elements contained in
sugar molecules into a variety of biologically essential compounds by utilizing the energy
from cellular respiration.
ISTE NETS:
2a Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media
2d Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
Objectives Upon successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain why organisms undergo cellular respiration
Explain the process of cellular respiration including Glycolysis, the Krebs Cycle, and electron
transport and ATP synthesis
Work collaboratively to contribute beneficial resources that can be used for class learning
Build Inquiry To build inquiry, students will view a video that shows humans capable of holding their breaths
under water for really long times. Students will be put into groups of 3-4 and each group will
come up with 1-2 discussion questions. Each group will share their question and a class
discussion will be conducted. The following questions, if not generated by students, should be
included in the discussion:
How do marine mammals get enough energy to dive for up to 45 minutes? Might this be the
same energy source as the diving man in the video?
What role does oxygen play in obtaining this energy?
What living things can obtain energy this way?
Instructional Session One
Delivery 1. Show students the building inquiry video and conduct the discussion. Explain to students
that, in this lesson, they will discover the specific processes that occur in cells to allow
organisms to generate energy.
2. Discuss the various roles and responsibilities (see below). Facilitate a class discussion about
which students will take on which roles. Try to let the students guide the discussion by
vocalizing which roles they each think they would excel in. Roles should be designated using
the following guidelines (as approximations):
6 tutorial designers (2 for each tutorial-Glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, electron transport and ATP
synthesis)
2-4 scribes
6-8 coordinators
2-4 researchers
Scribes: Scribes will be responsible for taking notes for the class. With the guidance of the
instructor, they will select important concepts on cellular respiration and complete a
thorough, neat, and accurate set of notes to be added to a shared Google document. Scribes
will also be responsible for creating a concept map that will supplement these notes and be
placed on the class blog.
Tutorial Designers: Tutorial designers will be responsible for creating tutorials on the
following: glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, electron transport and ATP synthesis. These tutorials can be

3. video tutorials, audio tutorials, screencasts, or interactive presentations.
Researchers: Researchers will be responsible for helping the scribes and tutorial designers
find the information they need. Researchers will also be responsible for creating a discussion
forum and monitoring and fielding discussion questions throughout the lesson.
Coordinators: Coordinators will be responsible for assisting with technical support and
maintaining the class blog and uploading all contributions. They will also be responsible for
planning and coordinating one hands-on learning experience for the class to complete.
3. Divide students into their designated teams, and give them time to begin working. During
this time, offer support and guidance, as needed. Move from group-to-group and provide
short tutorials on any tools students are unfamiliar with. Groups should be using this time to
determine who is going to take on each responsibility, plan out a schedule of tasks, and
explore various tools that they might want to use.
Sessions Two and Three
Groups continue to work within their teams to complete their contributions. The tutorial
designers should begin working on their tutorials using their tools of choice (see resources). The
scribes should be working on completing the Google Document with the notes as well as the
concept map. The researchers should be helping the tutorial designers and scribes find
information as well as have the discussion forum up and running and be fielding questions from
classmates. The coordinators should be planning and preparing the hands-on learning
experience as well as assisting other teams with technical support and maintaining the class
blog. As the groups work, offer support and guidance, as needed. Explain to students that all
contributions must be completed by the beginning of session four. This includes the team of
coordinators ensuring that all contributions are posted to the class blog.
Session Four
1. The team of coordinators will lead the class in their planned hands-on learning activity.
2. Conduct a class discussion that reverts back to the original building inquiry video and
discussion questions below. See how well students can apply what they’ve learned.
How do marine mammals get enough energy to dive for up to 45 minutes?
Might this be the same energy source as the diving man in the video?
What role does oxygen play in obtaining this energy?
What living things can obtain energy this way?
3. Students will complete a survey to assess their experience and give feedback on the
usefulness of the resources contributed by their classmates.
Additional None
Resources
Assessment Survey: Which resources did the students find most useful or least useful and what does this
mean about the contributor’s understanding?
Observations: Were students able to collaborate well with classmates? Were students able to
complete the designated tasks with minimal teacher interference?
Hands-on learning experience: Were students able to complete the learning experience and
connect it to the big ideas about cellular respiration?

4. Discussion: Were students able to apply what they’ve learned to provide more specific and
accurate answers to the driving discussion questions?
Extension Students independently plan and perform a skit to model the entire process of cellular
respiration. Each student must play a role as one of the electrons/molecules/atoms being
moved around the cell to show how each is being used and where each goes. This skit could be
videotaped and posted on the blog and/or performed for another biology class.
Citations Collis, B., & Moonen, J. (2005). The Contributing Student: Learners as Co-Developers of Learning
Resources for Reuse in Web Environments. An ongoing journey: technology as a learning
workbench (pp. 49-65). S.I.: s.n. Retrieved from
http://www.it.uu.se/edu/course/homepage/cosulearning/st11/reading/ContributingStudent.pdf
November, A. C. (2012). Who owns the learning?: preparing students for success in the digital
age. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Kindle Edition.