Implementing Biograph in Your Classroom to Explore Complex Systems
From Ilana Schoenfeld
Biograph is a series of high school biology units and support materials designed to explore complex systems using agent based computer models. The program improves comprehension of biology by allowing students and teachers to experience simulated biological systems from the level of their individual parts (e.g. organisms or molecules)—looking closely at how each part in a system behaves and how its interactions with other parts in the larger system result in emergent patterns over time. Biograph uses a blocks-based programming language called StarLogo Nova to help students engage with the simulations while building computational thinking skills. You can access the Biograph resources here.

On the Biograph web page, you’ll see links to Teacher Materials, Student Materials and StarLogo Nova Models. The Teacher Materials links are annotated versions of the Student Materials—providing teachers with step-by-step instructions to implement Biograph activities in the classroom. They include links to the Next Generation Science Standards. The Student Materials are worksheets that can be printed out for students to fill in as they complete each Biograph activity. Each activity module can be implemented in either one or two 45-minute long classroom sessions. Each is also designed to encourage collaborative student work and data gathering. There is also a video introduction to the science of complex systems that is useful for teachers and students alike. Currently, to access the StarLogo Models, you’ll need a reliable internet connection. An offline version of Biograph will be enabled in the near future.

For those of you considering the use of Biograph resources in your own classroom, here are some lessons learned from our pilot implementations in Boston-metro area schools.

1. Before implementing the program, it is important for teachers to make sure that administrators (e.g. Directors of Science, Principals, etc.) at their teaching institutions are supportive of the implementation of the program. This helps to ensure the success of the program over the longer term, as needed tech support and other associated resources will be easier to access. Many administrators will be excited about using the Biograph resources, as they can ‘market’ them as a tangible tool to encourage and strengthen systems/system models thinking and collaborative learning—cornerstones of the Next Generation Science Standards.
   
   
2. Before implementing the program, be sure you have working computers with reliable internet access for students to access the Biograph models. It is fine for students to work in groups of as many as 4 people per computer.
   
   
3. Biograph worked most effectively with a period of teacher professional development. As part of piloting the program in the Boston-metro area, we brought teachers to MIT and had them work through each of the five curriculum models together. Because you won’t have a formal Biograph professional development training available where you are, it is recommended that you watch the trailer video on the Biograph web page, read through all of the materials and run through each activity along with its simulation BEFORE you implement it in the classroom. We highly encourage you to do this with a teacher-partner.

We have not formally implemented Biograph beyond the United States (or even beyond Massachusetts). We would be very interested to hear how the program works for educators teaching in different states or international contexts. We hope you will find these materials to be useful in your own classrooms and welcome your feedback. Please send any comments related to your experiences using Biograph to Ilana Schoenfeld at ilanasch@mit.edu.

Ilana Schoenfeld works at the MIT Scheller Teacher Education program as a Research/Content Manager.

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