Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms. Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field composed of many specialized disciplines that study the structure, function, growth, distribution, evolution, or other features of living organisms.

                                      

The three main branches of biology are: 

1. Botany is the branch of biology which deals with the study of different aspects of plants. 

2. Zoology is the branch of biology connected with the study of different aspects of animals. Aristotle is known as the father of Zoology. 

3. Microbiology is the branch of biology dealing with the study of different aspects of microorganism. 

Here are the some other different branches of biology (or divisions of biology) and their definitions: 

Anatomy: 

Anatomy is the branch of biology that deals with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the branch of biology concerned with the chemical and physiochemical processes that occur within living organisms.

Biophysics

Biophysics is the science of the application of the laws of  physics to biological phenomena.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the exploitation of biological processes such as genetic manipulation of micro-organisms for the production of antibiotics, hormones, etc.

Cell Biology

Cell biology is the study of cell structure and function, and it revolves around the concept that the cell is the fundamental unit of life.

Ecology

Ecology is the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

Evolution

Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth (Darwinism).

Genetics

Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living organisms.

Immunology

Immunology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with immunity.

Marine Biology

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine bodies of water.

Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of microscopic organisms, those being unicellular, multicellular, or acellular.

The person who study biology is named: biologist.

Biologist is a scientist who studies life, specifically 

organisms and their relationship to their environment.

Generally speaking, biologists study humans, animals,

plants and bacteria to gain a better understanding of how the

body and nature works, and how external factors may 

influence each organism.

  

                                          

Finally as Oprah Winfrey said: Biology is the

least of what makes someone a mother.

Cooperative Learning

                                

Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. 

The purpose of cooperative learning groups is to make each member a stronger individual in his or her right. Students learn together so that they can subsequently perform higher as individuals. ... The fourth essential element of cooperative learning is teaching students the required interpersonal and small group skills.

The five basic elements of collaborative learning are:

                             

Cooperative Learning helps to: Raise achievement of students. Build positive relationships among students - important for creating a learning community that values diversity. Provide experiences that develop both good learning skills and social skills.

                              

Cooperative learning is an effective way for students to learn and process information quickly with the help of others. The goal of using this strategy is for students to work together to achieve a common goal. It is essential that each student understands their cooperative learning group role.

Teacher's Beliefs

There are different types of beliefs that the teacher should have and learn:


Beliefs About Intelligence and Children's Capacity to Learn

         Belief 1: "You can get smarter". Children's learning is primarily determined by their effective effort and use of appropriate strategies. "Intelligence" is not fixed inborn limit on learning capacity. All children have the raw materials to do rigorous academic materials at high standards.   

Beliefs About Learning

Belief 2: Learning is constructed as learners assimilate new experience with prior knowledge.

Belief 3: Learning varies with the degree to which learners' needs for inclusion, influence, competence, and confidence are met. 

Beliefs About Teachers and Teaching

Belief 4: The nature of professional knowledge encompasses areas of performance, repertoire, and matching, " not effective behaviors." 

Belief 5: The knowledge bases of a professional teacher as many, diverse, and complex; and skillful teaching requires systematic and continual study of these knowledge bases.  

Beliefs About School and Schools

Belief 6: The total environment of a school has a powerful effect on students's learning. 

Belief 7: Racism exerts a downward force on the achievement of students of color that must be met with active anti racist teaching. 

Hookah Vs Cigarette

How many cigarettes equal an hour of hookah smoking?

Hookah smoke that you inhale can contain 36 times more tar than cigarette smoke, 15 times the carbon monoxide, and 70% more nicotine than one cigarette.
Hookah smokers may absorb more toxins and cancer-causing chemicals than cigarette smokers. An hour of hookah tobacco smoking is equal to smoking 40 to 400 cigarettes, depending on frequency of puffing, the depth of inhalation, and how long the hookah session lasts.

Are hookahs addictive like cigarettes?

Many people think that hookah smoking is safer than cigarette smoking. It's not. Both hookah and cigarettes contain nicotine from the tobacco, which is an addictive drug. Inhaling hookah smoke has the same addictive properties as inhaling cigarette smoke. Hookah is generally not used to get high.

What are the health risks of hookah and cigarette smoking?

People who smoke hookahs and cigarette smokers are at risk for some of the same diseases and health problems, including: lung, stomach, bladder and esophageal cancer. In addition to that heart disease, reduced lung function, decreased fertility, exposure to infections, and many many others. 

Professional Knowledge Types

There are six types of Knowledge that a skillful teacher should have: 

1. Knowledge of the academic discipline: it is related to the domain of learning of the teacher and how the teacher must keep updated with new releases in her domain. 
2. Content-specific pedagogical knowledge:   it is related to the methods of teaching and how to best teach the subject. The teacher should have different ways to teach it by using: methods, materials, examples, stories, analogies, etc....
3. General pedagogical knowledge and skills: this type of knowledge is related to the curriculum planing, motivation, instructional strategies and management. 
4. Knowledge of individual differences in learners: this is related to the cultural, developmental and  learning style, and how to include those differences in instructional decisions. 
5. Knowledge of behaviors of individuals in effective organization: this is related to effective teams, effective meetings, good communication and problem-solving skills within the school members. ( teachers between each other) 
6. Knowledge of how to communicate effectively with parents and community: this is related to the relation between teachers and parents. the teacher must always show win the parentts to her/his side in order to improve the students achievements. Also the teacher should show the parents that their kid is really important to her/him. 

Being a Skillful Teacher

To be a skillful teacher the teacher should follow several topics and work on them carefully. A skillful teacher must be motivated to learn, passionate, reflective, flexible, caring, etc....

In addition to that the teacher must always keep her standards high and her expectations high too. In this way the teacher tells the students three messages:

1. I belief in you
2. I wont give upon you
3. you can do it

Also to be a skillful teacher you should build up a positive teacher-student relationship, which in turn will affect the students achievements positively.  That positive relationship will allow the students to feel comfortable. 

What follows building that relationship, is building a positive climate. To build that positive climate the teacher should work on three areas: 

1. Community and Mutual Support
2. Risk Taking and Confidence
3. Influence

By following all what I have mentioned above, the students will always put more effort on their work to show their teacher that really they can do it. It is all about how to deal with any student fairly and in a positive way.

Active Listening

Listening has been shown to be essential to communicating respect for another person. To test this claim, reflect on your own feelings. Consider a time when you may have been talking with someone who interrupted you or continually focused on what they wanted to express in the conversation. Maybe it was clear that their mind was elsewhere and they weren’t at all “fully present” with you. When we want to build a strong relationship with another person, our ability and commitment to listening attentively and emphatically is essential.