Description

In this lesson, students will be invited to pretend to be a Biology classroom assistant and help develop an animation of the bees’ waggle dance. Based on desk-based research and their prior programming experience, students will work in a team to develop a short animation in mBlock to demonstrate how a bee waggles and communicates the information of flowers. The learning activity is designed in light of Flipped Classroom. Please note that students should conduct desk research on the bees’ communication approaches (or the waggle dance in particular) before this learning activity. Therefore, the nature of this lesson is to integrate biology into programming learning as it intends to point out how information technology can enhance learning and understanding. To complete the Waggle Dance project, students not only need to understand the meaning and functioning of the bees’ waggle dance through investigation and literature review but also need to master the scientific presentation. Programming skills are assessed implicitly as they are procedural knowledge. It will take 2 days to complete this lesson.

Objectives

• Explain the features of different stages of the waggle dance visually.
• Execute programs to demonstrate the whole or part of the process of the waggle dance.
• Utilize appropriate programming scripts to create the Waggle Dance animation.

Curriculum Connections Summary

• Ontario - Mathematics - Algebra (Coding) & Science
• Quebec - Science
• New Brunswick - Science
• Nova Scotia - Science & ICT
• Alberta - Science & ICT
• British Columbia - Science & ADST
• Manitoba - Science
• Prince Edward Island - Science
• Saskatchewan - Science
• Newfoundland & Labrador - Science
• Yukon Territories - Follow's B.C.'s Curriculum
• Northwest Territories - Follows Alberta's Curriculum
• Nunavut - Follows Alberta's Curriculum