5/11 & 5/12 Portfolios and Research

The first 10 minutes of class was used to troubleshoot the portfolio punnett square entries, particularly for incomplete dominance and codominance. As a reminder, the list of possible traits is available as a link on Tuesday's blog entry.

The only codominant trait in humans is blood type. Since not all families and students have access to blood types, there are a few ways that this last entry can be completed:

1. Use student and parent(s) blood type and make the punnett square
2. Use parent(s) blood types to make punnett square and extrapolate the blood type of student
3. Choose to focus on a sex-linked trait instead and make that punnett square                         (color blind, male pattern baldness)
4. Create entry for trait not listed, and do outside research to investigate the inheritance of that trait.

The final two components of the portfolio project are an analysis of polygenic traits (Polygenic Traits worksheet) and a video reflection students will do on our video watch party day (Video Essay Reflection worksheet).

To transition to the research project, there was a short presentation about finding credible, scientific research online. The powerpoint includes links to websites and databases that might be useful for research. 

Evaluating Online Resources

The remainder of the time was spent researching and gathering scientific evidence for the video essay. 

We are planning to present the videos and research on Wednesday 5/17 and Thursday 5/18, there is a hard deadline with this research project so that students can present those days. Because of that, students should come prepared on Monday and Tuesday with all of their scientific research completed, ready to begin creating their videos.