The Virtual Classroom: Intensive Biology

Intensive Biology students broke away from their screens and the boundaries of a traditional classroom to conduct a study of flower anatomy and the role flowers play in plant reproduction.

One of the goals for the assignment was to offer an opportunity that was not dependent upon doing work on a screen. “I wanted students to consider the benefits of getting outside, being in green spaces, playing with their dog, cooking with their family, or getting some exercise,” said teacher Polly Lodge.

“The dissection of the flower was an exciting experience. Usually, I only pay attention to a flower’s fragrance and never take a detailed look into its structure and shape,” said Ian Liu ’21 who studied an orchid. “This dissection project helped me discover that orchid is symmetrical and that the right and left side are the same. Moreover, after detailed research to learn about its reproductive structure, I realized that its male and female structure are fused, which differs from most other flowers.”

Angelina Wong ’22 studied a cherry blossom and dissected it in a video to share the petals, stem, sepals, stamens, pistil, ovary, and ovule. Sarah Yanchunas ’22 dissected a daffodil and shared closeup photos of its reproductive parts.