1. Keeping a Balance: Homeostasis and Negative Feedback
This slide should be on screen as participants enter the room.
Start workshop on time—do not wait for “stragglers”
Welcome participants
Do NOT do participant introductions unless the workshop group is a very small one (less than 10 people)
Introduce yourself and explain your teaching experience and current position
Explain that this workshop is sponsored by Science Take-Out, a small company that manufactures and sells hands-on science kits for middle and high school biology students
The company is a “spin-off” initially formed to disseminate hands-on laboratory activities developed by the Life Sciences Learning Center, an outreach center at the University of Rochester.

2. Please complete the “Participant Card”
Because this workshop is supported through a grant from the National Institutes of Health, it is important that we collect data from workshop participants.
Please fill in the participant card during the workshop.
Use the space at the bottom and the back of the card to provide comments on the workshop or the kits used during the workshop. 2 2

3. Envision classroom use
Put your student hat on
Experience the kit
Put your teacher hat on
Envision classroom use
Curriculum integration
Support for students
When we do hands-on workshops we ask you to switch between two hats as you work—your student hat and teacher hat.
We want to you work with partners to experience the kit by completing the activity
We encourage you also have conversations about how you might integrate this into your curriculum and/or support your students.
If you have questions, please call me over while you are working on the activity.
Also, you may find me interrupting to provide further explanation as you work.

4. Part 1: Homeostasis and Negative Feedback
Organisms are continually exposed to changes in their external and internal environments. To be healthy, organisms must maintain homeostasis, a “dynamic equilibrium” or “steady state,” which keeps their internal environment balanced within normal limits. Failure to maintain homeostasis may result in disease or death.
To maintain homeostasis, organisms use negative feedback mechanisms that detect changes from the set point, (the normal state) and trigger appropriate responses that return their body systems to the set point.
 1. Use the information in the box above to write definitions for the
following words:
The Keeping a Balance activity begins with a brief introduction to homeostasis and negative feedback similar to two paragraphs from a textbook.
When I use this activity, students complete Part 1 as a homework assignment.
Ask someone to read aloud.
Take a five minutes to use the information in the box to write definitions for the words. Students can do this but many do not really have a conceptual understanding of what the reading means or a lasting memory of the reading. To quote one of my students, “When I read, it just goes in one eye and out the other. Answering questions helps but sometimes even answering questions doesn’t really help me remember or understand.”

5. 3. The process of homeostasis is like
driving a car at the speed limit (55
miles per hour).  
What is the set point for driving a car?
If you detect that the speed of the car is above the set point, what response should you make?
If you detect the speed of the car is below the set point, what response should you make?
The graphic for question 3 relates the concept of homeostasis to driving a car at the speed limit.

6. Please complete Part 1. 4. Cut along the dotted lines on the blue
Regulating the Speed of a Car cards in
your lab kit.
5. Arrange the cards in the boxes on the
Negative Feedback Graphic Organizer
sheet to illustrate how negative feedback
mechanisms can be used to drive within the
speed limit.
6. Record the arrangement of the cards in the
table below:
The car example is used to introduce students to a graphic organizer that they will later apply to biological examples of homeostasis.
Each kit contains one sheet of colored cards and one graphic organizer.
To promote student collaboration, a team of students should work with one set of cards and one graphic organizer.
Allow time for participants to cut out the colored cards. Have them organized the cards into three piles—blue, pink, green.
For this part, they will only use the blue cards.
Participants should take approximately 5 minutes to work with their partner to complete Part 1.
Please complete Part 1.

7. The teacher information provides a key
The teacher information provides a key. Some teachers opt to share the answers to this part to be certain that students understand how to use the graphic organizer

8. Part 2: Regulating Sugar Concentration in Cupples
Part 2: Regulating Sugar Concentration in Cupples Cupples are adorable little creatures that spend their lives doing two things, eating and exercising. When Cupples eat, the concentration of sugar in their blood increases. When Cupples exercise, they use food for energy and the concentration of sugar in their blood decreases.
To maintain homeostasis, Cupples need to keep the concentration of sugar in their blood at a normal level. If they have the normal concentration of sugar in their blood, they will be green.
Introduce the “Cupple”
Read this introduction aloud.
In Part 2, a colorful simulation is used to engage students with keeping sugar concentration in a “Cupple” constant.
On this page, there are scaffolding questions to ensure that students understand what the components in the Cupple simulation represent. Students often summarize this by saying “Green is good. Blue and yellow are bad.”

9. Use the materials in the kit to complete Part 2
Use the materials in the kit to complete Part 2. This should take approximately 10 minutes.
Please complete Part 2.

10. Here is a key for the Part 2 graphic organizer.

11. Part 3: Negative Feedback and Body Temperature
Humans use negative feedback mechanisms to maintain homeostasis for many of their body systems. In this part of the lab, you will read about a human negative feedback mechanism that regulates body temperature. You will use the information to arrange cards on the Negative Feedback Graphic Organizer sheet.
Notice that we have put “paper and pencil” activities at the end so that students can finish these for homework if they work slowly.
In Part 3, students apply the concept of negative feedback to a reading on the regulation of body temperature.

12. Part 4: Negative Feedback and Blood Glucose
Humans use negative feedback mechanisms to maintain homeostasis for many of their body systems. In this part of the lab, you will read about a human negative feedback mechanism that regulates glucose (sugar) concentration in the blood. You will use this information to answer questions about how this feedback mechanism maintains homeostasis.
In Part 4, students apply what they have learned to a reading on the regulation of blood glucose in humans.

13. Part 5: A Fishbowl Analogy for Homeostasis
Maintaining homeostasis in the body is similar to keeping conditions in a fishbowl balanced. The contents of a fishbowl represent a multicellular body. Fish represent the cells of a multicellular body.
Kevin Patton has given us permission to use and modify is wonderful “fishbowl analogy” that he created to help his students understand the concept of homeostasis.
Please use about XXX minutes to experience Parts 3, 4, and 5. (NOTE to Workshop Presenter: Adjust this time to allow 5 minutes to complete the remaining PowerPoint slides)
Adapted with permission from Homeostasis, © Kevin Patton,

14. Teacher Information MSDS Key Safety Quick Guide
One copy of the Teacher Information is provided when you purchase kits.
The teacher information includes: Summary, Core Concepts, Kit Contains, Teacher Provides, Time Required, Hints for Reusing, and information of refill kit contents.
MSDS
Key
Safety
Quick Guide

15. www.sciencetakeout.com Purchase kits from
The kit you used today is available from Science Take-Out as a completely assembled student kit.
Please explore the website to learn about other STO kits.
You can download the complete teacher instructions so that you can see what you are buying.

16. Individual Assembled Kits Fully assembled individual kits
You have a brochure that includes information on other Science Take-Out kits and a price list. Visit the Science Take-Out website to get further information for each kit.
At the website, you can download the teacher information for each kit to help you decide which kits you would like to purchase.
Science Take-Out kits are available as:
Individual Assembled Kits like the kits you used in this workshop
Unassembled Packs that contain all supplies needed to make 10 kits
Refill Packs that contain supplies needed to refill the consumables for 10 kits
Individual Assembled Kits Fully assembled individual kits
Unassembled Packs All supplies needed to make 10 kits
Refill Packs All supplies needed to refill 10 kits

17. Help us make new Science Take-Out kits teacher and student friendly.
Become Involved
as a Field Test Teacher
Help us make new Science Take-Out kits teacher and student friendly.
Indicate this on your card. Science Take-Out will contact you with further information
Science Take-Out has received an NIH Small Business grant. Support from this grant will allow us to field test Science Take-Out kits
If you would like to be a field test teacher, indicate this by circling yes on your participant card. We will add you to our list for field test teacher recruitment. 17 17

18. Become Involved as a Workshop Presenter
Present a workshop to introduce colleagues to Science Take-Out kits
Visit the Science Take-Out website for further information
Science Take-Out has received an NIH Small Business grant. Support from this grant will allow us to field test Science Take-Out kits
If you would like to be a field test teacher, indicate this by circling yes on your participant card. We will add you to our list for field test teacher recruitment. 18 18

19. Thanks for being a GREAT group!!!
Encourage teachers to write comments on the back of the participant survey card.
Please remember to collect participant feedback cards!!
Please turn in your participant card
before you leave.