Christian Moore-Anderson
@cmooreanderson.bsky.social
Biology Teacher & Head of Bio (11–18)
📗Making Meaning (Forthcoming)
📘Difference Maker (🇬🇧 & 🇪🇸)
📙Biology Made Real (🇬🇧 & 🇪🇸)
Blog: rb.gy/dyi5a
#EnactiveCogSci
📗Making Meaning (Forthcoming)
📘Difference Maker (🇬🇧 & 🇪🇸)
📙Biology Made Real (🇬🇧 & 🇪🇸)
Blog: rb.gy/dyi5a
#EnactiveCogSci
"On the one hand, memory is not a library of memories, even if they are episodic; on the other, memory is not the memory of information that enters the system ... [but] the traces of what has been enacted by our actions."
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
November 3, 2025 at 6:40 AM
"On the one hand, memory is not a library of memories, even if they are episodic; on the other, memory is not the memory of information that enters the system ... [but] the traces of what has been enacted by our actions."
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
Too often, biology is just: "learn this description of what happens."
Bio is revolutionised when you realise that you aren't teaching reality, but a model.
A model is a set of relationships; a set of rules.
Once a model's been co-constructed, students can infer new explanations for themselves.
Bio is revolutionised when you realise that you aren't teaching reality, but a model.
A model is a set of relationships; a set of rules.
Once a model's been co-constructed, students can infer new explanations for themselves.
November 2, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Too often, biology is just: "learn this description of what happens."
Bio is revolutionised when you realise that you aren't teaching reality, but a model.
A model is a set of relationships; a set of rules.
Once a model's been co-constructed, students can infer new explanations for themselves.
Bio is revolutionised when you realise that you aren't teaching reality, but a model.
A model is a set of relationships; a set of rules.
Once a model's been co-constructed, students can infer new explanations for themselves.
I still have some images stuck in powerpoints, very few, and it really annoys me. The rest I have saved in one big searchable folder:
November 1, 2025 at 5:24 PM
I still have some images stuck in powerpoints, very few, and it really annoys me. The rest I have saved in one big searchable folder:
Another week of meanings co-constructed:
Year 7: How to plan an experiment
Year 10: Thermoregulation model
IB1: Protein synthesis overview model
IB2: Lac operon with my updated model
Year 7: How to plan an experiment
Year 10: Thermoregulation model
IB1: Protein synthesis overview model
IB2: Lac operon with my updated model
October 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Another week of meanings co-constructed:
Year 7: How to plan an experiment
Year 10: Thermoregulation model
IB1: Protein synthesis overview model
IB2: Lac operon with my updated model
Year 7: How to plan an experiment
Year 10: Thermoregulation model
IB1: Protein synthesis overview model
IB2: Lac operon with my updated model
New week, new meanings co-constructed:
Year 7: Inferring an explanation with evaporation and diffusion
Year 10: Understanding how people can gain or lose mass
Year 11: Understanding immunity
IB1: The meaning of DNA & its structure
IB2: The meaning of membranes & their structure
Year 7: Inferring an explanation with evaporation and diffusion
Year 10: Understanding how people can gain or lose mass
Year 11: Understanding immunity
IB1: The meaning of DNA & its structure
IB2: The meaning of membranes & their structure
October 18, 2025 at 6:32 AM
New week, new meanings co-constructed:
Year 7: Inferring an explanation with evaporation and diffusion
Year 10: Understanding how people can gain or lose mass
Year 11: Understanding immunity
IB1: The meaning of DNA & its structure
IB2: The meaning of membranes & their structure
Year 7: Inferring an explanation with evaporation and diffusion
Year 10: Understanding how people can gain or lose mass
Year 11: Understanding immunity
IB1: The meaning of DNA & its structure
IB2: The meaning of membranes & their structure
I co-constructed a very successful model with my Year 10s today. We used it as a basis to explain many different phenomena.
Rather than a single explanation like most diagrams provide, models provide the springboard to many explanations.
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK #EduSky
Rather than a single explanation like most diagrams provide, models provide the springboard to many explanations.
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK #EduSky
October 7, 2025 at 4:58 PM
I co-constructed a very successful model with my Year 10s today. We used it as a basis to explain many different phenomena.
Rather than a single explanation like most diagrams provide, models provide the springboard to many explanations.
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK #EduSky
Rather than a single explanation like most diagrams provide, models provide the springboard to many explanations.
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK #EduSky
September 28, 2025 at 9:09 AM
@rodjnaquin.bsky.social has recommended this book. Has anyone else read it yet?
Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives.
#EduSky
Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives.
#EduSky
September 13, 2025 at 8:28 AM
@rodjnaquin.bsky.social has recommended this book. Has anyone else read it yet?
Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives.
#EduSky
Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives.
#EduSky
September 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Do you think we could add the ideas of autonomy from enactivism?
There's a link with Wittgenstein. Heinz von Foerster was extended family and new him personally as a kid. He memorised Tractatus. von Foerster was then a major influence on Varela and the foundation of enactivism.
There's a link with Wittgenstein. Heinz von Foerster was extended family and new him personally as a kid. He memorised Tractatus. von Foerster was then a major influence on Varela and the foundation of enactivism.
September 7, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Do you think we could add the ideas of autonomy from enactivism?
There's a link with Wittgenstein. Heinz von Foerster was extended family and new him personally as a kid. He memorised Tractatus. von Foerster was then a major influence on Varela and the foundation of enactivism.
There's a link with Wittgenstein. Heinz von Foerster was extended family and new him personally as a kid. He memorised Tractatus. von Foerster was then a major influence on Varela and the foundation of enactivism.
After many alternatives and receiving valuable feedback, I've begun to settle on this title.
What I love about self-publishing is writing what I want, when I want. This will be my first general-audience work.
Hopefully, this will be ready by Easter.
Thoughts on the title?
#EduSky
What I love about self-publishing is writing what I want, when I want. This will be my first general-audience work.
Hopefully, this will be ready by Easter.
Thoughts on the title?
#EduSky
August 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
After many alternatives and receiving valuable feedback, I've begun to settle on this title.
What I love about self-publishing is writing what I want, when I want. This will be my first general-audience work.
Hopefully, this will be ready by Easter.
Thoughts on the title?
#EduSky
What I love about self-publishing is writing what I want, when I want. This will be my first general-audience work.
Hopefully, this will be ready by Easter.
Thoughts on the title?
#EduSky
Hi Danny, what did you think of the global grade distribution?
50% getting 8 or 9 (supposedly due to very high ability cohorts - China, UAE, serious schools?)
50% getting 8 or 9 (supposedly due to very high ability cohorts - China, UAE, serious schools?)
August 22, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Hi Danny, what did you think of the global grade distribution?
50% getting 8 or 9 (supposedly due to very high ability cohorts - China, UAE, serious schools?)
50% getting 8 or 9 (supposedly due to very high ability cohorts - China, UAE, serious schools?)
I really like the post!
I'd like to comment on your point here:
I think you're principally referring to Beer's ideas. Beer wasn't against opening black boxes; he was cautious. He referred to "muddy boxes" and said that all you can do is model the system, but expect to continually update the model.
I'd like to comment on your point here:
I think you're principally referring to Beer's ideas. Beer wasn't against opening black boxes; he was cautious. He referred to "muddy boxes" and said that all you can do is model the system, but expect to continually update the model.
August 3, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I really like the post!
I'd like to comment on your point here:
I think you're principally referring to Beer's ideas. Beer wasn't against opening black boxes; he was cautious. He referred to "muddy boxes" and said that all you can do is model the system, but expect to continually update the model.
I'd like to comment on your point here:
I think you're principally referring to Beer's ideas. Beer wasn't against opening black boxes; he was cautious. He referred to "muddy boxes" and said that all you can do is model the system, but expect to continually update the model.
Bio students think they're cars:
How I solved the problem with circular causality.
BLOG POST → cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
How I solved the problem with circular causality.
BLOG POST → cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
July 28, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Bio students think they're cars:
How I solved the problem with circular causality.
BLOG POST → cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
How I solved the problem with circular causality.
BLOG POST → cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
Number of states: Complexity science solved this by including all variables and all the possible states within a variable. They then construct "phase spaces", graphs that show all the states a system goes through. These a multidimensional and done by computers. But 2D and 3D ones are common too:
July 19, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Number of states: Complexity science solved this by including all variables and all the possible states within a variable. They then construct "phase spaces", graphs that show all the states a system goes through. These a multidimensional and done by computers. But 2D and 3D ones are common too:
I've been working on a new model to co-construct with my 14-year-olds. This is the best I've designed for focusing on the meaning cell respiration. There are two key aspects: 1. the contrast with anaerobic respiration, and 2. how ATP is used as an energy currency.
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
July 4, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I've been working on a new model to co-construct with my 14-year-olds. This is the best I've designed for focusing on the meaning cell respiration. There are two key aspects: 1. the contrast with anaerobic respiration, and 2. how ATP is used as an energy currency.
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
I spent some time designing this diagram for my lesson and it worked really well. Here's a difficult topic made simpler without needing powerpoint: Blog Post:
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
June 29, 2025 at 8:18 AM
I spent some time designing this diagram for my lesson and it worked really well. Here's a difficult topic made simpler without needing powerpoint: Blog Post:
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
I'm excited to see what new ways of acting that the predictive processing model can provide us. Nevertheless, how much of the idea of prediction models was covered by Glasersfeld, and then by Varela, with the term viability?
This is from Difference Maker:
#EruditePedagogy @adamwteach.bsky.social
This is from Difference Maker:
#EruditePedagogy @adamwteach.bsky.social
June 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM
I'm excited to see what new ways of acting that the predictive processing model can provide us. Nevertheless, how much of the idea of prediction models was covered by Glasersfeld, and then by Varela, with the term viability?
This is from Difference Maker:
#EruditePedagogy @adamwteach.bsky.social
This is from Difference Maker:
#EruditePedagogy @adamwteach.bsky.social
Have you come across the recursive teaching model?
June 22, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Have you come across the recursive teaching model?
Difficult topic made simple:
How I teach the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration in plants – blog post:
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
How I teach the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration in plants – blog post:
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
June 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Difficult topic made simple:
How I teach the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration in plants – blog post:
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
How I teach the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration in plants – blog post:
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
#SciTeachUK #iTeachBio
It's what this model is all about:
June 18, 2025 at 5:04 PM
It's what this model is all about:
It surprises me that we don't see Endler's natural selection experiments more often in biology curricula.
The first experimental evidence in nature!
Here's how I teach it (blog post) ↴
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
The first experimental evidence in nature!
Here's how I teach it (blog post) ↴
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
June 15, 2025 at 8:51 AM
It surprises me that we don't see Endler's natural selection experiments more often in biology curricula.
The first experimental evidence in nature!
Here's how I teach it (blog post) ↴
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
The first experimental evidence in nature!
Here's how I teach it (blog post) ↴
#iTeachBio #SciTeachUK
cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...
And Glasersfeld's work is conceptually founded in Piaget's work which discusses predictive models explicitly:
June 15, 2025 at 5:40 AM
And Glasersfeld's work is conceptually founded in Piaget's work which discusses predictive models explicitly:
This is from Glasersfeld 1995:
June 15, 2025 at 5:37 AM
This is from Glasersfeld 1995:
With regard to prediction error within a more phenomenological first-person experience domain, with relation to learning, I think this stuff was covered well by von Glasersfeld (cited here in Difference Maker):
June 15, 2025 at 5:27 AM
With regard to prediction error within a more phenomenological first-person experience domain, with relation to learning, I think this stuff was covered well by von Glasersfeld (cited here in Difference Maker):