Group items tagged

"Teachers' Domain is a free digital media service for educational use from public broadcasting and its partners. You'll find thousands of media resources, support materials, and tools for classroom lessons, individualized learning programs, and teacher professional learning communities."

Martin Chalifie and GFP video by DNA Learning Center

list of 50 ideas which could be readily modified for STEM topics

CASES Online is a collection of inquiry-based lessons to engage K-12 and undergraduate students in exploring the science behind real-world problems. Through CASES, you can transform your students into motivated investigators, self-directed and life-long learners, critical thinkers and keen problem solvers. Our cases are grounded in Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Investigative Case-Based Learning (ICBL), and related student-centered pedagogies.

Information is easily accessible for teachers, administrators, parents and students. Standards-based units, lesson plans, instructional guides and project based learning designs model the integration of content, learning skills and technology standards, research-based instructional strategies, differentiated instruction and rich classroom assessments, including a culminating performance, product or project with an accompanying rubric.

This case study is used to teach undergraduate students about hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking), a controversial method for extracting methane from shale. The controversy arises from claims that chemicals used in the fracking process and the methane itself find their way into drinking water and are also sometimes found at dangerous levels in the air. The case study begins in a college chemistry class where a student inquires about a news item he saw about residents setting their tap water on fire. The instructor uses this as an opportunity for the students to research hydrofracking and natural gas, and she then integrate these topics into their present study of isotopes. The class first examines what isotopes are by using a guided inquiry based activity. The students then learn how mass spectrometry, which uses the principles just learned about isotopes, is employed to determine the source of methane in contaminated wells. This case study is designed for freshman chemistry students and students in environmental studies.

This initial module from the GENIQUEST project introduces the dragons and the inheritance of their traits, then delves into meiosis and its relationship to inherited traits. Students examine the effects of choosing different gametes on dragon offspring, and learn about genetic recombination by creating recombination events to generate specific offspring from two given parent dragons. Students learn about inbred strains and breed an inbred strain of dragons themselves. Lastly, students investigate a mysterious new dragon trait and use the properties of linkage and inheritance to examine the trait's relationship to other, known dragon traits.

Researchers have made dramatic inroads into the study of polygenic and other complex human diseases, due in large part to knowledge of the human genome sequence, the generation of widespread markers of genetic variation, and the development of new technologies that allow investigators to associate disease phenotypes with genetic loci. Although polygenic diseases are more common than single-gene disorders, studies of monogenic diseases provide an invaluable opportunity to learn about underlying molecular mechanisms, thereby contributing a great deal to our understanding of all forms of genetic disease.

BodyMaps is an interactive visual search tool that allows users to explore the human body in 3-D. With easy-to-use navigation, users can search multiple layers of the human anatomy, view systems and organs down to their smallest parts, and understand in detail how the human body works. Using detailed 3-D models of body parts-including muscles, veins, bones, and organs-BodyMaps offers a new way to visualize and manage your health. See how the coronary artery delivers blood to the heart, and learn how plaque build-up on artery walls leads to heart disease. Locate the exact location of a pulled muscle or broken bone, and find information on how to prevent injuries. View a cross-section of the human brain, and learn which areas control certain emotions and body functions. By offering rich, detailed anatomical images alongside links to relevant and useful health information, BodyMaps allows you to leam about your body and your health in a personalized and revolutionary new way.

This case study presents the story of Phil, an undergraduate majoring in biology, whose Russian cousin Dimitri has contracted tuberculosis (TB) from inmates at the prison where he works.  Phil learns that his cousin's failure to complete his antibiotic regimen likely contributed to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant TB in his body.  Phil consults with his friend Stacy, and together they try to understand Dimitri's condition by applying what they are learning in their genetics lab experiment about the role of random mutation in bacterial evolution (including the development of antibiotic resistance) through Luria- Delbrück fluctuation analysis. The same analysis includes calculation of the mutation rate, which Phil realizes is sufficient to cause MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant infections. This case study was originally developed for concurrent use in freshman/sophomore-level genetics, elementary statistics, and precalculus. However, it is also very appropriate for courses in introductory biology, evolutionary biology, and biostatistics. The teaching notes discuss various ways to run the case depending on the mathematics and biology background of students.

The goal of RI-ITEST is to prepare diverse students for careers in information technologies by engaging them in exciting, inquiry- based learning activities that use sophisticated computational models in support of a revolutionary science curriculum. Teachers will incorporate interactive computer models developed under the Science of Atoms and Molecules (SAM) project at the Concord Consortium. These materials were specifically designed to support a deeper understanding of science made possible through interactive computer simulations and the new physics-chemistry-biology sequence. Connections will be made between the models students use to learn science and possible careers in research and industry where computer modeling is used.

Paul Strode describes the HHMI BioInteractive Click and Learn activity on DNA sequencing and phylogenetic trees. He describes how it teaches students DNA sequence alignment, and how those sequence differences allow researchers to determine relationships between species. Visit www.biointeractive.org/phylo-tree to use the interactive resource, and to find related materials. Subscribe to the BioInteractive YouTube channel to get the latest educator tips!

In March 2005 High Tech High received a $250,000 grant from the California Department of Education to disseminate project-based learning methods to teachers in non-charter public schools. As part of the project, High Tech High teachers have documented successful projects to share with collaborating teachers from local districts and across the HTH network. The current volume presents the fruits of these labors. The aim is simple: to offer practitioners useful, easily adaptable models of real projects.

This flipped clicker case study explores the fascinating relationship between the Arizona Bark Scorpion (the most venomous scorpion in North America) and the Southern Grasshopper Mouse. Initially it would seem that the grasshopper mouse is no match for the scorpion's venom; however, the grasshopper mouse is easily able to eat the scorpion and is largely immune to the scorpion's sting. By working through this case study, students learn about neuron anatomy and physiology as they explore how the grasshopper mouse is able to survive the scorpion's venom. This case study was developed for an introductory biology course for majors, but it could also be used in an introductory biology course for non-majors or in an anatomy and physiology course. The case requires that students learn basic neuron anatomy and action potential physiology prior to class by reading their textbook or by watching videos on the subjects. An optional set of guided questions tailored to Campbell Biology (10th ed.) is included in the teaching notes.

This case study provides an overview of the seminal experimental work that led to the discovery of DNA structure and the confirmation of the semi-conservative model of DNA replication. By guiding students through a chronological series of historic experiments and discussing some of the collaborations and controversies involved in the original research, students learn about the history and nature of science in addition to several important biological concepts. A number of recommended videos, including one created by the author, enable instructors to use the "flipped-classroom" mode of instruction according to which students read primary literature and watch videos on their own before group discussions and activities. The case study was developed for use in an introductory undergraduate biology course, and would also be appropriate for use in a high school biology course. Some prior knowledge or instruction may be required, depending on the level and learning objectives of the course.

"Performance-based learning and assessment represent a set of strategies for the acquisition and application of knowledge, skills, and work habits through the performance of tasks that are meaningful and engaging to students."

This interrupted case study examines basic concepts of chemical bonding by telling the story of "Madison," a young girl eager to learn how her hair can transition from natural curls to straight, smooth tresses. The case can be used to teach or review the major categories of bonds (ionic, covalent and hydrogen), major macromolecules of life, and hydrolytic and dehydration reactions. It also explores how chemical relaxers and heat through blow drying and flat-ironing can change the nature of straight, wavy and curly hair through the disruption of protein shape. Students will thus learn what it means when a protein has become denatured and how various variables such as pH, heat and salts can lead to the unraveling of the three-dimensional shape of proteins. This case is suitable for an AP high school course, or for an introductory biology or chemistry course for majors or non-majors. This activity can also be used as a review of basic biology and chemistry for students in an upper-level biochemistry course.

This flipped case study is formatted as a PowerPoint presentation that uses group experimentation to encourage active learning in a large science classroom. There are options for using either wet bench experimentation or an online simulation, depending on the class goals. Students learn about plant transpiration and how it affects normal plant processes (photosynthesis). The basics of transpiration are covered in an animated video viewed outside of class. The experiment and/or simulation of transpiration can be conducted in or out of class. If the class is very large, the instructor may choose to assign the experiment/simulation for outside of class (post-video) and have the students bring their data to class, or the instructor may choose to just present the students with a data set from which they can work with their groups in class. At the end, students should be able to define transpiration, explain climate effects on transpiration rates, and how transpiration rates affect the overall physiology of the plant itself, through their own hypothesis design and experimentation.

Find out how researchers identify genetic diseases and determine possible treatments. short film, genes as medicine click and learn, central dogma scientists at work, the search for a mutated gene central dogma card activity animation, CF mechanism and treatment click and learn. CRISPR-Cas9

This directed case study was developed to introduce students to the CRISPR-Cas9 system for genome editing. CRISPR-Cas9 has made numerous headlines in both the scientific and popular press, and thus serves as an excellent model for learning current biotechnology and applying concepts from biology courses. After providing a general overview of CRISPR-Cas9, the majority of the case focuses on the clinical applications of the system as experienced by a carrier for the X-linked recessive allele underlying Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The case is structured so that students use a variety of popular and scientific sources (some of which may require a subscription to access-check with your institution), increasing in difficulty as they move through each part of the case. The goals are for students to learn the molecular mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas9, the benefits and limitations of the system, and the clinical applications of the technology. Open-ended questions are included to spark discussion of ethical considerations, societal impacts, and the overall implications of the technology.