Tag: learning

  • DNA Lesson Using PTC as an Anchoring Phenomenon

    DNA Lesson Using PTC as an Anchoring Phenomenon

    Describes how using anchoring phenomenon can improve lessons on teaching DNA and how the sequence of DNA determines structure and function.

  • Comparing a Human and Bird Skeleton (Guided Learning)

    Comparing a Human and Bird Skeleton (Guided Learning)

    Use google slides to label bird and human skeletons. Compare similarities and differences between leg bones of each species.

  • Animal Reproduction and the Egg – Guided Learning

    Animal Reproduction and the Egg – Guided Learning

    Guided learning activity to compare the reproductive strategies of groups of vertebrates, focusing on the amniote egg and placental mammals.

  • Construct a Chordate Cladogram – Guided Learning

    Construct a Chordate Cladogram – Guided Learning

    Students learn how to construct a cladogram with this guided learning activity that focuses on the chordate group.

  • Heart Anatomy for Remote Learners

    Heart Anatomy for Remote Learners

    Students learn about the heart with these activities designed for remote learners. Label the heart with a drag-and-drop activity or a printed one.

  • Muscles: Guided Learning

    Muscles: Guided Learning

    This activity was created for distance learning during the 2020 pandemic as a substitution for traditional dissections and lessons that involve identifying the muscles and their function. Each slide has descriptions and images with a task for students to perform, such as labeling a diagram (based on the description) or answering questions about the muscles.…

  • Brain Label (Remote)

    Brain Label (Remote)

    This brain labeling activity was created for remote learners as an alternative to the labeling and coloring worksheet we would traditionally do in class. Instead of coloring and labeling on printouts, students use google slides to drag labels to the images or type the answers into text boxes. The slides do not have labeled diagrams…

  • Neuroglia Labeling with Google Slides

    Neuroglia Labeling with Google Slides

    Save paper by assigning labeling worksheets on Google Classroom. Instead of writing in labels, students drag and drop the labels to the appropriate area on the image. The labeling focuses on the neuron and supporting neuroglia (or glial) cells. These cells provide provide physical and metabolic support to neurons. Neuroglia cells are different from nerve…

  • Investigation: Mitosis

    Investigation: Mitosis

    This mitosis investigation was created during the 2020 pandemic for remote learning. In previous years, biology students would view slides in the lab and analyze data on cancer and mitotic index. This at-home activity only looks at the mitosis of onion cells and I plan to add cancer and mitotic index as a separate activity.…

  • Case Study – Mitosis, Cancer, and the HPV Vaccine

    Case Study – Mitosis, Cancer, and the HPV Vaccine

    Students in my anatomy class get a quick review of the cell and mitosis. This activity on HPV shows how the cell cycle relates to overall health. In fact, many of the chapters in anatomy have anchoring phenomena on diseases and health. For example, cystic fibrosis is a cellular transport problem, but has serious effects…

  • Skeleton Label Using Slides

    Skeleton Label Using Slides

    Many students in health, anatomy, and biology classes learn the bones of the skeleton. To introduce the topic with my anatomy students, I usually lay random bones on the tables. Students guess where the bone is found in the body. Some are easy, like the femur. The scapula usually stumps them. It can be a…

  • Can Plants Learn?

    Can Plants Learn?

    An experiment to determine if plants could learn by association Identify key features, such as variables, controls. Based on a real experiment in Nature.com.

  • Is Group Work Really Effective?

    Is Group Work Really Effective?

    I was out for a day last week and left a case study for my anatomy students.  The case was about six pages long and starts with a doctor examining a pregnant woman and hearing what he thought was a heart murmur in the fetus.   The pages build upon each other, asking students to…

  • Writing to Learn – A Common Core Standard

    Writing to Learn – A Common Core Standard

    A collection of activities for students to use writing assignments to engage in lessons and learn scientific concepts.

  • Are Exit Tickets a Good Way to Assess Understanding?

    Are Exit Tickets a Good Way to Assess Understanding?

    My genetics unit for Freshman Biology always starts with a history lesson on Mendel and our understanding of heredity at that time.   One of the main themes of this lesson is a comparison between two ways of thinking about inheritance and two competing theories:    The Particulate Theory and the Blending Theory. Students struggle…