Category Archives: Teaching

Raise Your Hand: How Do You Start the Semester on the Right Foot?

Posted on August 31, 2018 by

Years ago, I published my best idea for semester prep, a checklist that has proved to be an audience favorite. Over the past 5 years, many readers have asked for my checklist, which I have freely shared. I was knee-deep … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Engaging students, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Another Way to Connect Selection, Phenotype, and Genotype

Posted on May 31, 2018 by

Now that it’s summer, I’m catching up on my American Biology Teacher backlog. I found this interesting-looking activity by Janina Jördens and three coauthors in the February 2018 issue. The title of the article says it all: “Interrelating Concepts from … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Laboratory activities, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Antibiotic resistance in the lab … with actual bacteria!

Posted on April 1, 2018 by

Apparently my post on the antibiotic resistance activity using green, yellow, and red beads was a big hit with instructors, because lots of people want a copy of the worksheet. I have been happy to oblige, and now I want … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Laboratory activities, Microbiology, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Selling the laptop ban: An activity

Posted on September 9, 2017 by

In my last blog post, I reported introducing a new no-laptop policy in my nonmajors biology class. We just finished week 3, and things are going well — there has been no pushback, and I really enjoy looking out at … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

A laptop ban at last

Posted on August 29, 2017 by

More than three years ago, I wrote a blog post about the debate over allowing cell phones and laptops in class. In the blog post, I summarized a study by Mueller and Oppenheimer showing that students who took notes on … Continue reading →

Posted in Instructional technology, Teaching | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Radiometric Dating: Need to Practice?

Posted on May 18, 2017 by

Last year, we posted a video explaining how to do three types of radiometric dating problems; we wrote about it in this blog post. I am pleased to report that the prodigious Matt Taylor has now released an activity with … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Chemistry, Instructional technology, Teaching, Videos | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

One Good Clicker Tip

Posted on April 26, 2017 by

The end of the semester is not a great time to introduce a tip for using clickers; I am sure this post would have been more useful in January! But I can’t control when ideas for blog posts drop into … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Engaging students, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Your Students

Posted on April 7, 2017 by

This semester, I’ve been reading a lot about teaching with a growth mindset. I wrote about this topic at the end of last semester in a blog post called At the End, I’m Looking to the Start. Since that time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Study skills, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Reblogging: GMOs vs. Artificial Selection

Posted on March 28, 2017 by

The Ricochet Science blog post below—written by a talented college senior—is an interesting introduction to the difference between GMOs and organisms that are the products of artificial selection. I want to share it with you because it’s informative and entertaining, … Continue reading →

Posted in Engaging students, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

TED-Ed video: The Cancer Gene We All Have

Posted on February 28, 2017 by

My friend and colleague Michael Windelspecht recently produced a useful video about cancer. Complete with compelling animations, narration, and analogies, it’s a great launching point for in-class group work or for a homework assignment. The video’s explanations span from genetics … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, Videos | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment