Tag Archives: relevance

“Surprisingly Awesome” podcasts

Posted on May 17, 2016 by nonmajorsbiology

What do broccoli, pigeons, frequent flyer miles, and mattresses have in common? They are all subjects of “Surprisingly Awesome” podcasts. I just listened to the one on broccoli, and I was really impressed. I love resources that help students see … Continue reading →

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Return of the “Clever Cockroaches”

Posted on February 19, 2016 by nonmajorsbiology

Longtime followers of my blog may remember that nearly two years ago I wrote a post about the misrepresentation of natural selection and evolution in headlines and news stories. In the study that prompted the post, researchers found that coating … Continue reading →

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Good Teaching, Italian Style

Posted on June 9, 2015 by nonmajorsbiology

Good teaching comes in many forms. Most of the time, I focus on good biology teaching, but on a recent trip to Italy I got to expand my horizons. In May, three colleagues and I were faculty leaders for a … Continue reading →

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What Good Is It to Know Biology? Study Says: Not Much!

Posted on April 3, 2015 by nonmajorsbiology

The March 2015 edition of The American Biology Teacher features a research article by Alla Keselman et al., entitled “The Relationship between Biology Classes and Biological Reasoning and Common Health Misconceptions.” (ABT has kindly posted a free PDF of the … Continue reading →

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Ramblings From a First-Semester Nonmajors Biology Professor

Posted on January 6, 2015 by nonmajorsbiology

This is a guest post by Naima Montacer, who just finished her first semester as an Adjunct Biology Professor at Mountain View College in Dallas, Texas. To learn more about her wildlife and environmental adventures, visit her website at EnviroAdventures.com … Continue reading →

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Two Outstanding Videos: One for Natural Selection and One for the Genome

Posted on May 2, 2014 by nonmajorsbiology

My recent post about natural selection misconceptions prompted a comment from a colleague who endorsed the educational value of Howard Hughes Medical Institute videos and learning materials. I spent some time on HHMI’s BioInteractive site to see what I could … Continue reading →

Posted in Engaging students, Evolution, Learning at home, Teaching, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Citizen Science” That Could Save Lives

Posted on March 11, 2014 by nonmajorsbiology

If a few minutes of your time could help researchers discover a new antibiotic or cancer treatment, wouldn’t you willingly devote that time? It really might turn out to be that easy! Recently, my class was fortunate enough to visit … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Assignments, Citizen science, Collaboration, Engaging students, Laboratory activities, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Final Quiz, Part III: What Left Me Wanting More

Posted on December 19, 2013 by nonmajorsbiology

Earlier this week I posted part II of the final pop quiz I give to my nonmajors biology class. By now, you probably already know that the quiz asks three questions: What was the most important thing you learned about … Continue reading →

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Final Quiz, Part II: What I’ll Never Forget

Posted on December 14, 2013 by nonmajorsbiology

In last week’s post I described the final pop quiz I give to my nonmajors biology class. To recap, the quiz asks three questions: What was the most important thing you learned about biology this semester? What is something you … Continue reading →

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Final Quiz, Part I: The Most Important Thing

Posted on December 9, 2013 by nonmajorsbiology

Last Thursday was the last class of the semester for my nonmajors biology class. For their last pop quiz, I asked three questions: What was the most important thing you learned about biology this semester? What is something you think … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Assignments, Engaging students, Teaching | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments