Bring Biology to Life
by Stephen Nowicki, Ph.D.

Stephen Nowicki is dean of natural sciences and professor of Biology, Psychology, and Neurobiology at Duke University, and is also author of McDougal Littell Biology.

One of the most effective strategies to engage and motivate students is to connect the subject to students' daily life. All too often, students think that success in a biology course comes from memorizing facts and terms, yet they have no personal connection to motivate their interest or imagination. Biology offers a unique opportunity to engage students because almost everything in today's world is affected by biological discoveries. But identifying 'cool connections' and constructing meaningful bridges to the underlying biology takes time that many teachers don't have.

Top ten topics to pique students' interest in biology:

1. Building a better mosquito (Genomics)
   Mosquitoes will always bite, but genetically engineering the insects to prevent the spread of disease may be a way to maintain ecosystem balance while making a bite just itch.
2. "I vant to bite your neck" (Ecology)
   Vampire bats drink the blood of their victims to survive, but they also share the blood they have consumed with less fortunate bats. Why?
3. Polar bears can't swim forever (Ecology)
   Polar Bears on a diet? Not by their own choice. Skinny polar bears are now the norm in the arctic because climate change is shrinking the ice patches the bears depend on for hunting, and they have to commute further for a meal.
4. CSI: Entomology (Ecology)
   How can the growth and development of insect larvae help convict a murderer? How does forensic science use nature to fight crime?
5. Me and my biological shadow (Diversity of Life)
   Imagine removing all of your cells, skin, organs, and bones. What is left? Bacteria. Billions of them. Without bacteria, our lives would be much more difficult, if not impossible. How does bacteria make our lives easier, and harder?
6. How does that lizard walk on the ceiling? (Biology in the 21st Century)
   The wonders of natural selection have led to a tiny lizard, whose feet are made of millions of tiny hairs that allow them to defy gravity and walk virtually anywhere they want. Today, scientists are using this feat to create the "ultimate Velcro."
7. The ultimate lie-detector? (Biology in the 21st Century)
   How is brain imaging being used to explore the physiological changes that take place when expressing emotions?
8. Neanderthals 'R' Us (Genomics)
   Recently, anthropologists found a thirty-thousand-year-old hip bone of a Neanderthal still containing viable DNA. By decoding the genome of our ancestors the Neanderthal, scientists may learn how humans evolved.
9. What happened to Einstein's brain? (Human Biology)
   How could you lose a brain? After being preserved, Albert Einstein's brain has been lost and found numerous times. What could the structural peculiarities of this famous organ tell us about ourselves?
10. Who's your daddy? (Animal Physiology)
    Is it possible for a lizard to clone itself? Learn the story of how one famous Komodo dragon did just that to keep her, er, his, family alive.

Stimulate Science Discussion in Class and Follow-up Online
by Richard Tormey

Richard Tormey, science teacher at J. P. Case Middle School in Flemington, New Jersey, created Internet discovery sheets to develop students' research skills, keep them abreast of current scientific events, and encourage them to delve into subject matter online after class discussion.

It's imperative to ask students better questions, questions that dig deeper. Even when my students give me the right answer, they know I'm going to ask, 'Why?' For example, if I ask my students if the greenhouse effect is a good thing or a bad thing, I'll allow time for them to think, and then call on a student who will usually say the greenhouse effect is bad. Regardless of the answer, I always ask the student to explain his or her answer. I'll then instruct students to do a think-pair-share type of activity, give them about one minute to discuss the question within their group, and identify a spokesperson to share their answer with the class. The interactive classroom discussion is followed by the Internet discovery activity—which leads them to determine the difference between the naturally occurring 'greenhouse effect' and human-induced 'global warming' on their own.

Sample Internet discovery exercises for environmental pollution:

Instructions: Use the sites found on our eighth-grade curriculum links webpage or do your own search to answer the following questions (please cite sources):

• How much of the water on Earth is useable, or potable, for human consumption? Please answer with a percentage.
• Where did the water on Earth come from? How was it formed?
• Where did the Earth's atmosphere come from?
• What are the worldwide reserves in terms of years for the three forms of nonrenewable fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas)?
• What do you think is/are the most serious form(s) of environmental pollution caused by humankind and why?
• Give at least three steps we (humankind) should take to begin correcting some of the most serious environmental pollution problems we face.
• What is the major form of pollution created by humankind that is the main contributor to global warming?

Algebra Toolkits That Last a Lifetime
by Trevis French

Trevis French, eighth-grade teacher at Joe Walker Middle School in Quartz Hill, California, developed a toolkit concept for his beginning algebra students.

I ask my students to create individual toolkits that cover the key concepts of beginning algebra. It's formatted like a math encyclopedia so students can look important information up quickly instead of digging through their notes. My former students and their parents tell me that they still use their toolkits in high school and beyond. It's common for students to forget early algebraic concepts as they build on their learning foundation. With their toolkit, they can easily reference their own definitions, rules, and examples to jog their memory.

Toolkit requirements:

• Table of contents in alphabetical order with page numbers and references
• A complete tool has
  1. a heading
  2. tool description similar to an opening statement
  3. algebraic rule/procedure
  4. examples demonstrating the solution process
• Written in ink
• Creative design, including use of color

Click here to view a toolkit created by one of Trevis French's students.