This WebQuest has students examine how to search the internet wisely when researching and how to evaluate a source. Students choose one of five topics which has a variety of articles they read and evaluate. A final quiz evaluates their understanding.
This research article provides the details of a current immunotherapy study performed by scientists at MIT. Immunotherapy is a relatively new and very promising cancer treatment that is now a focus of many cancer research labs. The article discusses what immunotherapy is, how T cell activation works, and how the treatment has eliminated some tumors in mice. As an interactive activity, students can practice making annotations in the margins of the article to check for understanding. Overall, students who read and dissect this article are learning how to comprehend complex biomedical research studies. As a supplemental activity, teachers can distribute the worksheet quiz posted in WISELearn. This set of questions (true/false, fill in the blank, multiple choice, short answer) assesses the students' comprehension levels of the current MIT immunotherapy research. An answer key is provided. The skills learned from investigating this article can hopefully be used to investigate other current biomedical research for human diseases and disorders.
Students conduct Internet research to investigate the purpose and current functioning status of some of the largest dams throughout the world. They investigate the success or failure of eight dams and complete a worksheet. While researching the dams, they also gain an understanding of the scale of these structures by recording and comparing their reservoir capacities. Students come to understand that dams, like all engineered structures, have a finite lifespan and require ongoing maintenance and evaluation for their usefulness.
Meet the Data Decoders—a team of scientists at the Solís-Lemus Lab who use math and computers to interpret huge amounts of data from biological experiments.
Resources available for learning about this lab include:
• Interactive cards designed to introduce students to scientists in a more personal way
• A video with a personal story that explains why the lab's research matters in real life
• Questions to consider that will spark connection, reflection, and conversation
• An interactive video experience where you can ask questions of scientists in the lab and learn about their research
• An inquiry-based activity that focuses on doing science, using some of the same science practices that the lab uses
• An educator guide with information about standards alignment, curriculum connections, and tips for using the media resources
These resources are part of Meet the Lab, a collection of educational resources for middle school science classrooms.
Through Internet research, patent research, standards and codes research, user interviews (if possible) and other techniques (idea web, reverse engineering), students further develop the context for their design challenge. In subsequent activities, the design teams use this body of knowledge about the problem to generate product design ideas. (Note: Conduct this activity in the context of a design project that students are working on, which could be a challenge determined by the teacher, brainstormed with the class, or the example project challenge provided [to design a prosthetic arm that can perform a mechanical function]. This activity is Step 2 in a series of six that guide students through the engineering design loop.)
This course examines the growing importance of medicine in culture, economics and politics. It uses an historical approach to examine the changing patterns of disease, the causes of morbidity and mortality, the evolution of medical theory and practice, the development of hospitals and the medical profession, the rise of the biomedical research industry, and the ethics of health care in America.
This course presents an examination of ethical issues relevant to systems-based research procedures, professional conduct, social and environmental impacts, and embedded values in research and practice. The course is comprised of 8 lessons. Lessons are divided into case-based modules and a final project. Lessons 1 and 2 provide a conceptual base for engaging systems ethics. Lessons 3 through 8 are case studies of ethical issues that can arise when engaging renewable energy and sustainability systems. Your final project will be to develop an ethics case-study based on your area of interests.
Urban governance comprises the various forces, institutions, and movements that guide economic and physical development, the distribution of resources, social interactions, and other aspects of daily life in urban areas. This course examines governance from legal, political, social, and economic perspectives. In addition, we will discuss how these structures constrain collective decision making about particular urban issues (immigration, educationŰ_). Assignments will be nightly readings and a short paper relating an urban issue to the frameworks outlined in the class.
Students will research what it takes to open a Franchise. From startup costs and building requirements to support and how much of profits get returned to corporate. Students learn a lot from this project. A fun idea is to bring in a franchise owner to speak to the class prior to assigning this project.
Students continue the research begun in the associated lesson as if they were biomedical engineers working for a pharmaceutical company. Groups each perform a simple chemical reaction (to precipitate solid calcium out of solution) to observe what may occur when Osteopontin levels drop in the body. With this additional research, students determine potential health complications that might arise from a new drug that could reduce inflammatory pain in many patients, improving their quality of life. The goal of this activity is to illustrate biomedical engineering as medical problem solving, as well as emphasize the importance of maintaining normal body chemistry.
Good researchers have a host of tools at their disposal that make navigating today’s complex information ecosystem much more manageable. Gaining the knowledge, abilities, and self-reflection necessary to be a good researcher helps not only in academic settings, but is invaluable in any career, and throughout one’s life. The Information Literacy User’s Guide will start you on this route to success.The Information Literacy User’s Guide is based on two current models in information literacy: The 2011 version of The Seven Pillars Model, developed by the Society of College, National and University Libraries in the United Kingdom and the conception of information literacy as a metaliteracy, a model developed by one of this book’s authors in conjunction with Thomas Mackey, Dean of the Center for Distance Learning at SUNY Empire State College. These core foundations ensure that the material will be relevant to today’s students.The Information Literacy User’s Guide introduces students to critical concepts of information literacy as defined for the information-infused and technology-rich environment in which they find themselves. This book helps students examine their roles as information creators and sharers and enables them to more effectively deploy related skills. This textbook includes relatable case studies and scenarios, many hands-on exercises, and interactive quizzes.
The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) is a simple, but rigorous, step-by-step process designed to help students produce, improve, and strategize on how to improve their questioning techniques. The QFT allows students to practice three thinking abilities in one process: divergent, convergent and metacognitive thinking.
This lesson conveys core information about why air quality is important and how engineers tackle complex environmental problems—providing a foundation for the subsequent five activities. Students learn the basics about the structure of the Earth’s atmosphere, the types of pollutants that are present in the atmosphere (primary, secondary, gas-phase compounds, particulate matter), and the importance of air quality research. They are also introduced to some engineering concepts such as how air quality measurements are made and how control technologies work. A PowerPoint® presentation, teacher slide notes, blank vocabulary list, post-lecture quiz, homework handout, and a pre-unit STEM survey are provided. This lesson and its five associated activities are intended to prepare and guide students to take on their own research projects.
Introduction to the current research questions in phonological theory. Topics include: metrical and prosodic structure; features and their phonetic basis in speech; acquisition and parsing; phonological domains; morphology; and language change and reconstruction. Activities include problem solving, squibs, and data collection. The year-long Introduction to Phonology reviews at the graduate level fundamental notions of phonological analysis and introduces students to current debates, research and analytical techniques. The Fall term reviews issues pertaining to the nature of markedness and phonological representations - features, prosodies, syllables and stress - while the second term deals with the relation between the phonological component and the lexicon, morphology and syntax. The second term course will also treat in more detail certain phonological phenomena.
This webfolio is a follow-up assignment to an Honors English unit on Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achiebe. In this webfolio, students will take on the role of social scientists interested in learning more about the life of Africans in different parts of the continent. They will each have different aspects of African culture and life to research.The webfolio format emphasizes the power of teamwork and the Internet to learn all about an area of Africa. Each team will learn about one region of the continent, and then they will come together to get a better understanding of Africa as a whole by participating in and observing classroom presentations. The culminating project combines individual research and informational genre format into a first-person travel diary, imagining an actual trip through each region of Africa.
Students research particular types of lasers and find examples of how they are used in technology today. Teams present their findings by means of PowerPoint presentations, videos or brochures. The class takes notes on the presentations using a provided handout. This activity prepares students for the "go public" phase of the legacy cycle in which they solve the grand challenge by designing and producing a laser-based security system.
In this multidisciplinary lesson, students examine stereotypes about people with physical disabilities. Using clips from Still Tomorrow, a documentary about Chinese poet Yu Xiuhua, who has cerebral palsy, students will gain awareness of the clues they use to judge people. To better understand Yu’s condition, they’ll conduct research about cerebral palsy and write an “advice blog” addressing stereotypes about people with disabilities. As part of that research, students will consider how they choose what to click on when they do online searches.
My Next Move is an interactive tool for job seekers and students to learn more about their career options. My Next Move has tasks, skills, salary information, and more for over 900 different careers. Users can find careers through keyword search; by browsing industries that employ different types of workers; or through the O*NET Interest Profiler, a tool that offers personalized career suggestions based on a person's interests and level of work experience.
This resources is intended for schools and districts to investigate evidence-based improvement strategies to determine the type of research (if it meets the requirements within ESSA), the size of the research, the population and setting, and the results of the research.
This textbook guides students through rhetorical and assignment analysis, the writing process, researching, citing, rhetorical modes, and critical reading. Guided by Oregon's statewide college writing outcomes, this book collects previously published articles, essays, and chapters released under Creative Commons licenses into one free textbook available for online access or print-on-demand.