All resources in LOUIS Curation Team: STEM and Health Sciences

Search

Using Insects in the Classroom

(View Complete Item Description)

Insects are an excellent resource for science education. Many insects are easily maintained in the classroom and can happily thrive despite being handled and kept in captivity. The remarkable diversity in form and function of commonly found insects promotes interest and enthusiasm in observing the natural world. Insects can also be used to model a variety of scientific principles. The objectives of this page are to give educators basic information about insects and ideas on how to use insects in the classroom.

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Stephanie Bailey

Histology Laboratory Drawings

(View Complete Item Description)

The Histology Laboratory Drawings resource contains 104 hand drawn sketches by Dr. Christensen for the laboratory sessions he conducted in the Medical Histology Course for first year medical students. The drawings were done with felt markers on a white board in the lab during the morning of the day a particular topic was being studied in the course. When the laboratory session began, the drawings were briefly discussed, and they could be seen by the students throughout the laboratory period.You can view the drawings individually on flickr, or you can download the full collection of drawings by navigating to the materials tab.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration

Author: A. Kent Christensen

Endocrine

(View Complete Item Description)

The Endocrine Sequence teaches the basic principles of hormone secretion and action and the clinical disorders which result from abnormalities of hormonal activity. Students are expected to be familiar with the functions of the endocrine glands, the structure, secretion and action of the important hormones, and the major clinical endocrine disorders. Emphasis will be placed on understanding pathophysiology and being able to use general principles in endocrine phsyiology (e.g. negative feedback) or in the management of endocrine disorders (e.g., insulin management) in consideration of specific circumstances and clinical cases.

Material Type: Full Course

Authors: Arno K. Kumagai, Thomas J. Giordano

Immunology basics

(View Complete Item Description)

This is a module framework. It can be viewed online or downloaded as a zip file. As taught Autumn semester 2009. Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The body fights infection through the functions of the immune system, whose power has been harnessed by the development of vaccination (immunisation). Suitable for study at: Undergraduate levels 1 and 2. Dr Ian Todd, School of Molecular Medical Sciences. Dr Ian Todd is Associate Professor & Reader in Cellular Immunopathology at The University of Nottingham. After reading Biochemistry at The University of Oxford, he carried out research for his PhD in Immunology at University College London. He then undertook post-doctoral research at The Oregon Health Sciences University and The Middlesex Hospital Medical School. His main research interest is in the molecular and cellular bases of autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a recipient of the Lord Dearing Award for Teaching & Learning. Important Copyright Information: All images, tables and figures in this resource were reproduced from 'Lecture Notes Immunology' April 2010, 6th Edition, published by Wiley-Blackwell and with full permission of the co-author and faculty member, Dr Ian Todd. No image, table or figure in this resource can be reproduced without prior permission from publishers Wiley-Blackwell.

Material Type: Syllabus

Author: Dr Ian Todd

Molecular Biology Concepts and Activities

(View Complete Item Description)

This overview reviews key concepts and learning activities to help students understand how genes influence our traits by molecular processes. Topics covered include basic understanding of the important roles of proteins and DNA; DNA structure, function and replication; the molecular biology of how genes influence traits, including transcription and translation; and the molecular biology of mutations. To help students understand the relevance of these molecular processes, the suggested learning activities link alleles of specific genes to human characteristics such as albinism, sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy. This overview provides links to suggested activities which include hands-on laboratory and simulation activities, web-based simulations, discussion activities and a vocabulary review game.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Game, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Author: Ingrid Waldron

Cell and Molecular Biology: What We Know & How We Found Out

(View Complete Item Description)

Like most introductory science textbooks, this one opens with a discussion of scientific method. A key feature is its focus on experimental support for what we know about cell and molecular biology. Understanding how science is practiced and how investigators think about experimental results is essential to understanding the relationship of cell structure and function…, not to mention our relationship to the natural world. This is a free Open Education Resource (OER), covered by a Creative Commons CCBY license (check out the Preface!). Every chapter begins with learning objectives and links to relevant recorded lectures. As used by the author, the iText engages students with embedded “just-in-time” learning tools. These include instructor’s annotations (comments) directing students to animations or text of interest, as well as links to writing assignments and quizzes. These interactive features aim to strengthen critical thinking and writing skills necessary to understand cell and molecular biology, not to mention science as a way of thinking in general. Please excuse the marketing terms, but you can choose between Bronze, Silver, or Gold versions, reflecting increasing potential for student interaction with the iText. Download your choice of the iText or the sample chapter at one of the links below.

Material Type: Lecture, Textbook

Author: Gerald Bergtrom

Virtual Textbook of Organic Chemistry

(View Complete Item Description)

This virtual textbook allows for visualization of 3D-molecular models while teaching principles of Organic Chemistry. Before his retirement in 1999, Professor William Reusch began working on a virtual organic chemistry textbook that could be used by anyone with an interest in the subject. On this site, visitors can take advantage of his labors, and the introduction to this important subject offered on the homepage is a great place to start. After entering the main area of the site, visitors will find two columns of links that serve as the main table of contents. There are over twenty five topics covered here, and they include aromaticity, alkyl halides, alcohols, and amines. Each area contains lucid text accompanied by well-organized diagrams. Additionally, the site contains practice problems, incorporated into the text, along with links to external institutions such as the University of Wisconsin that offer additional problems. One area that shouldn't be missed is the "Chemicals and Society" area. Here visitors will find a narrative essay that addresses how the incorporation of different chemicals into air, water, and soil may affect human society over time.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: William Reusch

Organic Chemistry

(View Complete Item Description)

Organic Chemistry research involves the synthesis of organic molecules and the study of their reaction paths, interactions, and applications. Advanced interests include diverse topics such as the development of new synthetic methods for the assembly of complex organic molecules and polymeric materials, organometallic catalysis, organocatalysis, the synthesis of natural and non-natural products with unique biological and physical properties, structure and mechanistic analysis, natural product biosynthesis, theoretical chemistry and molecular modeling, diversity-oriented synthesis, and carbohydrate synthesis.

Material Type: Textbook

Molecular Workbench

(View Complete Item Description)

Created by the Concord Consortium, the Molecular Workbench is "a modeling tool for designing and conducting computational experiments across science." First-time visitors can check out one of the Featured Simulations to get started. The homepage contains a number of curriculum modules which deal with chemical bonding, semiconductors, and diffusion. Visitors can learn how to create their own simulations via the online manual, which is available here as well. The Articles area is quite helpful, as it contains full-text pieces on nanoscience education, quantum chemistry, and a primer on how transistors work. A good way to look over all of the offerings here is to click on the Showcase area. Here visitors can view the Featured simulations, or look through one of five topical sections, which include Biotech and Nanotechnology. Visitors will need to install the free Molecular Workbench software, which is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive

Author: Concord Consortium Inc.

1: Measurements in the Laboratory (Experiment)

(View Complete Item Description)

Chemistry is the study of matter. Our understanding of chemical processes thus depends on our ability to acquire accurate information about matter. Often, this information is quantitative, in the form of measurements. In this lab, you will be introduced to some common measuring devices, and learn how to use them to obtain correct measurements, each with correct precision. A metric ruler will be used to measure length in centimeters (cm).

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Textbook

Author: Santa Monica College

Analytical Chemistry

(View Complete Item Description)

Analytical chemistry spans nearly all areas of chemistry but involves the development of tools and methods to measure physical properties of substances and apply those techniques to the identification of their presence (qualitative analysis) and quantify the amount present (quantitative analysis) of species in a wide variety of settings.

Material Type: Textbook

Population 2: The Ecological Footprint

(View Complete Item Description)

This video describes the ecological footprint and its limitation. It goes into some depth on the computation on the footprint and what it means for the global population. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

Material Type: Lecture Notes

Author: Linda Vanasupa