If there is one thing the world would likely agree on, it’s that social media has become a dominant part. of our society. It’s integral to our daily lives—whether it be trends, comedy, makeup routines, financial advice, travel recommendations, and so much more. Yet many people consider scrolling an act that eventually causes "brain rot"— a term defined as mental fog or decline from consuming too much low-quality, mindless content.
Category: Biology
Engaging Biology Students with RNA Storytelling
Thomas R. Cech, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989. His book The Catalyst (2024) is available now in paperback. You can request an exam copy for your courses at the end of the article. I’ve taught several thousand college students …
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What It Takes to Make Scientific Discoveries Happen
Dr. Elisabeth Adkins Marnik, PhD, is the Science Education & Outreach Director at MDI Biological Laboratory and the Chief Scientific Officer of Those Nerdy Girls.
The Importance of Failing Forward in Science and Beyond
When I asked a group of college instructors how their students responded to setbacks in their courses, the responses were familiar: increasing disengagement and absence, avoidance of assignments, cheating, and even anger. In all these cases, students are seeing mistakes/errors as off-ramps taking them away from the successful completion of a course of study. One of the most meaningful things an instructor can do is to flip that narrative, helping students see their mistakes/errors as on-ramps to more powerful and lasting learning.
Separating Science Fact from Science Fiction: Tools for Science Literacy
What gave rise to this seemingly sudden decline in scientific trust? In retrospect, the public’s misapprehension about the value and meaning of science and scientific consensus clearly reflects a failure of science education.
Science Education Needs Storytelling. Here’s Why.
An award-winning science writer based in Boston, Massachusetts, Megan Scudellari works with editors, scientists, and organizations to craft compelling science narratives. With fifteen years of journalism, editing, and content development experience, she specializes in the life sciences and technology, with expertise in genetics and cell biology. She is also the author of the nonmajors biology …
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How to Teach the Process of Science to Promote a Growth Mindset
Erin Baumgartner is an award-winning teacher and biology education researcher. She earned her PhD in zoology at the University of Hawai’i-Manoa, where she remained for an additional six years as a science curriculum developer and researcher. In 2008, she joined Western Oregon University, where she coordinated introductory biology and taught courses in vertebrate evolution and …
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Joining Janeway’s: An Interview with Leslie Berg
What is it like to join a renowned textbook team? When authoring a textbook or assessment, what is important to include? What do you want students to take away? Norton Biology recently sat down with Leslie Berg, chair of immunology and microbiology at Colorado University School of Medicine and new coauthor of Janeway’s Immunobiology to discuss …
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Improve Student Engagement by Ditching Classroom Traditions
M. Chad Smith works as science coordinator and biology professor for Beaufort County Community College (BCCC) in North Carolina. He also teaches biology and environmental science courses as online adjunct faculty for Shaw University and Miller-Motte College. He discusses how he keeps his nonmajor biology students engaged by incorporating active learning in his classroom. One …
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Digitizing The Problems Book: An Interview with Tim Hunt and John Wilson
What happens when you take a pen-and-paper assignment and translate it to an online environment? What do you and your students give up and what do you gain? Norton Biology recently sat down with Tim Hunt and John Wilson, authors of the beloved Problems Book that accompanies Molecular Biology of the Cell, Sixth Edition, which …
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