Contemporary Issues in Biology: A Module for Teacher Training is a training module for teachers who will be teaching general biology. It is appropriate as a 3-hour college lab science course or as a 90-hour professional development workshop. The course is divided into four sections with a test for each. This can vary depending on the format of the professional development, the needs of the teachers, and the wishes of the professional development provider. The exams are not provided because of the public nature of websites.
The following is a syllabus for a 3-week summer workshop. Each day of the training module contains two lessons, a web-based investigation, and a wet-lab. Topic Update Articles and Lesson presentations were updated in 2009.
To view each Lesson, Topic Update Article, Lab, or Activity, you must download it to your computer.
All Lessons are available for download from this page as Powerpoint presentations. Topic Update Articles can be obtained using the(live link). Other resources are provided in presentation speaker notes.. All Labs and Activities are available for download as Microsoft Word documents. Click on the live links below (green text) to download the appropriate Lessons, Activities or Labs to your computer.
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Section I- Additional Articles and Lessons Update- 2009
Day 1
Introduction by the Professional Development Provider
Lesson
1: Introduction
No reading
Activity
1: The Web as a Scientific Resource
Popular Press Reading: "The Web Docs." Christine Gorman. Time,
April 3, 2000.
Popular Press Reading: "Hunting for Health." Katherine Hobson. U.S.
News & World Report, November 17, 2003.
Popular Press Reading: "Don’t Get Buried." Avery Comarow.
U.S. News & World Report, November 8, 2004.
Additional Resource: "Finding Trustworthy Medical Advice Online"- video and text November 2008 live link
Lab
1: Scientific Equipment
No reading
Day 2
Lesson
2: Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy
Popular Press Reading: "The End Of The Age of Estrogen." Geoffrey
Cowley and Karen Springer.
Newsweek, July 22, 2002.
Topic Update Articles: Women’s Health (2008) "Hormone therapy: Is it right for you?" Retrieved January 2009 from Mayo Clinic live link
"Menopause: Beyond Hot Flashes" Christine Gorman. Time, October 02, 2005. live link
"A Boost for Hormone Therapy" Christine Gorman. Time, June 20, 2007. live link
Activity
2: Breast Cancer
Popular Press Reading: "Rethinking Breast Cancer." Christine Gorman. Time, February 18, 2002.
Topic Update Articles: "Do Breast Self-Exams Work?" Christine Gorman. Time, October 14, 2002. live link
"Why Breast Cancer Is Spreading Around the World.” Kathleen Kingsbury. Time, October 7, 2007. live link
Lab
2: Cell Division
No reading
Lesson
3: Prostate Cancer
Popular Press Reading: "Prostate Dilemmas." Susan Brink, Josh Fischman.
U.S. News & World Report, May 22, 2000.
Topic Update Articles: “Prostate Cancer: Cut or Wait?” Christine Gorman, Time, September 23, 2002 live link
“What’s a Guy to Do? Reaction to Time Article by Christine Gorman, September 23, 2002”. Darracott Vaughn. Urological Sciences Research Foundation. live link
“Genes Increase Prostate Cancer Risk” Krista Mahr, Time, January 16, 2008 live link
Day 3
Lesson
4: Human Development and Stem Cells
Popular Press Reading: "Tweaking Nature’s Repair Kit." Joannie
Schrof Fischer.
U.S. News & World Report, June 12, 2000.
Topic Update Articles: “Stem Cells: The Hope and The Hype.” Nancy Gibbs. Time, June 30, 2006. live link
“Why the Stem Cell Advance May Not Be a Breakthrough.” Alice Park. Time, August 24, 2006. live link
“Scientists Reach Stem Cell Milestone.” Alice Park. Time, July 31, 2008. live link
Adult Stem Cells, National Institutes of Health web site live link
Activity
3: Human Reproduction & Teratogens
Popular Press Reading: "Cycle of Shame." Jeff Glasser.
U.S. News & World Report, May 20, 2002.
Topic Update Article: “What Alcohol Does to a Child.” Christine Gorman. Time, May 28, 2006. live link
Lab
3: Karyotyping
No reading
Lesson
5: DNA and the Human Genome Project
Popular Press Reading: We’ve Only Just Begun. Joannie Schrof
Fisher.
U.S. News & World Report, July 3, 2000.
Topic Update Articles: “The Race is Over.” Dick Thompson, Frederick Golden and Michael D. Lemonick. Time, July 3, 2000. live link
“The Secret of Life.” Nancy Gibbs. Time, February 17, 2003. live link
Day 4
Lesson
6: Individuality and Cloning
Popular Press Reading #1: "Dolly’s False Legacy." Ian Wilmut.
Time, January 11, 1999.
Popular Press Reading #2: "Send In The Clones?" Editors. U.S.
News & World Report, August 20, 2001.
Topic Update Article: “Scientists Clone Human Embryos.” Michael D. Lemonick. Time, January 17, 2008. live link
Activity
4: DNA Fingerprinting
Popular Press Reading: "DNA Detectives." Jeffrey Kluger. Time,
January 11, 1999.
Lab
4: DNA Isolation
No reading
Lesson
7: Genetic Disorders & Gene Therapy
Popular Press Reading: "Good Eggs, Bad Eggs." Frederic Golden. Time,
January 11, 1999.
Topic Update Article: “Monkey Business.” Michael D. Lemonick. Time, January 22, 2001. live link
Day 5
Lesson: Assessment I (Lessons & labs)
Section II Additional Articles and Lessons Update- 2009
Activity
5: Ulcers & the Digestive System
Popular Press Reading: Prescriptions: "How Your Doctor Makes The Choice."
Joseph P. Shapiro and Stacey Schultz. U.S. News & World Report,
February 19, 2001.
Lab
5: Digestive Enzymes
No reading
Lesson
8: Eating Disorders & the Digestive System
Popular Press Reading: "The Hunger Artists." Emily Sohn. U.S.
News & World Report, June 10, 2002.
Additional Resource: "The First National Survey on Eating Disorders" James Hudson, Harrison Pope, Cynthia Bulik. McLean Hospital Press Conference audio recording, January 31, 2007. live link
“Binge Eating More Common Than Other Eating Disorders, Survey Finds.” Science News, February 4, 2007. Retrieved February 2009 from live link
Day 6
Lesson
9: Alcohol’s Effects on the Heart and Liver
Popular Press Reading: "When Drinking Helps." Janet Raloff. Science
News, March 8, 2003.
Topic Update Article: Food & Nutrition (2009) "Alcohol use: Why moderation is key?" Retrieved February 2009 from Mayo Clinic live link
Activity
6: Heart Attacks
Popular Press Reading: Heart Attack: "What To Expect." Harvard
Health Letter, July 2002.
Lab
6: Respiration
No reading
Lesson
10: Circulatory System & Heart Disease
Popular Press Reading: "The No. 1 Killer Of Women." Christine Gorman.
Time, April 28, 2003.
Topic Update Articles: “Trans Fats.” American Heart Association Learn and Live, Updated January 2009.
live link
"Blowing A Gasket." Jeffrey Kluger and Missy Adams. Time, December 6, 2004. live link
"How New Heart-Scanning Technology Could Save Your Life." Christine Gorman and Alice Park. Time, April 28, 2005. live link
Day
7
Lesson 11: Smoking, Emphysema
and Lung Cancer
Popular Press Reading: "Let The Butt Stop Here." Harvard Health
Letter, October, 2003.
Topic Update Article: “The Deadliest Cancer.” Geoffrey Cowley and Cladia Kalb, Newsweek. August 22, 2005. live link
Activity
7: Weight Control And Diet Drugs
Popular Press Reading: "Weight Gain And Loss." Harvard Health
Letter, March 2001.
Lab 7: Smoking
No reading
Lesson
12: Diseases of the Endocrine System
Popular Press Reading: "The Silent Killer." Joannie Schrof. U.S.
News &World Report, April 12, 1999.
Topic Update Articles: “Why So Many of Us Are Getting Diabetes." Christine Gorman. Time, December 8, 2003.live link
“Study Boosts Low-Glycemic Diet." Alice Parks. Time, December 16, 2008.live link
Day 8
Lesson
13: Kidneys and the Urinary System
Popular Press Reading: "Urinary Tract Infection." Mayo Clinic
Health Letter, June 1999.
“Kidney Troubles: Black and White." David Bjerklie. Time, November 3, 2003. live link
Lesson: Assessment II (Lessons & labs)
Section III Additional Articles and Lessons Update- 2009
Activity
8: Drugs
Popular Press Reading: "Is Pot Good For You?" John Cloud. Time,
November 4, 2002.
Lab 8:
Dialysis
No reading
Lesson
14: Parasites and Disease
Popular Press Reading: "The season Of The tick: Lyme Disease Is Nothing
To Fool With But Its Easy To Prevent." Sanjay Gupta. Time, July
12, 2004.
Day 9
Lesson
15: Immune System, Viruses and Bacteria
Popular Press Reading: "Anatomy Of An Outbreak." Jeffrey Kluger.
Time, August 3, 1998.
Activity
9: Antibiotic Resistance
Popular Press Reading: "Battle Of The Bugs: Fighting Antibiotic Resistance."
Linda Bren.
FDA Consumer, July–August 2002.
Lab
9: Antibiotic Resistance
No reading
Lesson
16: Vaccines and Infectious Disease Prevention
Popular Press Reading: "Can We Kiss The Polio Scourge Goodbye?"
Leslie Roberts.
U.S. News & World Report, August 30, 1999.
Topic Update Article: "How Safe Are Vaccines." Alice Park. Time, May 29, 2008live link
Day 10
Lesson
17: HIV Infection and AIDS
Popular Press Reading: "Cruel Lessons From An Epidemic." Nell Boyce.
U.S. News & World Report, June, 2001.
Activity
10: Emerging Diseases: Ebola
Popular Press Reading: "How Progress Makes Us Sick: Advances That Make
Life More Comfortable Can Also Make It More Dangerous." Geoffrey Cowley.
Newsweek, May 5, 2003.
Lesson
18: Nervous System and Drug Addiction
Popular Press Reading: "Addicted: Why Do People Get Hooked?" Madeleine
Nash. Time, May 5, 1997.
Topic Update Article: "How We Get Addicted" Michael D. Lemonick. Time, July 5, 2007. live link
Day 11
Lesson
19: Skeletal-muscular System and Arthritis
Popular Press Reading: The Age Of Arthritis: We’re Headed For An Epidemic
Of Joint Disease: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself." Christine Gorman
and Alice Park. Time, December 9, 2002.
Activity
11: The Brain And Alzheimer's Disease
Popular Press Reading: "Memory Loss: When To Seek Help." MayoClinic.com.
Topic Update Article: “How to Live to be 100." Richard Corliss, Michael D. Lemonick, Alice Park, Melissa August, Anne Berryman, Hanna Kite, Chris Lambie, Jeff Israely, Francis X. Rocca. Time, August 30, 2004. live link
Lesson: Assessment III (Lessons & labs)
Section IV Additional Articles and Lessons Update- 2009
Day 12
Lesson
20: Origin & Evolution of Life
Popular Press Reading: "Twenty Questions: What Have The Courts Said About
The Teaching Of Evolution And Creationism In Public Schools?" Randy Moore,
Murray Jensen and Jay Hatch. BioScience, August 2003.
Topic Update Article: "The Evolution Wars" Claudia Wallis. Time, August 7, 2005. live link
Activity
12: Human Evolution
Popular Press Reading #1: "The ‘Gang’ Hits Again." Simon
Nairobi. Time, April 2, 2001.
Popular Press Reading #2: "Ancestral Bushwhack: Hominid Tree Gets Trimmed
Twice." B. Bower.
Science News, May 3, 2003.
Popular Press Reading #3: "Skull Details Suggest Neanderthals Were Not
Humans," John Wilford.
Science, January 27, 2004.
Topic Update Article: "How We Became Human: What Makes Us Different?" Micheal D. Lemonick. Time, October 1, 2006. live link
Lab 12:
Evolution
No reading
Lesson
21: Agricultural Systems and Transgenic Organisms
Popular Press Reading: "Cures on the Cob." Margot Roosevelt. Time,
May 26, 2003.
Day 13
Lesson
22: Pesticides and Organic Farming
Popular Press Reading: "Certified Organic." Geoffrey Cowley. Newsweek,
September 30, 2002.
Topic Update Article: "India’s Deadly Chemical Addiction." Madhur Singh. Time, June 10, 2008. live link
Activity
13: Xeriscaping
Popular Press Reading: "The Great Xeriscape." Leora Broydo. Mother
Jones. May/June 1997.
Lab 13: Photosynthesis No reading
Lesson
23: Water Cycle
Popular Press Reading: "Water Fights." Alex Markels. U.S. News
& World Report, May 19, 2003.
Day 14
Lesson
24: Acid Rain and Fishless Lakes
Popular Press Reading: "Acid Rain: Forgotten, Not Gone." Leslie
Roberts.
U.S. News & World Report, November 1, 1999.
Activity
14: Dangerous Plants and Animals
Popular Press Reading: "Poison Ivy." Margaret M. Cooley. New
York State Conservationist, June 2000.
Lab 14: Water Treatment Plant No Reading
Topic Update Article: "Sewage That’s Clean Enough To Drink." Bryan Walsh. Time, December 16, 2008. live link
Lesson
25: Exotic Species and the Environment
Popular Press Reading: "A Long, Slow Autumn." Jessica Ruvinsky.
U.S. News & World Report, September 9, 2002.
Day 15
Lesson
26: Ozone Hole and Global Warming
Popular Press Reading: "Life In The Greenhouse." Michael Lemonick.
Time, April 9, 2001.
Topic Update Article: "The Clean Energy Scam." Michael Grunwald. Time, March 27, 2008.. live link
Lesson
27: Nuclear Meltdown
Popular Press Reading: "When The World Stopped." Marianne Lavelle.
U.S. News & World Report, March 29, 1999.
Topic Update Article: Nuclear’s Comeback: Still No Energy Panacea.” Michael Grunwald. Time, December 31, 2008. live link
Final Exam: (Lessons & labs)
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