Resources
Teaching Resources
The Georgia Performance Standards from the Georgia Department of Education details what will be taught in Georgia’s schools.
The National Science Resources Center’s mission is to improve the learning and teaching of science in school districts in the United States and throughout the world. The NSRC Curriculum Development Center researches, develops, and publishes inquiry-centered science education curricula that can be used by school districts to construct core instructional programs.
PBS Evolution Series: A teacher’s guide. An online course for teachers who teach evolution and for students. The site also includes videos and a teacher’s guide.
Learning that works: Science in the real world. The three tapes in this collection look at the connections between high school science and its applications at work and in the community. Learning That Works shows teachers, students, and workplace mentors engaged in rigorous science inside and outside the classroom. A detailed guidebook provides background information on the featured programs and suggests ways to use the videos for informational sessions and professional development.
Science in School is a journal to promote inspiring science teaching in Europe. It addresses science teaching both across Europe and across disciplines: highlighting the best in teaching and cutting-edge research. It covers not only biology, physics and chemistry, but also maths and earth sciences, drawing the potential for interdisciplinary work. The contents include teaching materials; cutting-edge science; education projects; interviews with young scientists and inspiring teachers; education research; book reviews; and European events for teachers. An online discussion forum (coming soon) will enable direct communication across national and subject boundaries.
The Secret of Life: School videos and videodisk. The Secret of Life school videos are eight 15-minute glimpses into the multifaceted world of biology, based on the critically-acclaimed PBS series, The Secret of Life. Spanning subject matter from archaebacteria to viruses to genetic medicine to the biodiversity crisis, the Secret of Life School Videos tell fascinating stories and raise profound questions. Designed for use in secondary schools and for college biology courses. The Secret of Life videodisc, produced by the Interactive Projects department at WGBH, provides one CAV side with 30 minutes of video clips for a range of topics in general biology, as well as an extensive databank of still illustrations from McGraw-Hill and Glencoe texts. A second CLV side of the videodisc provides 4 of the school videos.
Understanding Evolution. This site discusses the nature of science, the central ideas of biological evolution, the importance of evolution in our daily lives, the misconceptions that cloud public understanding of evolution, and the history of evolutionary concepts. It also includes specific lesson plans for teaching evolution. It identifies strategies to overcome potential roadblocks to the teaching of evolution and teaches how to avoid common mistakes.
Learner.Org: Rediscovering Biology. Annenberg/CPB uses media and telecommunications to advance excellent teaching in American schools. A video course for high school teachers; 13 half-hour video programs, course guide, and Web site; graduate credit available.
Our Family Tree, a book by Lisa Westberg Peters. This accurate and beautifully illustrated children’s book contains suggestions and lesson plans for making evolution accessible to young students.
ActionBioscience.Org. The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has acquired the award-winning, free-access Web site, ActionBioscience.org, a powerful resource for K-12 and undergraduate educators as well as students and the general public. The site was created in 2000 by a private organization in Florida. It includes a growing collection of topical, accessible articles by distinguished scientists, educators, and other writers on a wide range of biological subjects. The articles are organized into major subject themes in the biosciences that are of pressing scientific and societal impact.
Excellence in Curriculum Integration through Teaching Epidemiology. EXCITE is a collection of teaching materials developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to introduce students to public health and epidemiology, the science used by “Disease Detectives” everywhere. Students will learn about the scientific method of inquiry, basic biostatistics, and outbreak investigation. EXCITE adapts readily to team teaching across a variety of subjects, including mathematics, social studies, history, and physical education.
Elementary and Secondary Science Education Partners ESEP’s goal is to enhance science teaching in the APS elementary schools by providing science materials and helping kindergarten through fifth grade teachers to use inquiry-based instruction instead of traditional didactic approaches that involve textbook-driven lectures and rote memorizationons.
The Center for Science Education at Emory University promotes access, interest and participation in science careers. Our programs bolster science literacy and provide hands-on research experiences for students and teachers at the precollege, college and postgraduate levels. Through our student and curriculum development activities, we integrate research and education and help students explore the vast array of careers open to individuals with a solid background in science.
Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing at Georgia Tech CEISMC (pronounced like “seismic”) was created as a unifying support system for core undergraduate courses in science, math, and computing on the campus of Georgia Tech in the early 1990s. With the backing and support of Georgia Tech, the National Science Foundation, corporate partners, and other groups, CEISMC then began initiating or co-sponsoring a coordinated set of programs at the pre-college level.
GA Tech K-12 Outreach The BMES/GTEC K-12 Outreach program is a joint effort between the Georgia Tech Student Chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues (GTEC). The goals of the overall program are to provide a resource for K-12 educators with which they can enhance their science curricula, to expose students of all ages to the field of bioengineering, and to encourage graduate students to develop their teaching skills.
The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience K-12 Outreach The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience is working to improve science education in Atlanta’s public schools, raise public awareness of current research in behavioral neuroscience, and increase the numbers of women and under-represented minorities in behavioral neuroscience careers.
Evolutionary Biology at the University of Georgia The University of Georgia offers an outstanding research environment in the study of evolution. Evolutionary biology at Georgia draws on researchers and resources across a variety of departments and programs throughout the university.
University California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology: Discover the History of Life. Online Exhibits: Phylogeny–Diversity of Life Through Time |Geologic Time | Evolution EDUCATION PROGRAMS: K – 12 Classroom resources for teachers and students | General Interest, Activities, events, and exhibits for everyone
Learning from the Fossil Record: This is a hypertext version of a book originally published by the Paleontological Society. The book was written to accompany an educational workshop Learning from the Fossil Record presented for K-16 educators at the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of American in Denver, Colorado. The workshop was intended to give K-12 teaches information on how scientists use fossil evidence to reconstruct the past. It also offered ideas about using paleontology to teach the scientific process.
The Tree of Life is a collaborative web project, produced by biologists from around the world. On more than 2600 World Wide Web pages, the Tree of Life provides information about the diversity of organisms on Earth, their history, and characteristics.
TryScience.org is a gateway to experience the excitement of contemporary science and technology through on and offline interactivity with science and technology centers worldwide. Science is exciting, and it’s for everyone! That’s why TryScience and over 400 science centers worldwide invite you to investigate, discover, and try science yourself.
The Animal Diversity Web is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan.
In Search of Giant Squids is an online exhibit that explores and interprets the mystery, beauty and complexity of giant squids - the world’s largest invertebrates and is based upon material presented in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History’s exhibit.
Education Associations
Georgia Science Teachers Association The Georgia Science Teachers Association is an incorporated non-profit association of professional science teachers whose primary aims shall be to encourage the development of science interests and abilities as a vital part of the total educational development of the students. The science teacher of today must be at once a dedicated professional educator, aware of the philosophy and function of education and of current practices therein; an enlightened citizen in terms of knowledge, understandings, appreciations, and behavior; and a competent scientist, capable of making science a living force in the lives of children.
The Paulding County Science Teachers Association, in affiliation with the Georgia Science Teachers Association are comprehensive educational organizations dedicated to excellence in science education and to communication among members of the science teaching profession. The mission of PCSTA is to provide leadership and service for science education in Paulding County and its surrounding regions. Membership is open to all science educators from preschool to university.
Georgia PTA The PTA Mission is three-fold: to support and speak on behalf of children and youth in the schools and before governmental agencies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children; to assist parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children; and to encourage parent and public involvement in the schools of this nation.
National Science Teachers Association
National Associaiton of Biology Teachers
Scientific Organizations
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - The largest scientific organization in the nation. See their website for a Dialog on Science, Ethics, and Religion. They have excellent resources on evolution.
The Georgia Academy of Science is dedicated to the promotion of science education and the fostering of scientific research in the state of Georgia. They have issued statements on the teaching of Creationism and on Intelligent Design
The National Academy of Sciences(NAS) is a private, non-profit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters.
North Carolina Academy of Science has prepared a booklet on evolution that is a compilation of statements concerning evolution by scientists from across the state of North Carolina. (see also http://www2.ncsu.edu:8010/ncas/evolution/)
The Paleontological Society is an international organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of the science of paleontology through the dissemination of research by publication and meetings. Its web site contains information on the society and its activities and provide links to other paleontology resources on the web.
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology - Founded in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the Society now has almost 2,000 members representing professionals, students, artists, preparators, and others interested in VP. It is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, with the object of advancing the science of vertebrate paleontology.