Educational

This page will contain various educational information mainly targeted to students, teachers, and a general audience interested in biology. This includes Educational Articles written by Dr. Schjerven, as well as information about other resources or websites recommended for educational purposes.

Curious Facts

Did you know?...... There is a fish with colorless blood, that does not have any red blood cells: The Icefish! 

Educational Articles

A collection of educational articles written for a general audience. Please feel free to contact Dr. Schjerven with comments or questions.

General Biology:

What are Stem Cells?

Article Series 1: The Blood and the Immune System

We all have a general idea of what blood is. The heart pumps it through our body, and we need it to live. It is used to swear eternal friendship. We use it to save lives. If we are sick, the doctor can test our blood to find out what is wrong. But how can the blood reflect how we are sick, and why is it so essential to life? The biology of the blood is fascinating, and the following educational article series will introduce what blood really consists of, and discuss the function, the development, and some of the diseases of our blood cells and our immune system.

The Components of the Blood and the Immune System

Free Educational Resources Available on the PBS website

PBS is the US Public Broadcasting Service. PBS is a non-profit organization funded in large part through donations from private persons and grants. More information about how PBS runs, and its history, can be found on the wiki page for PBS. Their mission is "to create content that educates, informs and inspires". In addition to their other quality programs, PBS also help create or support documentaries (NOVA) and educational content for both adults as well as children. Importantly, they also have free resources for pre-K-12 teachers available on their website.

Free Educational Resources Available on the HHMI website

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is a non-profit institution dedicated to supporting high quality research and education. They offer multiple resources, both for teachers, students and scientists, and their website contains very useful and interesting information.

The article "Free Educational Resources Available on the HHMI website", highlights some of the HHMI resources in regards to education. For instance, HHMI has produced a series of short films about evolution that are available to teachers and non-profit educational institutions for free. These excellent short films, 10 to 15 minutes long, are perfect to show in a school setting. The movies can be a starting point for classroom discussions and provide real life examples of evolution. HHMI also provides additional material for use in the classroom in conjunction with these films. 

Please read more about these educational short films and other resources provided by HHMI here.

Free Educational Resources on other websites

UCSF teaching resources

UC Berkley "Understanding Science": Teaching Resources

PNAS teaching resources

National Science Teachers Association

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