Science Webinars

The human body is equipped with remarkable systems to defend and recover against harm and maintain homeostasis. Let’s discover and investigate these complex systems and feedback methods that work together to maintain homeostasis in the human body and apply it to the public health issues of today.

Social distancing recommendations specify we keep at least 2 meters away from each other. Why? To answer this question, we’ll simulate and model the trajectory of particles in a sneeze. Using pictures and graphs, instead of blindly plugging numbers into equations, we’ll solve what is essentially a projectile problem. We’ll also learn about distributions while determining the average force and energy exerted during a sneeze.

We are currently in the midst of one of the worst pandemics of this generation, but it is important to remember that there are also many non-biological catastrophes that nature can throw at us and that a large reason that our global population has grown so large so fast (now approaching 8 billion) is that Earth has been relatively quiet for the past two centuries. In this presentation, Professor Wysession will take us through a Top-10 list of Earth and planetary events such as supervolcanoes, asteroid impacts, magnetic field reversals, massive underwater avalanches, and enormous solar flares that have significantly impacted life in the past and could do so again in the future.

Science matters! Scientific data and perspectives should help inform economic decisions, guide government policy, and improve health and security. Yet denial and politicization of science is everywhere. Coronavirus. Evolution. Climate change. Vaccination. GMOs. We will briefly review what science is and how it works, analyze the causes of science denial, and discuss what you can do about it.

Michael Comer and Joanne Vasquez, authors of STEM Lesson Essentials and STEM Lesson Guideposts, presents Developing STEM Lessons with the W.H.E.R.E. Model

How can you shift from presenting topics in isolation to creating learning experiences that integrate STEM education? COVID 19 has placed an emphasis on the ‘Why’ behind the need for STEM education. By integrating STEM, students gain understanding of topics as they figure out why something is happening or create a solution to a problem such as the current pandemic. The focus of learning needs to shift from the end product to the actual process of learning.

Michael Padilla, author Elevate Science, presents Problem Solving, Inquiry, and Scientific Thinking in Science: Problem solving, inquiry and scientific practices continue to be a central element of science teaching. With the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, it is even more critical that teachers develop ways to get students to use scientific practices to problem solve and inquire. This session focuses on Next Gen practices and will outline teaching strategies you can use to develop these important skills.

How can you shift from presenting topics in isolation to creating learning experiences that integrate STEM education? COVID 19 has placed an emphasis on the ‘Why’ behind the need for STEM education. By integrating STEM, students gain understanding of topics as they figure out why something is happening or create a solution to a problem such as the current pandemic. The focus of learning needs to shift from the end product to the actual process of learning.

SARS-CoV-2 is the newest viral threat to humanity, following HIV, SARS, MERS, and flu strains like the one that caused the 1918 pandemic. Why are some viruses so deadly? How do new ones arise and spread? Can we draw from experience to defeat this one? This webinar, ideal for online teaching, puts coronaviruses in context, invoking SEP’s, CCC’s and DCI’s in genetics, ecology, evolution, and immunology.