BioEASI: Register for 'thinking outside the box' biology classes

We are excited to announce that BioEASI is now offering creativity infused biology classes through the UCSD Extension School's College Exploration program!  Starting Fall Quarter, BioEASI (Biology Education and Art for Science Innovation), will be offering fun science courses taught with a creative spin on traditional lecture-based courses. Our goal is to incorporate activities into lessons that allow students to engage in 'whole-brain' learning.  See course descriptions below, and for more information and to register, visit:  http://k12.ucsd.edu/index.cfm?vAction=saCourses

 

 

Courses offered Fall 2011:

Brain Power
What makes you you? What makes you happy? This course is a practical approach to neuroscience; in addition to learning the basics of neurobiology, students will use studying the brain as a framework for self-inquiry and apply the findings from studies on brains to learn about the many different ways that people operate and experience the world. Through personality tests and discussions of the theory of multiple intelligences, students can consider what learning strategies work best for them and how to play to their strengths inside and outside of the classroom.
Note: (Grade Level 8-12)

Genetic Engineering: In your grocery store and around the world
This course will introduce students to the molecular biology behind genetic engineering, its history, and its applications. Students will learn about molecular cloning, its use as a classic research technique and how it applies to genetic engineering. Additionally, students will learn how genetic engineering has been used historically and how the media affects how the public thinks about genetic engineering. We will discuss familiar examples of genetic engineering, as well as the pros and cons of how genetic engineering is used in other parts of the world.
Note: (Grade Level 8-12)

Junior Academy: Lightning bugs and Tardigrades and Basilisk, oh my!
A tour of the weirdest living things on Earth! Students will pick a theme common to living organisms (eg. locomotion, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion, or nutrition) and research a broad diversity of living organisms to find unconventional strategies by which life forms accomplish the chosen theme. After compiling information detailing the crazy ways by which organisms operate, students will be asked to probe their dataset for similarities and differences, eventually distilling it down to a set of core strategies which can be studied to consider questions such as: Why are there so many different ways to do the same thing? When might one strategy be more advantageous than another? What is the value of diversity?
Note: (Grade Level 6-8)