Howard Hughes Medical Institute: HHMI in the Classroom

Relevant, interesting stories and observable phenomena are the new trends in science education. It is no longer about traditional lab activities but rather workshops, Edcamps, and investigation. HHMI is a fantastic resource for virtual activities, interactive resources and biotechnology tools. http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive  Is a website full of amazing active, authentic learning segments that you can use in a blended or flipped setting as well as in the classroom as collaborative practices. While I was at the CAST conference I went to three different seminars by HHMI and was mesmerized by the potential these lessons have to grab and hook my students. I have already this year used many HHMI lessons. Including: Keystone Species and Elephant Census.

At HHMI BioInteractive, you can find award-winning multimedia resources, including apps, animations, videos, interactives, and virtual labs, to bring the excitement of scientific discovery into your classroom. Their team members include scientists, artists, and educational experts. Which if you email them are more than happy to respond with suggestions and additional information. The videos are current and beautifully filmed. Every one I have shown this year have been well-received by my students. Why show a boring science video when you can show any of the HHMI videos? All of them are free and on the website.

The lesson I just finished is about Elephants: The Great Elephant Census. They provided color pictures of the migration patterns map of the African Savannah Elephants.

In the 1970's researchers estimated that 1.3 million forest and savannah elephants thrived over 35 countries in Africa. But due to poaching this number is declining. To verify numbers currently researchers use an aerial survey to count these elephants. Students will use this data to get a personal census of the elephants. This map will help them recognize the migration patterns of the elephants and they can use their mapping and graphing skills to get an estimate of the remaining elephants. This lesson uses estimation and graphing both of which are integral to science.

This lesson is a fantastic way to make connections between the sciences, mathematics and social sciences. Any way to bridge the gap between subject areas is a great resource. There is a quick video, a great story to read and historical data to peruse. This among many HHMI lessons make it one of my go to websites. Bird Beaks, Keystone species, and even DNA/Melanin are other fantastic videos and lessons. Definitely take a look.