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Scientist Role Models Activity Student Handout (Short) INTRODUCTION Scientists do a wide variety of research to answer different types of questions. They also come from many different places and backgrounds. This activity gives you a chance to find a scientist you can relate to in some way. Maybe you’ll relate to the work they are doing, some part of their identity, or the environment where they work. The choice is yours! Why are you doing this activity? Biology is a very broad subject, so it can be hard to cover everyone’s interests in class. This activity lets you pick a scientist, and the part of biology they study, to explore on your own. What will you, as a student, get out of it? By doing this activity, you may discover a part of biology that interests you in some way. You may also be inspired by your scientist and become more aware of the natural world. What are you supposed to do? Follow the steps in the procedure below to choose a scientist and learn about their work. At the end, you will need to write two paragraphs about your scientist. How will you know if you did the activity successfully? To complete this activity successfully, review and revise your paragraphs using the rubric at the end of this handout. When used well, the rubric can give you a sense of how well you completed the activity. It also gives you an opportunity to revise and improve your work, which are important scientific habits. MATERIALS • • “Scientist Profiles” document Internet access for watching videos and doing research PROCEDURE 1. Go through the “Scientist Profiles” document and choose a scientist to explore. Pick someone whose work interests you and/or whom you can relate to in some way. 2. Watch the BioInteractive video for your scientist. You may also research the scientist online for more information. 3. As you learn about your scientist, take notes in the table below. Scientist’s name Part of biology they are working on (for example, evolution or infectious diseases) www.BioInteractive.org Leal behavioral and evolutionary ecology Published April 2020 Page 1 of 3 What organisms, systems, or structures do they study? anole lizards What are some of the results of their research? Activity Student Handout (Short) Scientist Role Models Why are they doing this research? What questions are they trying to answer? 4. Answer the following questions. Write a detailed paragraph for each answer. a. What research is this scientist doing? b. How is this scientist’s research relevant to you, your career interests, and/or society in general? 5. Review your paragraphs using the rubric at the end of this handout. Revise your paragraphs as needed to fulfill the criteria for high performance. Activity Student Handout (Short) Scientist Role Models Rubric for Paragraphs www.BioInteractive.org Published April 2020 Page 2 of 3 High performance Medium performance Low performance Purpose and organization There is a clear purpose to the paragraphs. The organization makes them easy to read. The paragraphs’ purpose is not clear and/or the organization is weak. Neither a clear purpose nor clear organization is present. Use of evidence and details to develop the main idea Different lines of supporting evidence, including facts and details, are included and explained. Some evidence is included. It Little or no supporting mostly supports the main evidence is included, or the argument. evidence does not relate to the main idea. Sentence structure and transitions Varied sentence structure and length demonstrate conscious planning. Transitions between sentences and ideas flow well. The writer shows control over simple sentence structure, but transitions do not flow well. The sentences tend to be choppy, incomplete, or rambling. Transitions between ideas are lacking. Language Wording is clear and precise. The writer is aware and respectful of the audience and the purpose for writing. Some wording is clear; other parts are muddled. The writer seems sincere but not fully engaged or involved. Language is unclear and/or confusing. The writer seems indifferent, uninvolved, or distanced from the topic and/or audience. Mechanics and grammar The paragraphs have no errors in punctuation, capitalization, or spelling. The paragraphs have a few punctuation, capitalization, or spelling errors. The paragraphs have many punctuation, capitalization, or spelling errors. www.BioInteractive.org Published April 2020 Page 3 of 3 Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado Biologist at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research Sánchez Alvarado studies regeneration — how an organism replaces lost or damaged body parts — in freshwater flatworms called planaria. Planaria have the amazing ability to regenerate any body part, even a new head. By understanding how regeneration works in planaria, Sánchez Alvarado hopes to find ways to improve repair and regeneration in humans. genes stem cells “Imagine that somebody came and told you that there were animals whose heads could be decapitated, and that in the span of a short period of time these heads would begin to grow again from the animal that has just lost his head! I would say yeah that is great science fiction.” planaria regeneration differentiation model RNA interference https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/identifying-key-genes-regeneration Photo credit: HHMI BioInteractive Paola Bouley Conservation biologist at Gorongosa National Park satellite tracking trail cameras Gorongosa Bouley studies the lion population in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. She documents how lions are responding to the conservation efforts in the park to identify factors affecting their recovery. lions populations ecosystem poaching “[T]here is no way of knowing exactly how the lions will respond to the park’s restoration, or how long it will take for them to come back. … That’s the 20-year question, and we’ll be able to tell a really cool story in 20 years. But it takes time because it’s restoration and it doesn’t happen in one or two years, but we’re setting our sights now to be able to document that over time.” predator-prey https://www.biointeractive.org/tracking-lion-recovery-gorongosa-national-park Photo credit: HHMI BioInteractive Shane Campbell-Staton Evolutionary biologist at the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics Campbell-Staton combines physiology, genomics, field experiments, and modeling to study how changes in the environment produce changes in species. A major goal of his research is to understand how organisms are evolving in response to climate change so that we can predict and mitigate any negative consequences. deer mice oxygen metabolism lipids altitude exercise adaptation “I became a biologist because I think life is a puzzle. The way that life finds solutions to all sorts of crazy problems that the world presents to it. That to me is just fascinating.” carbohydrates https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/science-extreme-animal-athlete Photo credit: HHMI BioInteractive Ken Dial Evolutionary biologist at the University of Montana Dial studies the mechanics of bird flight. His work with young birds has led him to propose an idea for how flight could have evolved in theropod dinosaurs — the early ancestors of birds — millions of years ago. birds selective advantage evolution “We now know that there are a lot of dinosaurs, little feathered theropods that have little wings. … I think that a reasonable explanation is to look at what young birds with similar wings can do today. Birds show us the possibility of what these dinosaurs could have done.”