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Love Letters to
Radiolab
from Science Prof Online
What Biology Students Say About Radiolab
Page last updated 12/2015
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As a college biology instructor, I have found Radiolab to be an extremely effective teaching tool. Students enjoy, remember and learn valuable information from these smart and engaging podcasts.
Radiolab is broadcast out of New York City on WNYC. The team that creates each episode, including hosts Jad Abumrad
and Robert Krulwich, are master storytellers. On the Radiolab website they define the show as follows:
TV show, from Animal Planet, presenting case studies of people with parasitic infections. So interesting, you'll learn about parasitism without even trying!
Check out our FREE
Monsters Inside Me
Homework Assignments
RODNEY VS DEATH
Explores rabies, history of rabies treatment, details Jenna’s Giese remarkable recovery and the efficacy of Dr. Rodney Willoughby's Milwaukee Treatment Protocol.
Teaching opportunities for this episode: viruses, infectious disease, history of rabies, treatment of rabies, medical ethics
PARASITES
Radiolab tells the fascinating story of several different types of parasites including hookworms, parasitic wasps, flukes and protozoans, and asks listeners, “Are parasites ‘degenerates’ or some of evolution’s craftiest forms of life?”
Teaching opportunities for this episode: parasite ecology, microbiology, challenge student perception of parasites, hookworm, toxoplasmosis.
You have free access to a large collection of materials used in a college-level introductory microbiology course. The Virtual Microbiology Classroom provides a wide range of free educational resources including PowerPoint Lectures, Study Guides, Review Questions and Practice Test Questions.
"The thing I found most interesting was the Radiolab with the worms that crawls up to 4ft and then it goes into your feet, travels through the blood stream to your lungs, then you cough it up, eat it and then it lives in your intestines. I thought that was a very cool, interesting way to get into a host."
- Microbiology student
See all of our > Science Homework Assignments Based on Radiolab Podcasts
Yellow Fluff and Other Curious Encounters
This episode is about how scientists see, and interact with, the world a bit differently. This story includes Oliver Sack's love affair with the periodic table and Jerry Coyne's pet botfly.
Teaching opportunities for this episode: chemistry, periodic table, scientific discovery, how scientists see the world
At the end of the semester, for the last question on the final exam, I ask my students to do the following:
Describe something that you learned in this class. Maybe what you found most interesting, or what really "stuck with you".
Student responses to this question almost always involve what they learned from the Radiolab homework that I assign.
Below are some favorite student responses, as well as links to the Radiolab shows and free homework assignments associated with them.
You have FREE access to a large collection of materials used in a college-level introductory Cell Biology Course. The Virtual Cell Biology Classroom provides a wide range of FREE educational resources including Power Point Lectures, Study Guides, Review Questions and Practice Test Questions.
of Science Prof Online
You have access to a large collection of free science teaching materials used in high school and college-level introductory science courses. The SPO Instructors Corner has resources for teaching general science, anatomy & physiology, chemistry, cell biology genetics, immunology and microbiology.
"Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience."
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STUDENTS LOVE RADIOLAB!
The VMC offers
science homework assignments based on Radiolab podcasts!
Go to our Radiolab Homework Assignment Page for links to these assignments and related Radiolab episode.
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These homework assignments are not a product of the Radiolab program nor are they endorsed by the program. These assignments were developed by Tami Port, MS, as a college biology teaching tool.
Thank you Radiolab for producing a fun, engaging, smart show that helps my students love to learn!
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You have FREE access to a large collection of materials used in a college-level introductory biology course. The Virtual Biology Classroom provides a wide range of free educational resources including PowerPoint Lectures, Study Guides, Review Questions & Practice Test Questions.
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