Great Minds in Science
Course Description:
Is there life on other planets? What extremes can the human body endure? Can we solve the
problem of global warming? Today, scientists, explorers, and writers are working to answer all of these questions. Like
Edison, Einstein, Curie, and Newton, the scientists of today are asking questions and working on problems that may
revolutionize our lives and world. This course focuses on 10 of today’s greatest scientific minds. Each unit takes an in depth
look at one of these individuals, and shows how their ideas may help to shape tomorrow’s world
Course Details:
| Course Title (District): |
Great Minds in Science |
| Course Title (NCES SCED) : |
Origins of Science |
| Course Provider : |
Genesee ISD |
| Content Provided By : |
Fuel Education LLC |
| Online Instructor Provided By : |
Fuel Education LLC |
| Standards Addressed : |
Common Core State Standards |
| Academic Terms : |
Open Entry / Open Exit |
| NCES SCED Code : 03205 |
| Subject Area : |
Life and Physical Sciences |
| Course Identifier : |
Origins of Science |
| Course Level : |
High School (Secondary) |
| Available Credit : |
0.5 |
| Sequence : |
1 of 1 |
|
How To Enroll:
Students and Parents: It is important to work closely with your local school counselor or
registrar to follow the school's enrollment procedures. By clicking the "Start Registration
Request" button below, you will be able to notify the school of your interest in registering for
the online course. However, it is the responsibility of the district or school to review the
registration request and approve or deny the request. Please make a note to follow up with
your school after submitting a registration request.
Start Registration Request
Additional Course Information:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 810-591-4401
Additional Cost: $0.0
Additional Cost Description: Most courses have no additional costs; however some have required books or other materials that are not included in the course. Some required books or other materials may be available for checkout from schools or public libraries. See the provider's course description for required books/materials or call 810-591-4401 for assistance.
•Explain what neuroscience is and how Ramachandran became interested in studying the brain.
•Understand three brain disorders and what they are telling us about brain function.
•Identify the various parts of the brain and the function of each.
•See how magic is helping scientists learn about the brain.
•Understand fake limbs and why this phenomenon happens in our brains.
•Discuss why exploring caves
is important.
•Explain some of the new technologies and equipment that is taking cave exploration to new depths.
•Identify about some of the deepest caves in the world.
•Understand what it would be like to study caves.
•See how some of the caving technology is
being used for space exploration.
•Identify what bacteria are and what role they play in the world.
•Discuss how bacteria communicate with each other through a chemical language.
•Explain what the implications of Bassler’s research may be.
•Understand some of
the different types of bacteria in the world.
•Define about operant and classical conditioning and how they differ.
•Discuss B.F. Skinner’s experiments using operant conditioning.
•Understand crows and their adaptations to urban life.
•Klein’s experiment and how he got the crows to feed the machines for food.
•Explain what Biosphere 2 is.
•Discuss what it would be like to live within an artificial world like Biosphere 2.
•Understand other sealed worlds and what lessons we are learning from them for the future.
•Grasp more about biomes, habitats, and ecosystems.
•Discuss the ecosystem and cultures in the Arctic.
•Understand what it would be like to explore the Arctic.
•Identify some of the men and women who have explored the Arctic.
•Understand what equipment
is needed to explore extreme environments.
•Discuss why extreme environments are important to explore and learn about.
•Talk about the technologies and equipment that are allowing divers to swim deeper than ever before.
•Identify the ocean's Twilight Zone.
•Discuss coral reefs and the animals and plants that live in and around them.
•Explain the threats and challenges to the world's coral reefs.
•Understand why coral reefs are an important part of the ocean's ecosystem.
•Talk about redwood trees and the habitat they live in.
•Explain some of the threats to redwoods and their habitats.
•Detail what it is like in the canopy of a redwood.
•Understand what makes redwood trees unique and different from other trees.
•Discuss what other plants and animals live in a redwood’s
ecosystem.
•Talk about climate change and why scientists believe that this is happening.
•Explain some of the causes of climate change.
•Identify how humans are contributing to climate change.
•Discuss some of the effects of climate change around the globe.
•Understand efforts to reduce the factors causing climate change.
•Talk about particle physics.
•Explore the different types of particles found in the universe.
•Identify some of the experiments scientists hope to do with the Large Hadron Collider.
•Talk about the Higgs Boson particle.
•Discuss some of the challenges scientists have faced with the LHC.
iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses
| Academic Content Standards and Assessments |
Rating
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Comments |
| The goals and objectives clearly state what the participants will know or be able to do at the end of the course. The goals and objectives are measurable in multiple ways. |
Fully Met
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| The course content and assignments are aligned with the state’s content standards, Common Core curriculum, or other accepted content standards set for Advanced Placement® courses, technology, computer science, or other courses whose content is not included in the state standards. |
Partially Met
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| The course content and assignments are of sufficient rigor, depth and breadth to teach the standards being addressed. |
Fully Met
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| Information literacy and communication skills are incorporated and taught as an integral part of the curriculum. |
Fully Met
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| Multiple learning resources and materials to increase student success are available to students before the course begins. |
Fully Met
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| Course Overview and Introduction |
Rating
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Comments |
| Clear, complete course overview and syllabus are included in the course. |
Fully Met
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| Course requirements are consistent with course goals, are representative of the scope of the course and are clearly stated. |
Fully Met
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| Information is provided to students, parents and mentors on how to communicate with the online instructor and course provider. |
Fully Met
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| Legal and Acceptable Use Policies |
Rating
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Comments |
| The course reflects multi-cultural education, and the content is accurate, current and free of bias or advertising. |
Fully Met
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| Expectations for academic integrity, use of copyrighted materials, plagiarism and netiquette (Internet etiquette) regarding lesson activities, discussions, and e-mail communications are clearly stated. |
Fully Met
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| Privacy policies are clearly stated. |
Fully Met
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| Instructor Resources |
Rating
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Comments |
| Online instructor resources and notes are included. |
Fully Met
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| Assessment and assignment answers and explanations are included. |
Fully Met
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| Accessing Course Effectiveness |
Rating
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Comments |
| The course provider uses multiple ways of assessing course effectiveness. |
Fully Met
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| The course is evaluated using a continuous improvement cycle for effectiveness and the findings used as a basis for improvement. |
Fully Met
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| Course Updates |
Rating
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Comments |
| The course is updated periodically to ensure that the content is current. |
Fully Met
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| Certification |
Rating
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Comments |
| Course instructors, whether faceto-face or virtual, are certificated and “highly qualified.” The online course teacher possesses a teaching credential from a state-licensing agency and is “highly qualified” as defined under ESEA. |
Fully Met
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| Instructor and Student Support |
Rating
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Comments |
| Professional development about the online course delivery system is offered by the provider to assure effective use of the courseware and various instructional media available. |
Fully Met
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| The course provider offers technical support and course management assistance to students, the course instructor, and the school coordinator. |
Fully Met
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| Course instructors, whether face-to-face or virtual, have been provided professional development in the behavioral, social, and when necessary, emotional, aspects of the learning environment. |
Fully Met
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| Course instructors, whether face-to-face or virtual, receive instructor professional development, which includes the support and use of a variety of communication modes to stimulate student engagement online. |
Fully Met
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| The provider assures that course instructors, whether face-to-face or virtual, are provided support, as needed, to ensure their effectiveness and success in meeting the needs of online students. |
Fully Met
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| Students are offered an orientation for taking an online course before starting the coursework. |
Fully Met
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| Instructional and Audience Analysis |
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Comments |
| Course design reflects a clear understanding of all students’ needs and incorporates varied ways to learn and master the curriculum. |
Fully Met
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| Course, Unit and Lesson Design |
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Comments |
| The course is organized by units and lessons that fall into a logical sequence. Each unit and lesson includes an overview describing objectives, activities, assignments, assessments, and resources to provide multiple learning opportunities for students to master the content. |
Fully Met
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| Instructional Strategies and Activities |
Rating
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Comments |
| The course instruction includes activities that engage students in active learning. |
Fully Met
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| The course and course instructor provide students with multiple learning paths, based on student needs that engage students in a variety of ways. |
Fully Met
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| The course provides opportunities for students to engage in higher-order thinking, critical reasoning activities and thinking in increasingly complex ways. |
Fully Met
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| The course provides options for the instructor to adapt learning activities to accommodate students’ needs. |
Fully Met
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| Readability levels, written language assignments and mathematical requirements are appropriate for the course content and grade-level expectations. |
Fully Met
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| Communication and Interaction |
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Comments |
| The course design provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-student interaction, including opportunities for timely and frequent feedback about student progress. |
Fully Met
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| The course design includes explicit communication/activities (both before and during the first week of the course) that confirms whether students are engaged and are progressing through the course. The instructor will follow program guidelines to address non-responsive students. |
Fully Met
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| The course provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-student and student-student interaction to foster mastery and application of the material. |
Fully Met
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| Resources and Materials |
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Comments |
| Students have access to resources that enrich the course content. |
Fully Met
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| Evaluation Strategies |
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Comments |
| Student evaluation strategies are consistent with course goals and objectives, are representative of the scope of the course and are clearly stated. |
Fully Met
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| The course structure includes adequate and appropriate methods and procedures to assess students’ mastery of content. |
Fully Met
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| Feedback |
Rating
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Comments |
| Ongoing, varied, and frequent assessments are conducted throughout the course to inform instruction. |
Fully Met
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| Assessment strategies and tools make the student continuously aware of his/her progress in class and mastery of the content. |
Fully Met
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| Assessment Resources and Materials |
Rating
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Comments |
| Assessment materials provide the instructor with the flexibility to assess students in a variety of ways. |
Fully Met
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| Grading rubrics are provided to the instructor and may be shared with students. |
Fully Met
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| The grading policy and practices are easy to understand. |
Fully Met
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| Course Architecture |
Rating
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Comments |
| The course architecture permits the online instructor to add content, activities and assessments to extend learning opportunities. |
Fully Met
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| The course accommodates multiple school calendars; e.g., block, 4X4 and traditional schedules. |
Fully Met
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| User Interface |
Rating
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Comments |
| Clear and consistent navigation is present throughout the course. |
Fully Met
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| Rich media are provided in multiple formats for ease of use and access in order to address diverse student needs. |
Partially Met
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| Technology Requirements and Interoperability |
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Comments |
| All technology requirements (including hardware, browser, software, etc...) are specified. |
Fully Met
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| Prerequisite skills in the use of technology are identified. |
Fully Met
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| The course uses content-specific tools and software appropriately. |
Fully Met
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| The course is designed to meet internationally recognized interoperability standards. |
Fully Met
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| Copyright and licensing status, including permission to share where applicable, is clearly stated and easily found. |
Fully Met
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| Accessibility |
Rating
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Comments |
| Course materials and activities are designed to provide appropriate access to all students. The course, developed with universal design principles in mind, conforms to the U.S. Section 504 and Section 508 provisions for electronic and information technology as well as the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility guidelines (WCAg 2.0). |
Partially Met
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| Data Security |
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Comments |
| Student information remains confidential, as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). |
Fully Met
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Review Conducted By: Fuel Education LLC
Date of Review:
08/21/2014
Unit One: Vilayanur Ramachandran
Unit Two Bill Stone: Into the Depths
Unit Three Bonnie Bassler: The Bacteria Puzzle
Unit Four Joshua Klein: Teaching Crows New Tricks
Unit Five Jayne Poynter: Inside Biosphere 2
Midterm
Unit Six Ben Sau
nders: Exploring the Arctic
Unit Seven Richard Pyle: Into the Twilight Zone
Unit Eight Richard Preston: In the Redwood Canopy
Unit Nine Al Gore: Fighting Climate Change
Unit Ten Brian Cox
Final Exam
| Term Type |
Enrollment Opens |
Enrollment Ends |
Random Draw Date |
Enrollment Drop Date |
Course Starts |
Course Ends |
# of Seats |
Course Fee |
Potential Additional Costs |
|
Open Entry / Open Exit |
08/01/2024 |
07/31/2025 |
|
|
|
|
100 |
$275 |
$0 |
| Drop Policy |
Completion Policy |
Term Type |
Enrollment Opens |
Enrollment Ends |
| Full refund when withdrawn within 14 days of enrollment. |
EdisonLearning Instructional Support Staff provide instructional feedback on all teacher-graded assignments. Grades are submitted upon course part completion or upon request from the student’s Advisor. |
Open Entry / Open Exit |
08/01/2024 |
07/31/2025 |
Students can contact their online instructor as needed. Online instructors have posted office hours, and provide contact information.
