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Tag: #Education

A beginner’s guide to Bloomington birds

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[Two round cardinals grip onto two iron bars.]

Step outside in Southern Indiana and you’ll be greeted by a symphony of chirps, calls, and songs from a myriad of local birds. Home to over 400 species, Indiana is a birder’s paradise. Warblers, eagles, and owls alike call Bloomington home and are frequently spotted on the campus of IU Bloomington. Birds are a vibrant part of Bloomington culture, so it’s worth getting to know a few…

Where did all the jobs go?

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[Pictured is an empty classroom with all the chairs facing a blank white board.]

I was recently re-watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory, where the unfortunate passing of a colleague opened up a tenured position in the department that Sheldon, Raj, and Leonard were all vying for. While most people would find their various tactics to shmooze the tenure committee funny, the part that I found most hilarious was a tenure line being maintained instead of turned into cheaper, temporary adjunct positions. In reality, tenure is a dying position in academia, and it’s severely impacting the job market…

5 Strategies to Maximize Studying

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[aerial view of someone wearing jeans who is studying in front of laptop sitting criss-crossed with several books laid to their side against white sheets]

Getting back into school and a study routine is not always easy, yet we have to manage somehow. But have you ever considered you could be studying wrong? As it turns out, common techniques such as highlighting, re-reading, and mnemonics (for example, PEMDAS) are not very effective. In fact, most of the time, they do not boost performance and offer limited benefits compared to other techniques. Luckily, researchers have identified study methods that are actually effective and improve learning. Check out these 5 proven studying techniques that will help you maximize studying…

Work-life balance

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[An inquisitive dog and cat get in the way of a computer screen on a work desk.]

I am writing about work-life balance, the subjective idea of basically having a life outside of our job or schoolwork. Experts say that a healthy work life balance is when we are able to fulfil our responsibilities to our jobs, families, and other parts of life that are important to us. It has been the buzz on social media lately. Why? It seems at times there is almost an expectation to constantly be working, known as “hustle culture.” This can be fed by many things including changes in job demand, a fast-paced work environment, and the inability to escape work because of that darn internet. People early in their careers have not been satisfied with this and are pushing to discuss better balance…

What social media has taught me about science

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[This image is of a first person view of a desk with an opened lined notebook on the left, a laptop open in the center, a person's left hand is holding a cup of coffee, and the right hand is holding a phone opened with the Facebook login screen.]

Science communication on social media largely happens through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (you can find the ScIU blog on all three platforms), but in reality, it extends beyond these three primary sites into platforms such as TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and more. On any one of these platforms, people from around the world are able to form digital communities where they can talk, educate, learn, advocate, and make new friends. I have been the Social Media Chair for ScIU for over a year now, and in that time, I have learned quite a lot about science communication from social media.

Strength in Numbers? The Meaning of Scientific Consensus

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t is an Avengers Endgame Portals meme. The top lines states “An unverified claim”, below that it states “The scientific community:” and then shows a picture of hordes of soldiers coming out of portals.

“Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus.”… Read more »

7 Tips on How You Can Help the Environment

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This is part three in a series on primates and conservation. Check out parts one and two here. If you want to help with saving our environment and animal conservation efforts follow the tips below! Even the smallest efforts can make an impact on primate conservation, and help combat against the effects of global warming. 

Not your typical summer school: An IU program engages high school students in the wonders of science

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Photograph of a male high school student and a female middle school student using plastic pipettes to transfer microscopic flatworms, called planaria, from a plastic, water-filled container to watch glasses.

Being a teacher is one of the many hats that graduate students across the country wear during their career. As a graduate student who has taught several science courses, I know that keeping students engaged is always a challenge, particularly in required and introductory courses. While I have taught different levels of undergraduates, from freshman… Read more »

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