In this activity, students find a scientist with whom they can relate in some way and then explore and reflect upon the impact of that scientist’s work.

This activity allows students to choose a scientist, and the part of biology they study, to explore on their own. Students can select their scientist from the “Scientist Profiles” document, which includes links to related BioInteractive Scientists at Work videos. After investigating the scientist and their research, students write and revise a short piece of writing about what they learned. 

Two versions of the “Student Handout” are available for this activity. The short handout focuses on notetaking and writing short paragraphs. The extended handout has students read a piece of primary literature from the scientist and then write a 400- to 500-word essay. Both handouts were designed to promote transparent teaching strategies and include rubrics for the written assignments.