Learn Science free online!

There’s lots of science out there to read about on the internet these days (so go get reading)! For people who came to science after their formal schooling is over, it can be hard to know how to get the basics to understand all this stuff. And I do think it’s important to understand the basics — a solid knowledge of biology is invaluable when you’re trying to figure out if the findings that a starry-eyed science journalist is reporting are as important as they sound, and whether the journalist’s coverage of them is critical enough. (Uncritical science reporting? Oh yeah. There is way too much of it in the world.)

So how do you go about learning Science? Here are some upcoming free online courses that I recommend to you. By the way, if you are a certified trainer or behavior consultant, I recommend you ask your CEU distributor of choice to give you CEUs for taking these classes. They are absolutely relevant.

Animal Behaviour, University of Melbourne (Coursera)

https://www.coursera.org/course/animalbehav

Starts: June 1

This course is about the behavior of wild animals and about the academic study of animal behavior. It’s a different perspective than the applied behavior approach that most trainers are familiar with. According to the course web page, it covers the following topics:

• Behaviour, Ecology and Natural Selection
• Genes, Environment and Learning
• Finding food and avoiding predators
• Communication
• Sexual selection and sperm competition
• Mating systems and sex allocation
• Parental care and conflict
• Social behaviour

 Coursera courses are free, but if you want a certificate that proves you took the course, you will have to pay $50.

Essential Human Biology: Cells and Tissues (EdX)

https://www.edx.org/course/essential-human-biology-cells-tissues-adelaidex-humbio101x-0

Starts: June 10

Cells: the things that send information around the brain; the things that make and secrete hormones; the things that are responsible for every part of our life. Whenever I teach about neurobiology or hormones to trainers, I wish I could depend on them having a solid cell biology background!

Just as above, EdX courses are free but you must pay $50 if you want a verified certificate.

Introduction to Psychology, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School (EdX)

https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-psychology-st-margarets-episcopal-school-psych101x-0

Starts: June 15; self-paced

I loved taking basic psychology. I’m sure this course will be quite human-focused, but some of the concepts are applicable to other mammals as well. Others are perhaps applicable to working with the human side of the equation. This course reports to cover:

• An understanding of what psychology is and its history
• How brain structures function and how neurotransmitters influence behavior
• Concepts of how we learn as well as components of emotion
• How a child's mind and personality develops
• Discover classifications of abnormal behaviors

This course is “self-paced,” meaning that you can take it at your own pace over the course of several months if you so choose. Price as above.


If you think you might take one of these, I would love to hear about it in the comments!