Learning about careers sounds serious. But if something is serious and important to do, maybe it should be even more exciting than usual. This is why we have a whole section of Ask A Biologist that focuses on biology-based careers. We provide a variety of materials that let students explore possible career paths through reading, listening, and taking virtual tours. These are made for students of any age who are interested in learning more about the career possibilities in the world of biology.
Students can explore different places where biology research happens through our virtual tours using a computer, tablet, or a mobile phone. Stay on the lookout, as we are working to add more tours to the site.
What’s a Biologist?
The career section includes information about the wide variety of biology careers that are available in our What’s a Biologist story. The story covers
What’s a Biologist is offered in English, French, and Turkish.
Biology workspace VR tours
Students can explore what different biology-based workspaces look like using our VR 360 laboratory tours. Tours have pop-up information and pictures on research as well as careers, built-in recorded stories from researchers, and information on some additional related careers, such as artists who create science-based work.
Our three current workspace tours offer a look inside:
We also have additional VR tours of biomes that feature work being done by additional researchers. Those include:
Related lessons are being developed that will address common core discipline-specific reading and comprehension goals.
Related Career and Research Stories
We also offer more specific stories on university professors and researchers in the Meet Our Biologists Section. Each story comes with a page that covers the biologist’s research and another career path page that explores how they became a biologist. Some have also been interviewed for our Dr. Biology podcast. The specific researchers linked to our workspace tours include:
Arvind Varsani, who studies viruses across many species in the animal kingdom
Arvind’s profile story, Hunting for Hidden Viruses
Arvind’s podcast interview, Virus Quest
Grant McFadden, who studies viruses and the immune system and who has co-founded a biotechnology start-up company
Grant’s profile story, Treating Cancer with a Rabbit Trick
Grant’s podcast interview, History, Rabbits, and a Deadly Virus
Elizabeth Pringle, who studies the relationships between plants and animals (and other animals), mostly in the African savanna
Beth’s profile story, Peeking Into Ant-Plant Pacts
Beth’s podcast interview, Tiny Versus Mighty
There is a map for each of the following VR tours that can be used as an overview of the tour and the locations for different points of interest. Teachers might want to use this as they guide students through the tour, or download and share with students for additional navigation help.
Additional tour maps
Time Required: 30 - 90 minutes, depending on how long students are expected to explore the workspaces.
Common Core
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.7-10.10
By the end of [each of] grades 7 - 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the [corresponding] grades 7-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
We are currently working on aligning these resources with more standards. If you have used this in your classroom to meet specific Common Core or Next Generation Science Standards, please let us know.
Patrick McGurrin. (2021, September 04). Biology Careers Teacher Guide. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved August 24, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/biology-careers-teacher-guide
Patrick McGurrin. "Biology Careers Teacher Guide". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 04 September, 2021. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/biology-careers-teacher-guide
Patrick McGurrin. "Biology Careers Teacher Guide". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 04 Sep 2021. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 24 Aug 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/biology-careers-teacher-guide
By volunteering, or simply sending us feedback on the site. Scientists, teachers, writers, illustrators, and translators are all important to the program. If you are interested in helping with the website we have a Volunteers page to get the process started.
Discover exciting careers in science and beyond by exploring fun virtual Worktours of real companies.