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/animalbehavStarts: 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
Essential Human Biology: Cells and Tissues (EdX)
https://www.edx.org/course/essential-human-biology-cells-tissues-adelaidex-humbio101x-0Starts: 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-0Starts: 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
If you think you might take one of these, I would love to hear about it in the comments!