CourseSource: Resources

Teaching Tools and Strategies

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A 360˚ View of COVID-19

In March 2020, institutions underwent a massive transition to distance learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With so little time to devise new materials to maximize learning in the new virtual environment, instructors devised a variety of...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Cell Biology Evolution Genetics Immunology Introductory Biology Microbiology Science Process Skills

geneticsImmunologyBiochemistrybioinformaticsmolecular evolutionpublic healthvirusCOVID19

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Cutthroat trout in Colorado: A case study connecting evolution and conservation

Evaluation of evidence is a key process skill for the core competencies of applying the process of science and using quantitative reasoning. This case study enables upper-division biology students to practice these skills by applying evolutionary...

Courses: Evolution Genetics Science Process Skills

population geneticsphylogeneticsSpeciationdivergencegene flow

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Understanding Protein Domains: A Modular Approach

An understanding of protein structure, function, and interaction is central to biochemistry. One angle into this topic is to engage students in considering protein domains as modules that develop form and execute function semi-independently. Here,...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell Biology Science Process Skills

Protein Structure

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Using QIIME to Interpret Environmental Microbial Communities in an Upper Level Metagenomics Course

Metagenomics is rapidly evolving due to advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, but without proper training to interpret these datasets, student understanding remains limited. Aimed at undergraduate juniors and seniors and graduate...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Ecology Ecology Microbiology Science Process Skills

microbiome

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Coevolution or not? Crossbills, squirrels and pinecones

This case reinforces the concept of coevolution as a reciprocal change in genetic structure between or among two or more populations, by having students analyze and interpret data, build a descriptive model of the system, and use data to make...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

fitnessCoevolutionCo-adaptation

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Antibiotic Resistance Genes Detection in Environmental Samples

Our aim is to provide an authentic research experience for undergraduate students in a variety of biology courses through collaboration between a four-year university and a community college. This lab series teaches transferable and universal...

Courses: Introductory Biology Microbiology Science Process Skills

geneticsenvironmentmicrobiologyUndergraduateantibiotic-resistancePCRgel electrophoresisauthentic inquiry

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Mapping a Mutation to its Gene: The "Fly Lab" as a Modern Research Experience

Although genetics is an invaluable part of the undergraduate biology curriculum, it can be intimidating to students as well as instructors: Students must reduce their reliance on memorization and dive deep into quantitative analysis, and...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Genetics Science Process Skills

geneticsbioinformaticsdrosophilachi-square analysiscomplementation mappingmode of inheritancethree-point mapping

Teaching Tools and Strategies

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"Reading groups" in an undergraduate biology course: A peer-based model to help students develop skills to evaluate primary literature

Undergraduates who learn to evaluate primary literature demonstrate an enhanced ability to understand the process of science, weigh scientific evidence, and think critically (e.g. 6,8). Studies show that students who learn how to dissect primary...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Science Process Skills

primary literaturecritical thinkingSelf-EfficacyDiscussionPeer-based Learning

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Sex-specific differences in Meiosis: Real-world applications

In traditional classrooms, students are typically presented with facts that they are asked to memorize and recall during an exam. The rapid explosion of available scientific facts in recent years has made this model of teaching...

Courses: Cell Biology Genetics Science Process Skills

meiosisReproductionAneuploidyGameteNon-disjunctionOocyteSpermTrisomy

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Teaching Biodiversity with Museum Specimens in an Inquiry-Based Lab

In response to the growth of biology datasets and broad efforts to digitize data, an increasingly important skill for science students is the management and analysis of large datasets. We designed an inquiry-based lab module to introduce students...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

data analysisnatural historyphylogenyBiodiversitymammalsAllen's RuleBergmann's Ruleecogeographymuseum research

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Moths and Frogs and E. coli, Oh My!: Agent-based Modeling of Evolutionary Systems

In evolution classrooms, introducing and reinforcing the idea of genetic drift and random selection can be challenging, as can be reinforcing appropriate mental models of evolution. Agent-based models offer students the opportunity to conduct a...

Courses: Bioinformatics Ecology Ecology Evolution Science Process Skills

modelingEvolutionecologyagent-based modelingGenetic Driftenvironmental scienceNatural Selectioncompetitive coevolutionsimulation modelingevolutionary reasoning

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Knowing your own: A classroom case study using the scientific method to investigate how birds learn to recognize their offspring

Understanding the scientific method provides students with a necessary foundation for careers in science-related fields. Moreover, students can apply scientific inquiry skills in many aspects of their daily lives and decision making. Thus, the...

Courses: Evolution Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

scientific methodNatural Selectionbrood parasitism

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A new approach to course-based research using a hermit crab-hydrozoan symbiosis

There are few feasible models for marine-focused inquiry laboratory activities, a notable shortcoming for instructors seeking to engage their students in meaningful, course-based research experiences (CUREs). We describe a multi-week CURE that...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

behaviorparasitismSymbiosismutualismcommensalism

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A Hands-on Introduction to Hidden Markov Models

In this Lesson, we describe a classroom activity that demonstrates how a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is applied to predict a eukaryotic gene, focusing on predicting one exon-intron boundary. This HMM lesson is part of the BIOL/CS 370...

Courses: Bioinformatics Genetics Science Process Skills

transcriptionexonintronsplicing

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A Close-Up Look at PCR

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a fundamental laboratory technique that allows for the amplification of many copies of a desired DNA target sequence. Despite its prevalence, undergraduate students often have poor comprehension about the...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Genetics Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

PCRDNA replication

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You and Your Oral Microflora: Introducing non-biology majors to their “forgotten organ”

With limited time available for laboratory activities, introductory science courses for non-science majors typically use the laboratory period to reinforce material that was previously presented during lecture. This practice was true of a human...

Courses: Genetics Introductory Biology Microbiology Science Process Skills

bacteriamicrobiomeBLASTmicrobesDNA replicationPolymerase chain reaction (PCR)

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Teaching Genetic Linkage and Recombination through Mapping with Molecular Markers

Most introductory genetics courses cover genetic linkage, a core concept in the CourseSource genetics learning outcome framework. Although it is a classical genetics topic, genetic linkage remains an important concept to understand in order to...

Courses: Genetics Plant Biology Science Process Skills

meiosisphenotypegel electrophoresismicrosatellitesBanding PatternGenetic linkageInheritanceMolecular MarkersPhysical Linkage

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The Case of the Missing Strawberries: RFLP analysis

While solving the fictional mystery of the missing strawberries, students are engaged in a guided-inquiry lesson featuring small-group and class discussions, hands-on activities, and laboratory exercises related to molecular genotyping by...

Courses: Genetics Science Process Skills

process of scienceDNAforensicsgel electrophoresisMolecular genotypingRestriction endonucleaseRestriction enzymeRestriction fragment length polymorphismRFLP

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Follow the Sulfur: Using Yeast Mutants to Study a Metabolic Pathway

Students are frequently overwhelmed by the complexity of metabolic pathways and they think they have "learned" the pathway when they have memorized the individual reactions. This laboratory lesson helps students to understand the...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Genetics Introductory Biology Microbiology Science Process Skills

SelectionyeastMetabolismcysteinemediamethioninemutantPathwaysulfur

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Predicting and classifying effects of insertion and deletion mutations on protein coding regions

Mutations in genes can affect the encoded proteins in multiple ways, and some of these effects are counterintuitive. As for any other knowledge, students must create their own deep understanding of the Central Dogma. Students may not develop this...

Courses: Bioinformatics Genetics Science Process Skills