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    A Remote Introductory Biology Lab Using Backyard Birdwatching to Teach Data Analysis and Communication
    Asking questions, designing experiments, collecting data and interpreting those data, and communicating the results are some of the most important concepts an undergraduate biology lab can teach students. When the SARS-CoV2 pandemic forced our...
    ecologydata analysisdata collection
    Lesson
    1839

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    427

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    A Lesson on Matter and Energy at the Organismal Scale: Linking Patterns and Processes Across Diverse Taxa
    Pathways and transformations of energy and matter (PTEM) are a conceptually challenging but essential component of biological literacy. Curricular gaps about PTEM nevertheless remain; although lessons targeting PTEM at small scales (chemical,...
    plantsenergyAnimalsfungimatterorganismal scale
    Lesson
    1090

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    417

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    Using Student Perceptions and Cooperative Learning to Unpack Primary Literature on Global Change
    This case describes a three-part assignment in which students discuss key processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system and our increased risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. Here,...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    global changeAnthropoceneEarth-systemplanetary boundary conceptthresholds
    Lesson
    1130

    views

    386

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    Using Images of Foraging Leaf-Cutter Ants to Teach Linear Regression
    This lesson offers students a realistic, open-inquiry research experience, even when lab or field research is not possible. We first introduce students to leaf-cutter ants and how they forage. Then we provide images and videos of foraging...
    linear regressionexperimental designPlant-insect interactionsSymbiosisForaging behavior
    Lesson
    3134

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    863

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    Life Is Just a Game: An Active Learning Activity to Teach Life History Evolution
    A novel activity was designed to introduce students to the concepts of natural selection and life history using an active-learning, constructivist format. It consisted of two parts: 1) a brief introduction to the basic mechanism of natural...

    Courses: EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution

    Evolutionlife historytrade-offsdiversityNatural Selection
    Lesson
    3509

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    1081

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    What is Speciation, How Does It Occur, and Why Is It Important for Conservation?
    Speciation provides a framework for classifying biodiversity on Earth and is a central concept in evolutionary biology. To help undergraduate students learn about speciation, we designed a student-centered lesson that uses active-learning...
    EvolutionconservationGenetic DriftSpeciationNatural SelectionBiological species conceptgene flowMorphological species conceptPhylogenetic species concept
    Lesson
    1374

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    292

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    Chilling in the Cold: Using Thermal Acclimation to Demonstrate Phenotypic Plasticity in Animals
    The lesson plan described here provides students hands-on, scientific experiences that relate to the globally important issue of climate change and its impacts on animals. Students use the scientific method and basic components of experimental...
    scientific methodclimate changephenotypic plasticityfruit fliesaccclimationcold tolerancethink-pair-share
    Lesson
    2837

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    866

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    Assessing Urban Biodiversity With the eBird Citizen Science Project: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Module
    The eBird citizen science module takes advantage of technology tools and online resources developed by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (http://ebird.org) to achieve several learning objectives embedded in a semester-long upper-level biology...
    datacitizen sciencecommunityBiodiversitySpecieshypothesishabitat
    Lesson
    1229

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    355

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    Data, Distributions, and Hypotheses: Exploring Diversity and Disturbance in the Tallgrass Prairie
    Proper hypothesis generation, data handling, graphing, and communication are essential skills that undergraduate majors in biology are expected to master. However, students rarely get hands-on practice that helps them to effectively develop these...
    Quantitative reasoningRestoration EcologyScience process skillstall grass prairie ecosystem
    Lesson
    1026

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    164

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    0

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    Tying it All Together: An Activity to Help Students Connect Course Experiences to Posted Learning Outcomes
    Instructors of undergraduate courses in Biology and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines face an ongoing challenge to foster higher-order thinking and learning skills while also developing a sound conceptual...
    metacognitionreflectiongoalsOutcomes
    Lesson
    1089

    views

    281

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    0

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    Using Seafood Traceability to Teach the Complexities of Natural Resource Management and Sustainability
    This lesson plan addresses the challenge of conveying to students the globalized nature and complexity of natural resource management. Specifically, it uses seafood traceability, or the ability to track seafood as it moves through the global...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    sustainabilityfisheriesaquacultureAnthropogenic ImpactsNatural Resource Management
    Essay
    1910

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    186

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    0

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    Structuring Courses for Equity
    As instructors, we continually look for new ways to create equitable learning environments and support learning for all students in our courses. Recently, we have explored ways that we can increase structure to better support students. We have...
    Equitymetacognitioninclusivitycourse structure
    Lesson
    2380

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    457

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    0

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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...
    data analysisnatural historyphylogenyBiodiversitymammalsAllen's RuleBergmann's Ruleecogeographymuseum research
    Science Behind the Lesson
    2586

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    129

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    Science Behind the Lesson: It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Biomechanics!
    Active flight is a specialized mode of movement found in insects, birds, and mammals. The anatomy, morphology, physiology, and ecology of flying taxa has changed over evolutionary time. Researchers have proposed several hypotheses about the...
    EvolutionecologybatphysiologyAnatomybiomechanicsbirdFlightinsect
    Lesson
    940

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    130

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    0

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    It's a bird! It's a plane! It's biomechanics!
    Biomechanics is a discipline that draws from physics and engineering principles to understand the movement and structure of living organisms. It is highly interdisciplinary in nature and can be incorporated into general biology and ecology...
    EvolutionecologybatphysiologyAnatomybirdFlightforcesinsect
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    1052

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    118

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    Integrating Primary Literature in a Lecture Course Using a Modified Version of the C.R.E.A.T.E. Approach
    Reforms in undergraduate science education place an increasing emphasis on teaching the skills of practicing scientists, such as reading and interpreting the primary research literature. Many approaches have been proposed to introduce students to...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    primary literatureDiscussionModified JigsawPeer-based Learning
    Lesson
    1087

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    186

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    Training future faculty in 30 minutes a week: A modular framework to provide just-in-time professional development to graduate teaching assistants
    Despite increasing recognition of the need to train the teaching assistants (TAs) teaching the majority of STEM lab sections, very few programs report offering sustained teaching professional development opportunities. Here we present a year-long,...
    professional developmentTA TrainingTeaching Assistants
    Lesson
    1249

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    396

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    0

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    Using Structured Decision Making to Explore Complex Environmental Issues
    Environmental issues are inherently complex, often requiring multiple interested parties to come together before agreeing on a solution. Structured decision making is a tool used by federal and state management agencies to find solutions that...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    interdisciplinarysocio-ecological systemsscience policystakeholderstructured decision making
    Lesson
    5428

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    3541

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    CURE-all: Large Scale Implementation of Authentic DNA Barcoding Research into First-Year Biology Curriculum
    Growing calls in science education reform have emphasized wide-scale engagement of first-year undergraduate students in authentic research experiences; however, large course enrollments, inadequate student experience, limited resources and...
    phylogeneticsbioinformaticsBiodiversityprocess of sciencetaxonomyPCRDNADNA sequencegel electrophoresis
    Lesson
    1874

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    363

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    0

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    Dynamic Daphnia: An inquiry-based research experience in ecology that teaches the scientific process to first-year biologists
    This authentic research experience lesson teaches the core concept of systems and the competencies of quantitative reasoning, communication, and the ability to apply science. The research is student driven, the results are unknown, and the...
    statisticsecologyscientific methodexperimental designAbiotic and Biotic FactorsDependent and Independent Variables