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    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    Walkabout: An Easy to Use, Experiential Learning Activity for Applying Abstract Concepts to the Real-World
    Students can have difficulty recognizing examples of course concepts in the real-world. They particularly struggle with phenomena that are ambiguously defined, have mimics, or are hard to distinguish from other phenomena. Students can better...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    data gatheringgreen technologyobservations
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    Using Synthetic Biology and pClone Red for Authentic Research on Promoter Function: Introductory Biology (identifying new promoters)
    Students often memorize the definition of a transcriptional promoter but fail to fully understand the critical role promoters play in gene expression. This laboratory lesson allows students to conduct original research by identifying and...

    Courses: GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    bacteriasynthetic biologygene regulationtranscriptionstudent researchcentral dogmacloningpromoterreporter gene/protein
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    Sanger Sequencing by Hand: Using Paper Clips to Demonstrate Chain Termination
    Sanger sequencing is commonly taught with a hands-on approach. Sanger sequencing involves chain termination by dideoxynucleotides, because they are missing the oxygen on the 3’ carbon atom, which is required for the addition of subsequent...

    Courses: GeneticsGenetics

    nucleotidessequencingDNAgel electrophoresisChain Termination
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    Using Synthetic Biology and pClone Red for Authentic Research on Promoter Function: Genetics (analyzing mutant promoters)
    Students often memorize the definition of a transcriptional promoter but fail to fully understand the critical role promoters play in gene expression.  This laboratory lesson allows students to conduct original research by characterizing...

    Courses: GeneticsGenetics Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    bacteriasynthetic biologygene regulationtranscriptionstudent researchcentral dogmacloningpromoterreporter gene/protein
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    Learning the Landscape: An Active and Applied Lesson on Landscape Ecology for General Ecology Courses
    Landscape ecology is an important subtopic of ecology. As a field, it is inherently interdisciplinary and provides opportunities to teach not only content, but transferable ecological and geographical skills. Given the broad spectrum of topics in...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    landscape ecologyspatial scaleecosystem managementHabitat fragmentation
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    Environmental Injustice: When the Grass is Greener on the Other Side
    Environmental pollution is a global threat that is especially prevalent in heavily industrialized and urbanized areas. Pollution can be found in many forms, such as natural and synthetic pollutants from natural and anthropogenic processes. These...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills ToxicologyToxicology

    human healthenvironmental injusticeEnvironmental PollutionSystemic BiasesIdeological AwarenessUrban Ecology and Development
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    Green Design: How do Leaf Structures Optimize Photosynthesis and Promote Survival?
    One of the major learning objectives established by the American Society of Plant Biologists and the Botanical Society of America has students answer the question: How do plant structures enable life functions? This lesson helps students answer...

    Courses: Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Plant BiologyPlant Biology

    photosynthesisepidermal layerleaf anatomymesophyllpalisade parenchymaplant anatomyplant structure functionspongy parenchymaStomata
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    Exploration of the Human Genome by Investigation of Personalized SNPs
    Students often shy away from tedious bioinformatics approaches to exploring their genomes. However, in our expanding digital world these skills are some of the most relevant and valuable. To increase students' interest in their own genomes, I...

    Courses: BioinformaticsBioinformatics GeneticsGenetics Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    UCSC genome browsersingle nucleotide polymorphismGenome wide association studiesGenomic organization
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    Using Immunocytochemistry and Fluorescence Microscopy Imaging to Explore the Mechanism of Action of Anti-Cancer Drugs on the Cell Cycle
    Understanding and visualizing the cell cycle and mitosis is an essential concept of cell biology. This multi-week lab module has students investigate the mechanism of action of anti-cancer drugs that disrupt activities associated with mitosis and...

    Courses: Cell BiologyCell Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    fluorescence microscopymitosisCell StructureCell ImagingImmunocytochemistryQuantitative microscopySTEM skills
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    CRISPR/Cas9 in yeast: a multi-week laboratory exercise for undergraduate students
    Providing undergraduate life-science students with a course-based research experience that utilizes cutting-edge technology, is tractable for students, and is manageable as an instructor is a challenge. Here, I describe a multi-week lesson plan...

    Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology BioinformaticsBioinformatics GeneticsGenetics MicrobiologyMicrobiology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    bioinformaticsPCRphenotypingCRISPR/Cas9gene editingcloningGenotypingRestriction enzyme
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    Honoring the Complexity of Genetics: Exploring the Role of Genes and the Environment Using Real World Examples
    Historically, undergraduate genetics courses have disproportionately focused on the impact of genes on phenotypes, rather than multifactorial concepts which consider how a combination of genes, the environment, and gene-by-environment interactions...

    Courses: EvolutionEvolution GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    genesenvironmentMendelQuantitative traitsMultifactorialGene by environment interactions
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    Infectious Chocolate Joy with a Side of Poissonian Statistics: An activity connecting life science students with subtle physics concepts
    Introductory physics courses are required for many programs in the life sciences, yet traditional curricula fail to help students meaningfully connect physical concepts with biological systems.  In this lesson, we describe an activity taught...

    Courses: BioinformaticsBioinformatics MicrobiologyMicrobiology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    quantitative biologyHIVmultiplicity of infectionPoisson DistributionPhysics for biologists
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    From Cre/LoxP to Fate Maps: Inclusive and Equitable Approaches for Engaging Developmental Biology Students in Experimental Design
    Engaging first generation underrepresented minority students in the process of inquiry in developmental biology is important to increase diversity in future graduate STEM education. One important challenge is how we design curricula to foster...

    Courses: Developmental BiologyDevelopmental Biology

    experimental designC. elegansCre/LoxPFate mapheart developmentheart regenerationmousereporter constructzebrafish
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    Teaching Advanced Concepts in Regulation of the Lac Operon With Modeling and Simulation
    Success in biochemistry and other life science courses requires that students understand important biological concepts. One of these concepts is how gene regulation ensures that homeostasis is maintained in an organism. The lac operon is a...

    Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology

    gene regulationinducible operonProkaryotic cellPhosphoenolpyruvate transferase system (PTS)
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    Space Mission Ecology: Making Connections Among Science Disciplines Through the Lens of a Unique Plant
    With this case study, we aim to increase awareness of essential services plants provide to society, as well as the importance of fundamental aspects of ecology for other disciplines and the interconnectedness among different fields of science in...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Plant BiologyPlant Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    ecologycollaborationplant biologyScience CommunicationBioregenerative Life SupportInterdisciplinary Connections
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    Biology from Molecules to Embryos, Interactive Animated Lessons
    Visualizing kinetic processes can be an impediment to student mastery of basic science coursework. To remedy this obstacle, I created an educational program called Biology from Molecules to Embryos© (BioME), which provides 28 animated lessons...

    Courses: Developmental BiologyDevelopmental Biology GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    geneticsBIOMEEmbryologycomputer assisted instructioneducational programeducational videosonline lessonsanimated lessonseducational website
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    Exploring Biological Variation and the Value of Natural History Collections Using an Online Lesson
    First-year science students in large-enrollment lecture courses are rarely given opportunities to contribute to science beyond their classroom as part of their curriculum. Meanwhile, natural history museums are eager to engage students and the...

    Courses: Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    natural historymuseumBiodiversityalgaeherbariumseaweedcitzen science
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    Go Extinct! An Award-Winning Evolution Game That Teaches Tree-Thinking as Students Pursue the Winning Strategy
    Evolutionary trees communicate both the diversity and unity of life, a central and important scientific concept, as highlighted by the Vision and Change undergraduate biology education movement. Evolutionary trees and cladograms are diagrams...

    Courses: EvolutionEvolution

    phylogeneticsnatural historyBiodiversitycladogramCommon ancestorEvolutionary treeLand vertebratesMonophyletic cladeTetrapods
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    Garden Variety Mutations: Using Primary Data to Understand the Central Dogma in Large-Lecture Introductory Biology
    The ability to interpret and create an argument from data is a crucial skill for budding scientists, yet one that is seldom practiced in introductory courses. During this argumentation module, students in a large lecture class will work in groups...

    Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    mutationtranscriptiongene expressioncentral dogmatranslationgel electrophoresisGenotype/Phenotype
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    "Boost your evolution IQ": An evolution misconceptions game
    Students often enter introductory biology courses with misconceptions about evolution. For example, many students believe that traits arise when a species needs them or that evolutionary processes are goal-oriented. To address these and other...

    Courses: EvolutionEvolution

    Evolutionactive learningNatural Selectiongroup workmisconceptions