CourseSource: Resources

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A first lesson in mathematical modeling for biologists: Rocs

Using a fictitious population of Rocs, a mythical species of giant raptor, students accomplish two broad objectives: 1) they undertake the process of building a first mathematical model of a population, and 2) they begin to develop their...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

population ecologypopulation modelingdiscrete generationpopulation management

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3076

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453

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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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3684

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679

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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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1529

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Promoting Climate Change Literacy for Non-majors: Implementation of an atmospheric carbon dioxide modeling activity as an inquiry-based classroom activity

Students who are directly involved in scientific activities develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of both scientific knowledge and the scientific process. This understanding is critically important in scientific areas like climate change...

Courses: Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

modelingExcelquantitativeclimate changeEnvironmental Biologyatmospheric carbon dioxide

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3104

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358

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Discovering Cellular Respiration with Computational Modeling and Simulations

Cellular respiration, a common topic among introductory and cellular biology curricula, is a complex biological process that exemplifies core biological concepts, including systems, pathways and transformation of energy, and structure and function...

Courses: Introductory Biology

Cellular MechanismsCellular RespirationFermentation

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3707

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829

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Breaking Bricks: A Hands-On Model of Enzyme Kinetics and Inhibition

Enzyme kinetics and the impacts of inhibitors on the enzyme's maximal velocity and ability to bind substrates are important topics in cell biology and biochemistry. However, these topics can be difficult for students to grasp when instructed...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell Biology

kineticsEnzymecompetitive inhibition

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5366

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1017

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An active-learning lesson that targets student understanding of population growth in ecology

Effective teaching and learning of population ecology requires integration of quantitative literacy skills. To facilitate student learning in population ecology and provide students with the opportunity to develop and apply quantitative skills, we...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Introductory Biology

population growthexponential growthlogistic growthpopulation ecologygrowth rateDensityAbundancecarrying capacitylinear growth

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1890

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640

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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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2690

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Harnessing the Power of the Immune System: Influenza Vaccines

Because most people have been infected by and/or immunized against influenza, students should know how the immune system responds to the infection and how vaccines protect against disease. Vaccines have played an instrumental role in disease...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Immunology Science Process Skills

VaccinesInfluenzaImmunizationVaccine efficacy

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4469

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448

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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 Biology

gene regulationinducible operonProkaryotic cellPhosphoenolpyruvate transferase system (PTS)

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1482

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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: Bioinformatics Microbiology Science Process Skills

quantitative biologyHIVmultiplicity of infectionPoisson DistributionPhysics for biologists

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6535

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1121

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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

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1517

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210

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Modeling Strep Throat Detection, Infection, and Spread Using an SIR Model and the Vensim Simulation Software

The overarching goal of this lesson is to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience making and using biological models. Biological modeling can be used to investigate complex, real-world problems so that predictions can be made about...

Courses: Cell Biology Immunology Introductory Biology Microbiology

infectious diseasebiological modelingSIR model

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1652

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245

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Make It Stick: Teaching Gene Targeting with Ribbons and Fasteners

Manipulating gene expression is a commonly used tool to study the effect of a single gene or the hierarchy of gene networks in many different biological disciplines. When working with mice, the most commonly used techniques to manipulate genes...

Courses: Developmental Biology Genetics

mathematical modelhomologous recombinationCre/loxgene targeting

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2289

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Discovering Prokaryotic Gene Regulation by Building and Investigating a Computational Model of the lac Operon

The ability to construct and reason through a biological system is an important skill to develop in science education. This level of understanding forces students to recognize the interrelatedness of components within a biological process and...

Courses: Introductory Biology

prokaryotesgene regulationLac Operoninducible operon

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925

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Population Ecology of the Northern Spotted Owl

The mathematical modeling of populations utilizing field-collected demographic data is an important component of lab curricula in a variety of undergraduate biology lab courses. During the global pandemic brought about by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Introductory Biology

demographyCommunity Ecologypopulation ecologyconservation biologylife tables

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3027

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It's a Substrate... It's a Protein...No - It's an Enzyme! Teaching Using 3D Serine Protease Physical Modeling Activities to Confront Misconceptions.

Reported misconceptions of enzyme-substrate interactions highlight the necessity for better, targeted instructional tools and assessments. A series of active learning activities with corresponding three-dimensional (3D) physical models were...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Protein StructureEnzymes-Substrate InteractionsNoncovalent InteractionsGeometric ComplementaryElectronicsStereochemistrySerine Proteases

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How Many Squirrels Are in the Shrubs? A Lesson Plan for Comparing Methods for Population Estimation

Estimating the population sizes of animals is a key skill for any student interested in ecology, conservation, or management. However, counting animals in natural habitats is difficult, and the many techniques that exist each rely on assumptions...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Introductory Biology Professional Development and Career Planning Science Process Skills

population ecologywildlife managementpopulation estimationsciuridaeSquirrel-Net

Teaching Tools and Strategies

989

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Making toast: Using analogies to explore concepts in bioinformatics

Contemporary biology is moving towards heavy reliance on computational methods to manage, find patterns, and derive meaning from large-scale data, such as genomic sequences. Biology teachers are increasingly compelled to prepare students with...

Courses: Bioinformatics

bioinformaticsworkflowgenome

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1824

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378

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Plotting Cranial and Spinal Nerve Pathways in a Human Anatomy Lab

Hands-on experiences with cadavers, animal dissections, or plastic models are effective at improving student learning and attitudes in human anatomy courses. The hands-on experience allows students to visualize and experiment with anatomical...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Science Process Skills