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    The Leaky Neuron: Understanding synaptic integration using an analogy involving leaky cups
    Students have difficulty understanding synaptic integration in neural circuits, and how spatial and temporal summation combine in a target neuron to reach threshold.  This Lesson uses small cups of water to represent excitatory postsynaptic...

    Courses: NeurobiologyNeurobiology

    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    1720

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    324

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    SCIENCE/Fiction: Modular Template for Class Design
    We present a modular scaffold for designing an introductory seminar using speculative fiction and science papers to welcome university undergraduates to the biology major. A list of twelve possible topics is included, such as Memory, Parasites,...
    Lesson
    1203

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    554

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    Understanding Gastric Acid Secretion: An Active Learning Approach
    The human digestive system is a diverse network of cells, tissues, and organs that is regulated by systemic (e.g., nervous and endocrine systems) and local factors (e.g., secretions, pH, and the microbiome). Given the volume of content and the...
    Lesson
    5018

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    662

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    How Do Kidneys Make Urine From Blood? Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Filtration, Secretion, Reabsorption, and Excretion
    The function of the kidneys is to help maintain a constant internal environment (homeostasis) by regulating the volume and chemical composition of the blood. This regulation occurs via three fundamental processes: filtration, secretion, and...
    Lesson
    4447

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    715

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    Problem-Based Learning for Physiology: Synthesizing the Cardiovascular System, Respiration, Macronutrient Metabolism, and Renal Function
    Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a valuable tool for helping students overcome reliance on memorization by scaffolding opportunities for them to practice the competency of “systems thinking,” which is the ability to understand...
    Lesson
    1023

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    171

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    To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate
    To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question. Much of the recent trend in society against vaccination is that the general population does not understand 1) how vaccines work and 2) how one's vaccination status can influence others....
    Lesson
    2092

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    234

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    The impact of diet and antibiotics on the gut microbiome
    The goal of this article is to describe an active learning exercise that can be used in a variety of advanced microbiology courses, including bacterial physiology, ecology, or systems biology. The gut microbiome is a multi-species bacterial...

    Courses: MicrobiologyMicrobiology

    Lesson
    1630

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    522

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    Doctor in the House: Improving Undergraduate Critical Thinking Skills Through Diagnosing Medical Case Studies
    Students in undergraduate anatomy and physiology courses are not often exposed to clinical examples of homeostatic imbalances, particularly ones that provide an opportunity to diagnose a medical case. We designed a set of medical cases...
    Lesson
    2023

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    513

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    A Simple Method for Predicting a Molecule's Biological Properties From Its Polarity
    The distinction between very polar and less polar substances is a foundation of biochemistry, cell biology, and physiology; it surfaces in multiple concept inventories and elaborations of biological core concepts. However, in our experience, most...
    Lesson
    3531

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    261

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    SEAS CURE: Exploring Coral Biology Across Scales
    Complex biological concepts (like symbiosis and coral biology) that span multiple scales and cross disciplinary boundaries are often difficult for students to understand. This complexity is compounded by the challenges inherent to teaching and...
    Lesson
    3021

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    203

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    0

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    The Three Sisters of Agriculture: An Active Learning Activity on Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation
    This active learning exercise introduces students to the plant microbiome and the contributions that bacteria make to plant growth and food production. The Three Sisters are an ancient indigenous practice in which three plant crops and the...

    Courses: MicrobiologyMicrobiology

    Lesson
    1950

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    174

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    Fly Exercise: A Simple Experiment to Test the Physiological Effects of Exercise on a Model Organism
    Model organisms are commonly used to study and experimentally explore biological processes in ways that are technically or ethically not possible in humans. For this reason, model organisms are an essential component of scientific research and...
    Lesson
    1132

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    163

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    Using Musical Instruments to Model Negative Feedback in the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Target Gland Axes
    Homeostasis and negative feedback are crucial, yet difficult, concepts for undergraduates, particularly in the context of the hypothalamo-pituitary axes. This interactive activity was designed to (1) reveal how negative feedback can restore...
    Lesson
    6717

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    254

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    Exploring the City of Biofilms: An Engaging Analogy-Based Activity for Students to Learn Biofilms
    Multicellular biofilms constructed by microbes are key aspects of microbiology with significant implications in various fields, including medicine, environmental science, and biotechnology. While bacteria spend nearly all their lives in biofilms,...

    Courses: MicrobiologyMicrobiology

    Lesson
    2442

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    157

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    What's in this? Students Deliberate on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Found in Everyday Healthcare Items to Build Democratic Skills
    In helping our students become informed and active members of society, it is necessary that they develop certain skills that will empower them to improve their community and governance. These skills include communication, collaboration, and...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    1716

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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...
    Essay
    1466

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    203

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    The Impact of Diet and Antibiotics on the Gut Microbiome: Distance Education Variant
    The goal of this article is to describe a variation of an active learning exercise that was previously published by the same author under a similar title. The variation describes modifications instructors can use to make the exercise suitable for...
    Lesson
    314

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    46

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    Using an Interactive Game, Gutsy, to Examine the Impacts of Pathogens and Everyday Events on the Human Gut Microbiome
    The human gut microbiome is often associated with ‘good bacteria’ in marketing campaigns for dietary supplements, probiotic drinks, and fermented foods. Yet, the dynamic and complex community of microbes that make up the gut microbiome...
    Lesson
    2886

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    346

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    Bacteria to Brains in Backyard Coyotes: An Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Case Study
    Our interdisciplinary pedagogical case study explores the differences between rural and urban coyotes at the levels of organismal and community ecology. The focus is on how coyotes’ gut microbiomes could affect their behavior via...
    Lesson
    972

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    121

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    My Fish Tank: An Active Learning Activity for Bacterial Nitrogen Metabolism
    This active learning activity introduces students to the second part of the nitrogen cycle, nitrification. In terrestrial and aquatic environments, bacteria from the Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter genera oxidize ammonia first to nitrite (via a...