CourseSource: Resources

Teaching Tools and Strategies

2311

views

92

downloads

0

comments

How to Design a Classroom Activity that Integrates 3D Print Models with Active Learning

Student exploration of relevant physical models can deepen knowledge of course material. In this guide we describe a method by which instructors can integrate 3D printing technology with an established teaching strategy, the classroom jigsaw, to...

Courses: Introductory Biology

active learning3D print modelsclassroom jigsaw

Teaching Tools and Strategies

881

views

186

downloads

0

comments

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

Lesson

1694

views

332

downloads

0

comments

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

Lesson

1479

views

519

downloads

0

comments

Investigating the Function of a Transport Protein: Where is ABCB6 Located in Human Cells?

One of the challenges of teaching Cell Biology is helping students understand important research methods used to study cells. The goal of understanding cell biology methods is especially challenging in courses without a laboratory...

Courses: Cell Biology

ABC transporter familyDifferential centrifugationImmunoblottingImmunofluorescence assayProtein localizationPurifying organellesSDS-PAGE

Lesson

1696

views

579

downloads

0

comments

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

Lesson

1146

views

161

downloads

0

comments

Simulating Cortical Rotation, Axis Induction, and Experimental Embryology in Amphibian Embryos Using Clay Models

The study of development requires learners to understand spatially complex concepts like embryo anatomy. Embryo anatomy is dynamic over time, and it is often manipulated by researchers in experiments that are fundamental to the field. This spatial...

Courses: Developmental Biology

developmentXenopusfertilizationEmbryologyinductionSymmetry breakingOrganizerCortical rotationPatterning

Essay

783

views

194

downloads

0

comments

Thinking deeply about quantitative analysis: Building a Biologist's Toolkit

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education encouraged faculty to focus on core concepts and competencies in undergraduate curriculum. We created a sophomore-level course, Biologists' Toolkit, to focus on the competencies of...

Courses: Introductory Biology

Vision and ChangeRRStudioquantitative literacystatistical analysisScientific communication

Lesson

1046

views

153

downloads

0

comments

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...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Ecology Ecology Evolution

EvolutionecologybatphysiologyAnatomybirdFlightforcesinsect

Teaching Tools and Strategies

2705

views

374

downloads

0

comments

The Flight Physics Concept Inventory: Reliably Evaluating Aerodynamic Lift, Drag and Associated (Naïve) Concepts of Flight in Class and In-Game

Students often struggle to transfer conceptual understanding from isolated instruction to a coherent mental model. This is especially true for the context of flight physics, fluid dynamics, or the concepts of aerodynamic lift, drag, stall, center...

Courses: Introductory Physics: Calculus-Based

active learninggamificationmisconceptionsaerodynamicsfluid dynamicsResearch-based assessment instrumentConceptual SurveyPRE-/POST-test

Lesson

2745

views

215

downloads

0

comments

A Case Study for Teaching Toxicology: Using Whales as an Indicator for Environmental Health

One of the challenges of teaching scientific courses is helping students understand research methods, biological models, and data analysis, which can be especially difficult in classes without a laboratory component. Within the field of...

Courses: Science Process Skills Toxicology

absorptionone environmental health hypothesismetals

Lesson

3892

views

394

downloads

0

comments

Discovering Prokaryotic Gene Regulation with Simulations of the trp Operon

The trp operon exemplifies important biological concepts, including the central dogma of molecular biology, feedback inhibition, and gene regulation. For this reason, regulation of the trp operon is a common theme in introductory biology,...

Courses: Genetics Introductory Biology Microbiology

prokaryotesgene regulationattenuationfeedback inhibitionrepressible operontrp operon

Lesson

2848

views

335

downloads

0

comments

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

Lesson

2066

views

261

downloads

1

comments

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

Lesson

7962

views

1076

downloads

0

comments

Lights, Camera, Acting Transport! Using role-play to teach membrane transport

Lights, Camera, Acting Transport! is an active and unique role-play exercise designed to teach introductory biology students basic concepts of passive and active membrane transport. The activity involves three acts in which students, representing...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell Biology Introductory Biology

ATPcarrierschannelsco-transportelectrogenic pumpfacilitated diffusionmembrane transportpassive transportprimary active transportsimple diffusion

Lesson

5427

views

1107

downloads

2

comments

Meiosis: A Play in Three Acts, Starring DNA Sequence

Meiosis is well known for being a sticky topic that appears repeatedly in biology curricula. We observe that a typical undergraduate biology major cannot correctly identify haploid and diploid cells or explain how and why chromosomes pair before...

Courses: Cell Biology Genetics Introductory Biology

recombinationmeiosisDNA sequenceCrossingoverchromosome structureHolliday junctionhomology

Lesson

2808

views

905

downloads

0

comments

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

Lesson

1990

views

472

downloads

0

comments

Necessary and Sufficient? Solving the Mystery of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Transporter

While there are several available lessons for teaching introductory biology students about diffusion, facilitated diffusion, and active transport, fewer materials exist to support upper-division students' understanding of the proteins that...

Courses: Cell Biology

DiffusionActive transportfacilitated diffusionNecessary and sufficientTransport proteins

Lesson

114

views

2

downloads

0

comments

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...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Immunology Microbiology

bacteriaGamepathogenhealthmicrobiomediversity

Lesson

2455

views

408

downloads

0

comments

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: Evolution

phylogeneticsnatural historyBiodiversitycladogramCommon ancestorEvolutionary treeLand vertebratesMonophyletic cladeTetrapods

Lesson

1222

views

344

downloads

0

comments

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