CourseSource: Resources

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: Evolution

Evolutionactive learningNatural Selectiongroup workmisconceptions

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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: Evolution

phylogeneticsnatural historyBiodiversitycladogramCommon ancestorEvolutionary treeLand vertebratesMonophyletic cladeTetrapods

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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...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Ecology Ecology Evolution

EvolutionecologybatphysiologyAnatomybirdFlightforcesinsect

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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

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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

Teaching Tools and Strategies

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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...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Cell Biology Evolution Genetics Immunology Introductory Biology Microbiology Science Process Skills

geneticsImmunologyBiochemistrybioinformaticsmolecular evolutionpublic healthvirusCOVID19

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Role of Crop Genetic Diversity on Pathogen Impact: The Tale of Two Pathogens

Introductory genetics courses are part of the core curriculum in many different fields, including plant breeding, animal science, biology, microbiology, and natural resource management. Concepts involving genes, inheritance, evolution, and genome...

Courses: Introductory Biology Plant Biology Science Process Skills

plant pathologygenetic diversityDisease TriangleModes of Reproduction

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Who’s That Speci-Mon? Using Pokémon^TM to Understand Biological Terminology Using Greek and Latin Roots

We set out to create a fun and engaging activity using recognizable fictional characters, so students get a chance to practice using Greek and Latin roots to create binomial names. Students in biology courses are faced with a plethora of...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Evolution Introductory Biology

linguisticstaxonomyAnatomyGreek and Latin Roots

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Biodiversity Show and Tell: An Accessible Activity to Encourage Students to Explore the Tree of Life

An appreciation of organismal diversity is a requirement for understanding evolution and ecology, and can serve as a source of amazement and wonder that inspires students to enjoy biology. However, biodiversity can be a challenging subject to...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Introductory Biology

EvolutionecologyBiodiversity

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Defining and Understanding Pathogenic Disease: An Engaging Activity that Connects Students' Lived Experiences with their Academic Studies

Contagious diseases are unavoidable realities of life. Thus, understanding pathogens and their respective diseases is important in many biological subfields including evolution, ecology, health sciences, microbiology, and others. While all college...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Introductory Biology Microbiology

infectious diseasePathogenspathogenic disease

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Fragile States: A Case Study Exploring Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry Through the Lens of Fragile X Syndrome

This case aims to strengthen students’ understanding of molecular biology concepts through study of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Students begin by learning the cause and phenotypes of FXS and related conditions. Students then apply genetics...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Genetics

gene regulationtranscriptiontranslationFragile X syndrometriplet repeat expansionsex linkagemetabolic pathway

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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

Teaching Tools and Strategies

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"Reading groups" in an undergraduate biology course: A peer-based model to help students develop skills to evaluate primary literature

Undergraduates who learn to evaluate primary literature demonstrate an enhanced ability to understand the process of science, weigh scientific evidence, and think critically (e.g. 6,8). Studies show that students who learn how to dissect primary...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Science Process Skills

primary literaturecritical thinkingSelf-EfficacyDiscussionPeer-based Learning

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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...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Introductory Biology

collecting ductexcretionglomerular filtration rate (GFR)nephron tubulereabsorptionrenal corpusclesection

Teaching Tools and Strategies

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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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Why do Some People Inherit a Predisposition to Cancer? A small group activity on cancer genetics

Before undergraduate students take a genetics course they generally know cancer has a genetic basis and involves the proliferation of cells; however, many are uncertain about why only a subset of people have a predisposition to cancer and how that...

Courses: Genetics Science Process Skills

cancerInheritance patternsProbability calculationProto-oncogeneTumor Suppressor Gene

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The Science and Ethics of Gene Drives: An Active Learning Lesson in Genetics

Coursework connecting biology to socially relevant issues and ethical questions can help students think about biology in interdisciplinary terms. Gene drives represent one topic involving both advanced biology concepts and societally relevant...

Courses: Genetics

bioethicsCRISPR/Cas9Genetic modificationGene drives

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How to Find a Gene: Retrieving Information From Gene Databases

A strong understanding of distinct gene components and the ability to retrieve relevant information from gene databases are necessary to answer a diverse set of biological questions. However, often there is a considerable gap between...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Cell Biology Genetics Introductory Biology

NCBItranscriptiontranslationGene StructureGene databasesEnsembl

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An undergraduate bioinformatics curriculum that teaches eukaryotic gene structure

Gene structure, transcription, translation, and alternative splicing are challenging concepts for many undergraduates studying biology. These topics are typically covered in a traditional lecture environment, but students often fail to master and...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Genetics

bioinformaticsGenome BrowsergenomicsRNAseqsplicingComputer ModelGene Structure

Essay

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Implementing active learning approaches into an upper-division biology course

In this essay, we present our strategy for implementing active learning strategies into an upper division course on Human Genetics. Our principal goal was to shift from a traditional didactic course design, to one that more clearly placed the...

Courses: Genetics Introductory Biology

human biologyPedigree analysisRare genetic diseases