Text Search:
Applied Filters
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    1798

    views

    705

    downloads

    0

    comments

    "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

    Lesson
    2304

    views

    475

    downloads

    0

    comments

    A Lesson on Matter and Energy at the Organismal Scale: Linking Patterns and Processes Across Diverse Taxa
    Pathways and transformations of energy and matter (PTEM) are a conceptually challenging but essential component of biological literacy. Curricular gaps about PTEM nevertheless remain; although lessons targeting PTEM at small scales (chemical,...
    Lesson
    1365

    views

    513

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Using Pathway Maps to Link Concepts, Peer Review, Primary Literature Searches and Data Assessment in Large Enrollment Classes: An example from teaching ecosystem ecology
    As with many other complex topics, teaching ecosystem ecology can be particularly difficult in terms of helping students understand the relationships between the various component parts. We addressed this challenge in a general ecology course by...
    Lesson
    3163

    views

    504

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Targeting Misconceptions in the Central Dogma by Examining Viral Infection
    Understanding the central dogma and how changes in gene expression can impact cell function requires integration of several topics in molecular biology. Students often do not make the necessary connections between DNA structure, transcription,...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    2832

    views

    394

    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...
    Lesson
    1476

    views

    111

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Introducing Immunology Research Literature to Understand B-cell Receptor Gene Expression
    Immunology is relevant to our everyday lives, driving a need for more engaging and inclusive undergraduate immunology education. One way to engage a diverse group of learners is by teaching them how to read and interpret the scientific literature....
    Lesson
    1312

    views

    185

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Tying it All Together: An Activity to Help Students Connect Course Experiences to Posted Learning Outcomes
    Instructors of undergraduate courses in Biology and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines face an ongoing challenge to foster higher-order thinking and learning skills while also developing a sound conceptual...
    Lesson
    3513

    views

    854

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Furry with a chance of evolution: Exploring genetic drift with tuco-tucos
    Genetic drift is an important mechanism of evolution, yet undergraduates often fail to understand how it leads to evolutionary change due in part to its random nature. This lesson plan describes a simulation-based activity that allows students to...

    Courses: EvolutionEvolution

    Lesson
    4483

    views

    449

    downloads

    1

    comments

    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...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    1488

    views

    235

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Preparing Student Study Guides through Peer Collaboration in the Technological Era
    Incorporating active learning exercises into large lecture courses is particularly challenging, especially when it comes to examination preparation materials. Traditionally, study guides are used as a tool to guide student learning and review...
    Lesson
    787

    views

    259

    downloads

    0

    comments

    A Kinesthetic and Collaborative Activity to Improve Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium
    While teaching in large lecture halls, it is challenging even for experienced teachers to hold their students’ attention for the entire class period. Owing to the large enrollment in STEM introductory courses, it is especially crucial to...
    Lesson
    4337

    views

    1470

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Evaluating the Quick Fix: Weight Loss Drugs and Cellular Respiration
    One key to student success in introductory and cell biology courses is a foundational knowledge of cellular respiration. This is a content area in which students often harbor misconceptions that make cellular respiration particularly challenging...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    1347

    views

    50

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Using Constructed Response Questions on High-Stakes Assessments in Large Classes With Limited Support
    Large lecture courses often rely heavily, and sometimes exclusively, on Multiple Choice (MC) exams to assess student learning. Constructed Response (CR) questions, in which students generate their own answers, can provide more insight into student...

    Courses: GeneticsGenetics

    Lesson
    2617

    views

    489

    downloads

    0

    comments

    A Modeling Exercise in Sexual Selection using a Student-Created Bird Species
    Evolution-centered lessons at the undergraduate level can often be jargon-heavy, propagate misconceptions if taught ineffectively, and be uninteresting to students who may not see the relevancy of such concepts. This activity provides a fun and...
    Lesson
    2840

    views

    742

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Electron Location, Location, Location: Understanding Biological Interactions
    Introductory Biology courses typically introduce the structure and function of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. To understand biomolecules fully, students require knowledge of fundamental chemistry concepts such as covalent...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    1319

    views

    200

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Facilitating Scientific Literacy Through Writing: A Write-to-Learn Assignment for Large Introductory Undergraduate Biology Courses
    Write-to-learn (WTL) assignments have been used in a variety of disciplines to encourage conceptual learning and critical thinking in undergraduate education. These assignments focus on facilitating rather than assessing learning. Conversely,...
    Lesson
    2561

    views

    174

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Forensic Phylogenetics: Implementing Tree-thinking in a Court of Law
    Here we describe an in-class activity developed for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity (BioEE1780) at Cornell University, an introductory course required of all biology majors. This activity offers instructors an engaging and real-life...

    Courses: MicrobiologyMicrobiology

    Lesson
    1812

    views

    344

    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...
    Lesson
    2999

    views

    944

    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...
    Lesson
    760

    views

    118

    downloads

    0

    comments

    A Momentum-First Approach to Newton’s Second Law
    Students frequently struggle with seeing the connection between forces and motion in introductory physics. This lesson is part of a combined momentum and kinematics unit that first teaches Newton’s second law as a statement of conservation...