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    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    Drawing flowcharts of lab protocols helps students prepare for biology labs
    With the publishing of the Vision and Change report, we know it is best practice to include authentic research experiences in our undergraduate science lab classes. One big challenge in teaching so-called "wet lab" classes is figuring...

    Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    laboratorymolecular biologyUndergraduateprotocolflowchart
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    Data Analysis Recitation Activities Support Better Understanding in SEA-PHAGES CURE
    Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are widely known to improve student learning outcomes in the sciences. Undergraduate students have a particularly difficult time interpreting the scientific data that they generate in these...

    Courses: Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    bacteriophageDNA extractionGel analysisPhage purificationTiter calculationViral replicative growth
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    Enhancing the Microscopy Skills of Non-Science Majors and Nursing Microbiology Students: Promoting the Practice of Observing Multiple Fields of View Using Blood Smear Slides
    One of the challenges in teaching microscopy is having students scan multiple fields of view at high power magnification. Many times, students will feel this unnecessary, especially when presented with slides that show only one structure or a...

    Courses: Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology MicrobiologyMicrobiology

    Microscopy SkillsBlood SmearsBlood Disorders
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    Lateral Transfer Maps as a Metacognitive Tool in First Year STEM Courses
    We introduce the Lateral Transfer Map (LTM), a tool for students to actively and visually explore the transfer of ideas, skills, and concepts across concurrent coursework. The LTM is an extension of a concept map, replacing interconnected concepts...

    Courses: Professional Development and Career PlanningProfessional Development and Career Planning Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    concept mapmetacognitionfirst-year studenttransfer
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    Dilution and Pipetting Lesson Using Food Dyes
    In this lesson students learn how to use micropipettors to accurately measure small volumes of liquids and perform dilutions using food dyes. Students dilute four food dyes at 10X concentration to 1X working stocks. Using the formula c1v1=c2v2...

    Courses: Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    dilutionCalculationLab SkillsMicropipetting
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    A Strategy for Teaching Undergraduates to Write Effective Scientific Results Sections
    Most undergraduate instructors would agree that learning to write about data in the style of a scientific research paper is a worthy goal for their students.  However, many hesitate to tackle the challenge of teaching scientific writing in...

    Courses: Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    data analysisprimary literaturescientific writingcommunicating science
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    Squirreling Around for Science: Observing Sciurid Rodents to Investigate Animal Behavior
    Hands-on research experiences are important opportunities for students to learn about the nature of inquiry and gain confidence in solving problems. Here, we present an inquiry-based lesson plan that investigates the foraging behavior of sciurid...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    foragingbehaviorbehavioral ecologySciuridSquirrelSquirrel-NetTrade-offVigilance
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    Fruit Fly Genetics in a Day: A Guided Exploration to Help Many Large Sections of Beginning Students Uncover the Secrets of Sex-linked Inheritance
    Moving beyond the basic concepts of autosomal Mendelian inheritance to sex-linkage can be difficult for introductory biology students. Although crosses with Drosophila fruit flies have long been a mainstay of genetics units that teach these...

    Courses: GeneticsGenetics

    Mendelian Geneticsfruit fly biologysex-linked inheritance
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    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...

    Courses: Anatomy-PhysiologyAnatomy-Physiology BioinformaticsBioinformatics Cell BiologyCell Biology Developmental BiologyDevelopmental Biology EcologyEcology GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology MicrobiologyMicrobiology NeurobiologyNeurobiology Plant BiologyPlant Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    metacognitionreflectiongoalsOutcomes
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    Grow the Gradient: An interactive countercurrent multiplier game
    The countercurrent multiplier of the loop of Henle in a mammalian kidney is a challenging concept for instructors to teach and for students to learn. We developed an interactive game to support student learning of this dynamic process with a team...

    Courses: Anatomy-PhysiologyAnatomy-Physiology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    countercurrent multiplierexcretory systemkidneyloop of Henlemembrane transport
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    A Student-Led Hearing on the Use of HeLa Cells in Research
    In this role-playing case study, students will learn about the HeLa cell line and its origins while examining multiple perspectives surrounding the cell line and its uses. The goal of this case study is for students to use guided questions to...

    Courses: Cell BiologyCell Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    bioethicsscience policycell culturedebateHeLa cellsinformed consentrole playsocial justice issues
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    A Fun Introductory Command Line Lesson: Next Generation Sequencing Quality Analysis with Emoji!
    Radical innovations in DNA sequencing technology over the past decade have created an increased need for computational bioinformatics analyses in the 21st century STEM workforce. Recent evidence however demonstrates that there are significant...

    Courses: BioinformaticsBioinformatics

    bioinformaticsgenomicscodingJupyter notebookcommand lineCyVersescriptingnext generation sequencing analysis
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    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 BiologyDevelopmental Biology

    developmentXenopusfertilizationEmbryologyinductionSymmetry breakingOrganizerCortical rotationPatterning
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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: BioinformaticsBioinformatics MicrobiologyMicrobiology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    quantitative biologyHIVmultiplicity of infectionPoisson DistributionPhysics for biologists
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    In-class peer grading of daily quizzes increases feedback opportunities
    Educators are familiar with evidence of the benefit that frequent and immediate feedback provides to our students, regardless of class size. We also often find ourselves in a situation where we do not have enough time planned or TA support...

    Courses: Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    foundational knowledgegraphical interpretationtechnical terms
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    Using Gamification to Teach Undergraduate Students about Scientific Writing
    Despite its importance, scientific writing is often deprioritized in undergraduate biology classes. Reasons include assumed prior knowledge, lack of class time, tedious grading, and the complexity and challenges associated with quality writing. To...

    Courses: Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    gamificationscientific writingE-LearningInstant FeedbackInteractive LearningReading Scientific PapersVIdeo/computer game
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    Why Meiosis Matters: The case of the fatherless snake
    A compelling reason to learn something can make all the difference in students’ motivation to learn it.  Motivation, in turn, is one of the key attitudes that drives learning.  This story presents students with a compelling puzzle of a...

    Courses: GeneticsGenetics Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    meiosismitosissex determinationAsexual reproductionParthenogenesis
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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 BiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell BiologyCell Biology

    kineticsEnzymecompetitive inhibition
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    Science “Fails”: A Bank of Historical Examples for Learning From Failure in Science
    Learning from failure is critically important to the processes of scientific inquiry, discovery, and invention. However, students are not routinely taught how to reflect on, learn from, and ultimately embrace failure, and relatively few curricular...

    Courses: Introductory Physics: Calculus-BasedIntroductory Physics: Calculus-Based Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Professional Development and Career PlanningProfessional Development and Career Planning Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    metacognitionScience process skillsLearning from failurepower and privilegestudent wellbeing
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    An Interactive Protocol for In-Classroom DNA Extraction
    Using commonly available materials, this tool allows students to extract DNA, exploring DNA chemistry and the principles of experimental design and execution. We take a “Choose Your Own Adventure” approach encouraging students to...

    Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    geneticsDNAbiochemical structure and function