CourseSource: Resources

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An Active Textbook Converts "Vision and Tweak" to Vision and Change

Multiple reports over more than a century have documented the problems with the way introductory biology has been taught in most colleges and universities. An influential recent report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education, has...

Courses: Introductory Biology

Vision and Changeactive learningintroductory biologyFlipped classroomUndergraduatecore competenciescore conceptsactive textbookcurriculum reform

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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Splicing it Together: Using Primary Data to Explore RNA Splicing and Gene Expression in Large-Lecture Introductory Biology

At the heart of scientific ways of knowing is the systematic collection and analysis of data, which is then used to propose an explanation of how the world works. In this two-day module, students in a large-lecture course are immersed in a...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Cell Biology Genetics Introductory Biology

gene regulationtranscriptiongene expressioncentral dogmarepressoralternative splicingmRNA processingActivatorTranscription factors

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641

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Follow the Sulfur: Using Yeast Mutants to Study a Metabolic Pathway

Students are frequently overwhelmed by the complexity of metabolic pathways and they think they have "learned" the pathway when they have memorized the individual reactions. This laboratory lesson helps students to understand the...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Genetics Introductory Biology Microbiology Science Process Skills

SelectionyeastMetabolismcysteinemediamethioninemutantPathwaysulfur

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Teaching students to read, interpret, and write about scientific research: A press release assignment in a large, lower-division class

A central skill in any science discipline is the ability to read, understand, and discuss the primary literature of the discipline. However, teaching this skill presents unique challenges within large, lower-division courses. To assess our...

Courses: Cell Biology Science Process Skills

cell biologyScience Communicationscientific literacyGraduate Teaching Assistant Professional DevelopmentBiological LiteracyPrimary ResearchWriting Skills

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Using Synthetic Biology and pClone Red for Authentic Research on Promoter Function: Genetics (analyzing mutant promoters)

Students often memorize the definition of a transcriptional promoter but fail to fully understand the critical role promoters play in gene expression. This laboratory lesson allows students to conduct original research by characterizing...

Courses: Genetics Science Process Skills

bacteriasynthetic biologygene regulationtranscriptionstudent researchcentral dogmacloningpromoterreporter gene/protein

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Harnessing the Power of the Immune System: Influenza Vaccines

Because most people have been infected by and/or immunized against influenza, students should know how the immune system responds to the infection and how vaccines protect against disease. Vaccines have played an instrumental role in disease...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Immunology Science Process Skills

VaccinesInfluenzaImmunizationVaccine efficacy

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Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs) to Help Students Learn Genetics Concepts

Many video resources exist to teach Mendelian genetics, but most consist of passive delivery of information rather than active construction of knowledge by users. We have created two interactive video vignettes (IVVs) that can be used together or...

Courses: Genetics Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

genotypephenotypeallelespedigreedominanceHardy-Weinberg equilibriumInheritance

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263

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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...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Cell Biology Ecology Ecology Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

microscopyAnatomySymbiosisMetabolismbleachinginvertebratedinoflagellate

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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

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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

Lesson

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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 Biology Cell Biology

kineticsEnzymecompetitive inhibition

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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

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Using Open-Source Bioinformatics and Visualization Tools to Explore the Structure and Function of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein

The relationship between protein structure and function is a foundational concept in undergraduate biochemistry. We find this theme is best presented with assignments that encourage exploration and analysis. Here, we share a series of four...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Science Process Skills

bioinformaticsmolecular modelingCOVID19protein structure and functionUCSF ChimeraSARS-CoV-2 spike proteinACE2 receptor

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Three Research-Based Quantitative Reasoning Modules for Introductory Organismal Biology Laboratories

We have designed three laboratory modules for an introductory organismal biology course with an emphasis on quantitative reasoning and data analysis skills. Module 1 tests for dimorphism in crayfish chelae using a paired statistical design. Module...

Courses: Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

allometryplantsAnatomytranspirationdimorphisminvertebrate biologyarthropodsplatyhelminths

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Learning About Protein Localization: A Lesson for Analyzing Figures in a Scientific Publication

In order to function correctly, proteins must be localized to a specific subcellular location. We have designed this lesson to use data from the primary literature to teach students about the mechanisms cells use to direct proteins to the...

Courses: Cell Biology Science Process Skills

colocalizationimmunofluorescenceProtein localizationsignal sequencessubcellular fractionationwestern blotting

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Data, Distributions, and Hypotheses: Exploring Diversity and Disturbance in the Tallgrass Prairie

Proper hypothesis generation, data handling, graphing, and communication are essential skills that undergraduate majors in biology are expected to master. However, students rarely get hands-on practice that helps them to effectively develop these...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Plant Biology

Quantitative reasoningRestoration EcologyScience process skillstall grass prairie ecosystem

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Translating Co-Translational Translocation

Understanding the process of proteins targeting to specific locations within a cell is a fundamental part of cell biology. Synthesis of proteins by co-translational translocation, which also determines the resulting protein topology, is a complex...

Courses: Cell Biology

Topologyco-translational translocationendoplasmic reticulumprotease protection assaysecretory proteinssignal sequencetransmembrane proteins

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The Case of the Missing Strawberries: RFLP analysis

While solving the fictional mystery of the missing strawberries, students are engaged in a guided-inquiry lesson featuring small-group and class discussions, hands-on activities, and laboratory exercises related to molecular genotyping by...

Courses: Genetics Science Process Skills

process of scienceDNAforensicsgel electrophoresisMolecular genotypingRestriction endonucleaseRestriction enzymeRestriction fragment length polymorphismRFLP

Essay

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Learning Frameworks Aid Goal-oriented Course Design

As a new instructor it can be hard to know where to begin. Thankfully, CourseSource's learning frameworks (https://www.coursesource.org/courses) shaped my approach to teaching as a first year instructor. The frameworks, which include learning...

Courses: Introductory Biology Professional Development and Career Planning