Text Search:
Applied Filters
    Lesson
    2597

    views

    488

    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
    3497

    views

    853

    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
    3342

    views

    275

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Application of a Bacterial Experimental Evolution System to Visualize and Teach Evolution in Action: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience
    Concepts of evolution are typically taught through examples of extremely long timescales, which do not always resonate broadly. Here, we describe a course-based undergraduate research experience tailored for junior and senior undergraduate biology...
    Lesson
    2396

    views

    279

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Escape Zoom!: Reviewing Introductory Evolution Content Using an Escape Room Format
    Reviewing and integrating key concepts and learning goals at the end of a biology course can be overwhelming to students and instructors alike. Often end-of-term review sessions in preparation for final exams are heavily based on memorization, and...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    1793

    views

    704

    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
    4368

    views

    1259

    downloads

    0

    comments

    What is Speciation, How Does It Occur, and Why Is It Important for Conservation?
    Speciation provides a framework for classifying biodiversity on Earth and is a central concept in evolutionary biology. To help undergraduate students learn about speciation, we designed a student-centered lesson that uses active-learning...
    Lesson
    3812

    views

    569

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Knowing your own: A classroom case study using the scientific method to investigate how birds learn to recognize their offspring
    Understanding the scientific method provides students with a necessary foundation for careers in science-related fields. Moreover, students can apply scientific inquiry skills in many aspects of their daily lives and decision making. Thus, the...
    Lesson
    2801

    views

    703

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Teaching Biodiversity with Museum Specimens in an Inquiry-Based Lab
    In response to the growth of biology datasets and broad efforts to digitize data, an increasingly important skill for science students is the management and analysis of large datasets. We designed an inquiry-based lab module to introduce students...
    Lesson
    1105

    views

    289

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Quantifying and Visualizing Campus Tree Phenology
    Large enrollment courses present a challenge for instructors who want to engage students in authentic science practices that fit the recommendations of Vision & Change. Our lesson provides a meaningful science experience for undergraduates in...
    Lesson
    3037

    views

    207

    downloads

    0

    comments

    The Three Sisters of Agriculture: An Active Learning Activity on Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation
    This active learning exercise introduces students to the plant microbiome and the contributions that bacteria make to plant growth and food production. The Three Sisters are an ancient indigenous practice in which three plant crops and the...

    Courses: MicrobiologyMicrobiology

    Lesson
    2984

    views

    942

    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
    1249

    views

    65

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Defining Life: Exploring Creativity, Scientific Discovery, and Biology Core Concepts in a Disciplinary First-Year Seminar
    This unit, Defining Life, engages students in thinking like scientists, applying creativity to science, and learning biology core concepts as they explore the defining characteristics of life. This unit provides an example of a curriculum designed...
    Lesson
    2561

    views

    641

    downloads

    0

    comments

    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...
    Lesson
    2159

    views

    469

    downloads

    0

    comments

    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...
    Lesson
    1800

    views

    355

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Squirrels in Space: Using Radio Telemetry to Explore the Space Use and Movement of Sciurid Rodents
    Biotelemetry is used by researchers to track the interactions of animals with each other and the environment. While advancing technology has led to the development of numerous biotelemetry tools, radio telemetry remains the most common method for...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    Lesson
    3300

    views

    643

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Sorry to Eat and Run: A Lesson Plan for Testing Trade-off in Squirrel Behavior Using Giving Up Densities (GUDs)
    All animals need to find and compete for food, shelter, and mates in order to survive and reproduce. They also need to avoid being eaten by predators. Optimal foraging theory provides a framework to examine the trade-offs individuals make while...
    Lesson
    3930

    views

    454

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Is Earth Currently Undergoing a Sixth Mass Extinction?
    The five Phanerozoic mass extinctions were central in shaping biodiversity on Earth today. Due to increasing biodiversity losses, there is debate about whether we are currently undergoing a sixth mass extinction. To help students better understand...
    Review
    1583

    views

    237

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Workshop Report: Summer 2020 Virtual CRISPR in the Classroom
    As innovations and developments in genome editing technologies using CRISPR-Cas systems progress, the need to disseminate relevant knowledge and build skills among the next generation of young scientists in undergraduate classrooms is vital. Our...
    Lesson
    3686

    views

    200

    downloads

    0

    comments

    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...
    Lesson
    1459

    views

    490

    downloads

    0

    comments

    Using Student Perceptions and Cooperative Learning to Unpack Primary Literature on Global Change
    This case describes a three-part assignment in which students discuss key processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system and our increased risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. Here,...

    Courses: EcologyEcology