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    Science Behind the Lesson
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    The Science Behind Parthenogenesis: Interesting things happen when meiosis goes “wrong”
    Parthenogenetic reproduction is a fascinating, complex topic.  This article accompanies “Why Meiosis Matters: The case of the fatherless snake.” It summarizes the basic information an introductory biology or genetics instructor...
    Lesson
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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...
    Lesson
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    Teaching epidemiology and principles of infectious disease using popular media and the case of Typhoid Mary
    Allied health students often struggle to understand how particular content, such as epidemiology, connects to their future careers. This activity uses the case of Typhoid Mary as a foundation for exploring epidemiology and infectious disease...
    Lesson
    2045

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    394

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    Dynamic Daphnia: An inquiry-based research experience in ecology that teaches the scientific process to first-year biologists
    This authentic research experience lesson teaches the core concept of systems and the competencies of quantitative reasoning, communication, and the ability to apply science. The research is student driven, the results are unknown, and the...
    Lesson
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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...
    Lesson
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    210

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    A new approach to course-based research using a hermit crab-hydrozoan symbiosis
    There are few feasible models for marine-focused inquiry laboratory activities, a notable shortcoming for instructors seeking to engage their students in meaningful, course-based research experiences (CUREs). We describe a multi-week CURE that...
    Lesson
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    428

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    Moths and Frogs and E. coli, Oh My!: Agent-based Modeling of Evolutionary Systems
    In evolution classrooms, introducing and reinforcing the idea of genetic drift and random selection can be challenging, as can be reinforcing appropriate mental models of evolution. Agent-based models offer students the opportunity to conduct a...
    Lesson
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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...
    Lesson
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    Antibiotic Resistance Genes Detection in Environmental Samples
    Our aim is to provide an authentic research experience for undergraduate students in a variety of biology courses through collaboration between a four-year university and a community college. This lab series teaches transferable and universal...
    Lesson
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    Life Is Just a Game: An Active Learning Activity to Teach Life History Evolution
    A novel activity was designed to introduce students to the concepts of natural selection and life history using an active-learning, constructivist format. It consisted of two parts: 1) a brief introduction to the basic mechanism of natural...

    Courses: EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution

    Lesson
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    A first lesson in mathematical modeling for biologists: Rocs
    Using a fictitious population of Rocs, a mythical species of giant raptor, students accomplish two broad objectives: 1) they undertake the process of building a first mathematical model of a population, and 2) they begin to develop their...
    Essay
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    Teaching about fatherless snakes in a prison classroom
    Developing a course for the first time as a graduate student is challenging. When I first taught introductory biology with the Cornell Prison Education Program, I struggled to design and adapt lessons that felt relevant to my students....
    Lesson
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    A Quick and Simple Natural Selection Role Play
    Teaching evolution remains a challenging task in biology education. Students enter the classroom with stubborn misconceptions and many traditional examples of the process of evolution may not resonate with students. This short role play activity...
    Lesson
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    Sex-specific differences in Meiosis: Real-world applications
    In traditional classrooms, students are typically presented with facts that they are asked to memorize and recall during an exam.  The rapid explosion of available scientific facts in recent years has made this model of teaching...
    Lesson
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    Using Comics to Make Science Come Alive
    Students often see science as a fragmented set of facts to be memorized, rather than concepts and processes that are relevant in their everyday lives. This is especially true for non-science majors, who represent the vast majority of all college...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Linking Genotype to Phenotype: The Effect of a Mutation in Gibberellic Acid Production on Plant Germination
    Basic concepts in genetics and plant development are often taught in lecture courses without a lab component. This approach provides students with the content knowledge, but fails to make connections to research opportunities and real-world...
    Lesson
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    Mapping a Mutation to its Gene: The "Fly Lab" as a Modern Research Experience
    Although genetics is an invaluable part of the undergraduate biology curriculum, it can be intimidating to students as well as instructors: Students must reduce their reliance on memorization and dive deep into quantitative analysis, and...