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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...
    Lesson
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    362

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    Bacteria to Brains in Backyard Coyotes: An Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Case Study
    Our interdisciplinary pedagogical case study explores the differences between rural and urban coyotes at the levels of organismal and community ecology. The focus is on how coyotes’ gut microbiomes could affect their behavior via...
    Essay
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    178

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    Squirreling from Afar: Adapting Squirrel-Net Modules for Remote Teaching and Learning
    The shift from face-to-face instruction to remote teaching and learning has proven to be a challenging endeavor for many reasons, including lack of time, resources, and inspiration. Lab courses, the "hands-on" portion of many curricula,...
    Science Behind the Lesson
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    146

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    A Short Bone Biomechanics Primer: Background for a Lesson on Bone Viscoelasticity
    The skeletal system is the first of the body systems that we discuss in-depth in our Physiology & Anatomy courses (PNB 2264/2265 and PNB 2274/2275) in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB) at the University of Connecticut. As the...
    Lesson
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    242

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    Integrating Community Ecology Into the Study of Parasites: Exploring the Effect of Host Behavior on Parasite Transmission Rates
    Organismal life cycles are often presented as a set of facts to memorize in undergraduate biology courses. This approach is cognitively demanding for students and fails to convey how central life cycle diversity is in shaping ecological and...
    Lesson
    2815

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    770

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    Unwrapping Enzyme Kinetics
    Enzyme rates and kinetics are key components used by biochemists to understand how enzymes function. However, students often find it difficult to understand how these experiments are performed and how they reflect enzyme behavior in solution. The...
    Lesson
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    447

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    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...
    Lesson
    2707

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    83

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    An Inquiry-Based Project Added to Traditional Labs: Hands-On Fish Awareness Research in Freshwater Systems Conducted by First-Year Biology Students
    This project involves students in an inquiry-based project added to the introductory biology laboratory course for majors in fall 2019. Research has shown that student engagement in authentic research has significant positive impacts on...
    Essay
    2871

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    268

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    An Introduction to the Squirrel-Net Teaching Modules
    Although course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are gaining popularity in biology, most are designed for benchwork-based laboratory courses while few focus on field-based skills. Many barriers to implementing field CUREs exist,...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    LessonPlus
    1647

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    347

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    Keep It Shrimple: An Adaptable Student-Driven Research Project for the Introductory Biology Laboratory
    A challenge in introductory biology laboratory courses is to provide students with authentic, engaging research opportunities that allow them to take ownership of their experiments. We present a nine-week introductory biology module that allows...
    Lesson
    3578

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    505

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    How Many Squirrels Are in the Shrubs? A Lesson Plan for Comparing Methods for Population Estimation
    Estimating the population sizes of animals is a key skill for any student interested in ecology, conservation, or management. However, counting animals in natural habitats is difficult, and the many techniques that exist each rely on assumptions...
    Lesson
    1073

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    157

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    What do Bone and Silly Putty® have in Common?: A Lesson on Bone Viscoelasticity
    Without the use of real-life examples and models, actively instructing and engaging students in complex physiology topics related to bone biomechanics can be challenging. In our large-enrollment Human Physiology & Anatomy courses at the...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    131

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    Undergraduates Learn Evolution Through Teaching Kindergartners About Blind Mexican Cavefish
    The development and implementation of a scientific outreach activity comes with a number of challenges. A successful outreach event must match the sophistication of content to the audience, be engaging, expand the knowledge base for participants,...
    Lesson
    1325

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    183

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    Teaching the Photoelectric Effect Using an Open-Source Interactive Simulation
    The photoelectric effect is one of the fundamental experiments that established the basis of quantum mechanics. Students studying this experiment in modern physics courses struggle to understand what it actually measured and why it is significant....
    Lesson
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    278

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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...
    Lesson
    1791

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    317

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    Authentic Ecological Inquiries Using BearCam Archives
    Learning through authentic scientific inquiries is essential for understanding the nature and process of science and for developing critical thinking and communication skills. It is logistically challenging, however, to offer experiences of...
    Lesson
    1751

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    602

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    Student-Driven Design-and-Improve Modules to Explore the Effect of Plant Bioactive Compounds in Three Model Organisms
    Engaging and supporting introductory level students in authentic research experiences during required coursework is challenging. Plant bioactive compounds attract students' natural curiosity as they are found in many familiar items such as...
    Lesson
    3297

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    642

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    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...
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
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    49

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    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
    1529

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    304

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    Promoting Climate Change Literacy for Non-majors: Implementation of an atmospheric carbon dioxide modeling activity as an inquiry-based classroom activity
    Students who are directly involved in scientific activities develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of both scientific knowledge and the scientific process. This understanding is critically important in scientific areas like climate change...