CourseSource: Resources

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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...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Introductory Biology

Evolutionfitnesssexual selectionNatural Selectionintersexual selectionmate choice

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2187

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232

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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...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Genetics

Evolutionartificial selectionSpeciationextinctionsexual selectionphylogenetic treesmechanisms of evolution

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3357

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931

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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...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Genetics Plant Biology

EvolutionfitnessNatural Selectionheritability

Science Behind the Lesson

2747

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142

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Science Behind the Lesson: It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Biomechanics!

Active flight is a specialized mode of movement found in insects, birds, and mammals. The anatomy, morphology, physiology, and ecology of flying taxa has changed over evolutionary time. Researchers have proposed several hypotheses about the...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Ecology Ecology

EvolutionecologybatphysiologyAnatomybiomechanicsbirdFlightinsect

Science Behind the Lesson

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230

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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...

Courses: Cell Biology Genetics Introductory Biology

meiosismitosissex determinationAsexual reproductionParthenogenesis

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2502

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215

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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...

Courses: Introductory Biology Plant Biology Science Process Skills

plant pathologygenetic diversityDisease TriangleModes of Reproduction

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2729

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887

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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...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

fitnessCoevolutionCo-adaptation

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1308

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122

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Starting Conversations About Discrimination Against Women in STEM

Many scientists know about — and experience — discrimination against women. In this professional development lesson, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and other career scientists brainstorm ways to intervene and support...

Courses: Professional Development and Career Planning

identityracismGender discriminationIntersectionalityMicroagressionsSexismSexual assaultSexual harassmentTrolling

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2545

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672

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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...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Introductory Biology Science Process Skills

data analysisnatural historyphylogenyBiodiversitymammalsAllen's RuleBergmann's Ruleecogeographymuseum research

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3489

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168

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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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1492

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431

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Generating Biological Hypotheses in a "Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience"(CURE) Course

Hypotheses are often incorrectly defined as educated guesses or if/then statements. Further confusion arises from the fact that not all disciplines define hypotheses similarly. The difficulty in distinguishing between statistical and biological...

Courses: Science Process Skills

scientific methodHPT axisNeural stem cells

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2883

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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...

Courses: Bioinformatics Ecology Ecology Evolution Science Process Skills

modelingEvolutionecologyagent-based modelingGenetic Driftenvironmental scienceNatural Selectioncompetitive coevolutionsimulation modelingevolutionary reasoning

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3145

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701

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"Got Algae?" A Sorting Game for Introducing the Weird and Wonderful Diversity of Algae

Algae are a fascinating and diverse organismal group, with global ecological importance, a storied evolutionary history and deep connections to both contemporary and historical human societies. Yet non-experts who teach algal diversity face a lack...

Courses: Ecology Ecology Evolution Plant Biology

phylogenyBiodiversityphotosynthesisalgaeseaweedmonophyly

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3267

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878

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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: Ecology Ecology Evolution

Evolutionlife historytrade-offsdiversityNatural Selection

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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: Evolution

EvolutionGenetic DriftBottle neckFounder effectRandom evolutionary processes

Essay

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Helping Students to Overcome STUMPS: Scientific terms undermined by meanings peripheral to science

Many terms and phrases that are ubiquitous in everyday use have very different meanings in science. As a result, biology students often hold prior conceptions that are difficult to change. In this essay, I refer to such problematic terms as...

Courses: Introductory Biology

Evolutionfitnessprocess of sciencetree of lifemetacognitionlanguagemisconceptionsTerminologyTheory

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2117

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205

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Sex and gender: What does it mean to be female or male?

This lesson provides three activities to engage non-science major students in a discussion about sex, gender, gender identity, and sex determination. Students prepare for the lesson by reading a short article titled Sex and gender: What is the...

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Introductory Biology

gendersex determinationgender identitysex

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3067

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243

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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...

Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Cell Biology Evolution Genetics Microbiology

EvolutionmutationcompetitionNatural Selectionregulationstructure and functionreproductive fitnessgenotype to phenotypehomologs

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1522

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450

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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...

Courses: Cell Biology Genetics Science Process Skills

meiosisReproductionAneuploidyGameteNon-disjunctionOocyteSpermTrisomy

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936

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149

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To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question. Much of the recent trend in society against vaccination is that the general population does not understand 1) how vaccines work and 2) how one's vaccination status can influence others....

Courses: Anatomy-Physiology Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Introductory Biology Microbiology