The ability to integrate process of science training with necessary skills in applying and communicating core theories in biological science and biology quantification, has been brought into focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students from high school up through graduate school, have made it clear that they do not comprehend how science is done, why it is done, and how to assess and communicate scientific claims. While the overwhelming 'noise' coming out of the pandemic may seem daunting, it also presents us with an opportunity to develop open educational resources that help learners improve their biological science and quantification skills, as well as their ability to sort through claims and communicate findings. To those ends, we developed a series of linked, OER learning modules, applicable from the high school and community education through the graduate and professional school levels, addressing microbiology, physiology, pharmacology, genetics, and proteomics through the lens of SARS-CoV-2. Students learn about the process of science, appropriate to their educational level, how scientists assess claims, and how to communicate findings.

Introductory Biology courses typically introduce the structure and function of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. To understand biomolecules fully, students require knowledge of fundamental chemistry concepts such as covalent bonding, intermolecular interactions and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity (1). Students enter our large (>400 student) course with a notoriously limited conceptual grasp of basic chemistry principles. Our lesson is an activity designed on the principles of POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning). In 50 minutes, students build their own definitions of the following: polar vs. non-polar covalent bonds, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity and the nature of hydrogen bonding based simply on the relative electronegativities of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen. We find that this exercise improves students’ understanding of these chemical concepts. Since adopting this activity, students have been better able to understand biomolecular structures and predict interactions between molecules.

Primary image: Hydrogen Bond. Possible hydrogen bond interaction that can form between two simple organic molecules.