This Practical Guide in the Bringing Bioinformatics into the Classroom series introduces the idea of computers as tools to help understand aspects of biology.

This Practical Guide in the Bringing Bioinformatics into the Classroom series introduces the idea of computers as tools to help understand aspects of biology.

This module discusses mental and physical aspects of field safety. The module contains resources for supporting students and technicians in the field and guides supervisors as they write their own Right to Know document.

Genome Solver began as a way to teach undergraduate faculty some basic skills in bioinformatics; no coding or scripting is required. This pre-lesson introduces the BLAST tool.

In this lesson, learners will hear about research that focuses on bacterial antibiotic resistance and biofilm production. Students will see how antibiotic resistance is measured and interpret a graph measuring biofilm production of these bacterial soil isolates. Then, learners view and reflect on an interview with microbiology researcher Dr. Danielle Graham, who collected the data that they interpreted.

Decades of evidence support the premise that undergraduate research experiences are valuable endeavors for science students; however, a lack of knowledge about research and how to get involved can preclude equitable participation. We developed two in-class workshops to teach introductory biology students about undergraduate research experiences. In the first workshop, students are introduced to various types of undergraduate research, including faculty-mentored research, Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), summer research experiences and research-related jobs and internships. Students hear first-hand accounts about research from undergraduates actively performing research and learn about the benefits and challenges associated with participating. In the second workshop, students learn how to effectively identify and secure research opportunities and engage in an exercise that teaches them how to write a professional email to potential research advisors. Students also work together to develop strategies for building resilience if faced with rejection from a faculty member or internship/job opportunity. The workshops utilize student speakers, think-pair-share activities, and class discussions to engage and inform students. By the end of the workshops, all students are familiar with undergraduate research and have the knowledge and skills needed to identify and secure a research opportunity. The workshops were designed for introductory biology students but can be adapted for students in related majors or at different stages of the academic journey.

Primary Image: Undergraduate research poster session at Sacramento State. Students present the discoveries they made through their course-based research experiences. Photograph was taken in-house. 

Bioassessment is an evaluation of the biological condition of a waterbody using biological surveys and other direct measurements of resident living organisms. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are important indicators of stream health: they are relatively long-lived, differentially sensitive to environmental stressors, and relatively easy to sample. This lesson is a hands-on introduction to the use of stream macroinvertebrates in assessing a stream’s biological condition. Students will learn how to (1) sample and identify stream macroinvertebrates and (2) conduct a rapid bioassessment to quantify ecosystem integrity based on the macroinvertebrate taxa that they collect. The lesson can be conducted with any number of students (although a second instructor would likely be needed for class sizes >20) and is appropriate for undergraduates of all levels.