Welcome to CourseSource, an open-access journal of peer-reviewed teaching resources for undergraduate biology and physics

We publish articles that are organized around courses in both biological and physics disciplines, and aligned with learning goals established by professional societies representing those disciplines. Please let us know what you think as you explore the articles and other information in the journal. We welcome your comments, questions, and/or suggestions. You can also follow us @CourseSource on Twitter to receive notifications about newly published articles and announcements! Learn more about CourseSource.

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Authentic research experiences are effective in fostering self-efficacy and increasing retention in STEM, particularly among minoritized student populations. Many instructors have sought to bring these to a wide range of students in the form of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). However, implementing CUREs can be challenging, especially at under-resourced institutions. To introduce an authentic inquiry-based experience without increasing the monetary, time, or teaching resources needed, we converted an existing traditional laboratory exercise into an inquiry-based lab at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), a Hispanic- and minority-serving comprehensive university. This inquiry-based module allows students to use the scientific process while focusing on investigating factors influencing diffusion through a dialysis membrane. Students engaged in activities such as gathering preliminary data, formulating hypotheses, designing experiments, and analyzing results, which helped students to increase their self-efficacy. Although many inquiry-based labs have been adapted from “cookbook” type lab activities, this example uniquely discusses making these changes in an under-resourced, majority-minority university. Similarly designed modules that utilize existing resources and require minimal instructor expertise may be more accessible to a wider range of institutions, including those more similar to CSUDH, than traditional CUREs. We used a pre- and post-survey to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach in enhancing student understanding of scientific processes as well as increasing belonging among students from historically-minoritized groups. Here we provide insights and practical guidelines for incorporating inquiry-based labs in undergraduate biology education, particularly in under-resourced institutions serving diverse student populations.

Primary Image: Students were asked to plan an experiment to test a hypothesis based on diffusion through a dialysis tubing membrane. This group of students hypothesized that if they hydrolyzed starch using heat first, it would be able to move through the membrane. Although their hypothesis was not supported, they were able to complete a report including generating a figure. Student Figure Legend: FIG 1 Room Temperature Starch beaker contents & Heated Starch beaker contents. The Iodine Test shows a negative result/no reaction.

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protocol, Diffusion, Variables, hypothesis, science process, control, scientific efficacy
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Space Mission Ecology: Making Connections Among Science Disciplines Through the Lens of a Unique Plant

Stephanie K. Polutchko†‡§*, Barbara Demmig-Adams†, Rachel N. Arbor‡, Jared J. Stewart†§, Kendi F. Davies‡, William W. Adams III, Aislyn A. Keyes‡, Sean M. Gleason§, Haylen Gonzalez-Pita†, Genadine Frank†, Lisa A. Corwin‡

Version: 1.0

Published on 09.2024

With this case study, we aim to increase awareness of essential services plants provide to society, as well as the importance of fundamental aspects of ecology for other disciplines and the interconnectedness among different fields of science in general. The case study was designed to be implemented in two 75-minute class periods in an introductory university-level ecology course. This case study provides an interdisciplinary perspective by defining learning goals at the nexus of science and society, explicitly emphasizing (and embracing) the interconnectedness among different fields of science via student exploration and how an often under-appreciated sub-discipline of biology—plant science—is useful for other disciplines. We use plants from the family Lemnaceae (duckweeds or water lenses) as a hook to introduce what is needed to create a self-sustaining ecosystem in a habitat on the surface of a moon or planet, in orbit, or during long-duration crewed spaceflight. Following the 5E model of curriculum design, students explore their chosen scientific literature before presenting their findings. The structure of the case study and student presentations facilitate making connections between scientific practices, peers, and ecological concepts, enhancing understanding of science's interconnected nature and the importance of plants. After implementation of this case study in a Principles of Ecology course, students felt more comfortable interacting with, and making claims about, scientific material, better recognized the interdisciplinary nature of science, and were more aware of essential services plants provide for humans.

Primary Image: Creating a bioregenerative ecosystem in space. A diagram showing how duckweed plants and astronauts are connected and support each other. An artistic image of duckweed—a tiny plant that floats on water—is on the left side of the figure and is connected to an artistic representation of an astronaut on the right.

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ecology, collaboration, plant biology, Science Communication, Bioregenerative Life Support, Interdisciplinary Connections

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New Immunology Learning Framework!

December 11, 2023

CourseSource is pleased to announce a new learning framework for Immunology! This framework is endorsed by the Society for Leukocyte Biology (SLB) and is approved for use by ImmunoReach, a Community of Practice focused on interdisciplinary Immunology education. 

This learning framework for undergraduate immunology education was developed as a result of a grassroots effort to address the calls for educational reform noted in the Vision and Change Report (AAAS, 2010). The working group developed a two-part immunology-focused framework that includes concepts and competencies aligned with Vision and Change. This learning framework was developed through an iterative cycle of reviews and revisions, both within the task force and with community feedback. Educators reviewed the document through surveys, focus groups and interviews. The learning outcomes are included as examples, and instructors may adopt them or come up with their own.

Check it out here: https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/coursesource/courses/immunology 

We look forward to seeing your submissions!

 

Publish Your Educational Toxicology Exercises in CourseSource!

August 9, 2022

CourseSource has recently partnered with the Society of Toxicology (SOT), and we are recruiting submissions that utilize the Toxicology Learning Framework to add to the toxicology collection!

Interested in sharing your work? Check out this video recording of the CourseSource workshop held at the 2022 SOT Annual Meeting: Publishing Educational Toxicology Exercises in CourseSource: A Step-by-Step Workshop for Preparing Your Manuscript. This workshop equips educators to use CourseSource and inspires them to submit their inclusive, evidence-based educational resources. In the first part of the workshop, Erin Vinson, the former managing editor of CourseSource, reviews the design of the CourseSource website and its features, and the various types for submissions. In the second part, Lauren Aleksunes (“Repurposing Drugs as Countermeasures for Chemical Weapons: An Interactive Training for Undergraduate Students”), Joshua Gray (“Pick Your Poison: A Semester-Long Toxicology Project Integrating Toxicology Core Concepts and Scientific Communication”), and Mindy Reynolds (“A Case Study Approach to the One Environmental Health Hypothesis”) discuss their curricula and the preparation of CourseSource manuscripts. The last section provides time for participants to prepare their own concepts for submission.

We look forward to seeing your submissions!

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