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    Using Place-Based Economically Relevant Organisms to Improve Student Understanding of the Roles of Carbon Dioxide, Sunlight, and Nutrients in Photosynthetic Organisms
    Biology students require broad preparation for diverse careers including agriculture, natural resource management, and laboratory research. Concurrent with this need, employers are seeking...

    Keywords: energyphotosynthesisbiomass

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    An Interactive Protocol for In-Classroom DNA Extraction
    Using commonly available materials, this tool allows students to extract DNA, exploring DNA chemistry and the principles of experimental design and execution. We take a “Choose Your Own...

    Keywords: geneticsDNAbiochemical structure and function

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    Using Comics to Make Science Come Alive
    Students often see science as a fragmented set of facts to be memorized, rather than concepts and processes that are relevant in their everyday lives. This is especially true for non-science...

    Keywords: role of science in society

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    Quantifying and Visualizing Campus Tree Phenology
    Large enrollment courses present a challenge for instructors who want to engage students in authentic science practices that fit the recommendations of Vision & Change. Our lesson provides a...

    Keywords: ecologyBiodiversityphenologyplant biology

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    Evaluating the Quick Fix: Weight Loss Drugs and Cellular Respiration
    One key to student success in introductory and cell biology courses is a foundational knowledge of cellular respiration. This is a content area in which students often harbor misconceptions that...

    Keywords: data analysisCellular RespirationElectron Transport ChainEnergy transformationsMitochondriaOxidative phosphorylationWeight loss drugs24-dinitrophenol (DNP)

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    Serotonin in the Pocket: Non-covalent interactions and neurotransmitter binding
    This lesson introduces beginning biochemistry students to the concept of a biomolecule binding site, such as a neurotransmitter receptor site or an enzyme active site. A simple organic molecule,...

    Keywords: active sitebindingbinding sitehydrogen bondinghydrophobic effectionic interactionsnon-covalent forces

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    "Reading groups" in an undergraduate biology course: A peer-based model to help students develop skills to evaluate primary literature
    Undergraduates who learn to evaluate primary literature demonstrate an enhanced ability to understand the process of science, weigh scientific evidence, and think critically (e.g. 6,8). Studies...

    Keywords: primary literaturecritical thinkingSelf-EfficacyDiscussionPeer-based Learning

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    An Introduction to Eukaryotic Genome Analysis in Non-model Species for Undergraduates: A tutorial from the Genome Consortium for Active Teaching
    Advances in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology have led to development of many research methods for analyzing genomic data. Students studying biology at the undergraduate level must hone...

    Keywords: Speciationgenome evolutiongenetic variation

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    Teaching RNAseq at Undergraduate Institutions: A tutorial and R package from the Genome Consortium for Active Teaching
    Next-generation sequencing is radically changing the study of biology, but there are currently few resources aimed at teaching the required laboratory and data-analysis skills to undergraduate...

    Keywords: statisticsbioinformaticsRNAseqgene expressioncomputer programming

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    Marsh Madness: Using Video Games and a Case Study to Explore Food Webs and Ecosystem Services in Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve
    As the complexity and interconnectedness of our world increases, we are continually expected to be capable of complex, non-linear thinking in order to successfully tackle and solve the challenges...

    Keywords: food webssystems thinkingGame Based LearningEcosystem Servicessocio-ecological networks

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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...

    Keywords: allometryplantsAnatomytranspirationdimorphisminvertebrate biologyarthropodsplatyhelminths

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    A Laboratory Module That Explores RNA Interference and Codon Optimization Through Fluorescence Microscopy Using Caenorhabditis elegans
    Scientific research experiences are beneficial to students allowing them to gain laboratory and problem-solving skills, as well as foundational research skills in a team-based setting. We designed...

    Keywords: microscopyC. elegansquantitative analysisinquiry-based learninggene expressionRNA interferenceCodon UsageLaboratory Module

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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...

    Keywords: structure-functioninjuryAnisotropyHysteresisSkeletal SystemViscoelasticity

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    CURE-all: Large Scale Implementation of Authentic DNA Barcoding Research into First-Year Biology Curriculum
    Growing calls in science education reform have emphasized wide-scale engagement of first-year undergraduate students in authentic research experiences; however, large course enrollments, inadequate...

    Keywords: phylogeneticsbioinformaticsBiodiversityprocess of sciencetaxonomyPCRDNADNA sequencegel electrophoresis

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    A Kinesthetic Modeling Activity to Teach PCR Fundamentals
    Most molecular biology and biological sciences students understand that the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to amplify DNA. However, we have found that some students experience conceptual...

    Keywords: PCR

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    Bioinformatics is a BLAST: Engaging First-Year Biology Students on Campus Biodiversity Using DNA Barcoding
    In order to introduce students to the concept of molecular diversity, we developed a short, engaging online lesson using basic bioinformatics techniques. Students were introduced to basic...

    Keywords: geneticsorganismal biologybioinformaticstaxonomyDNA Barcodingspecies concepts

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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...

    Keywords: Evolutionlife historytrade-offsdiversityNatural Selection

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    Chilling in the Cold: Using Thermal Acclimation to Demonstrate Phenotypic Plasticity in Animals
    The lesson plan described here provides students hands-on, scientific experiences that relate to the globally important issue of climate change and its impacts on animals. Students use the...

    Keywords: scientific methodclimate changephenotypic plasticityfruit fliesaccclimationcold tolerancethink-pair-share

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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...

    Keywords: data analysisnatural historyphylogenyBiodiversitymammalsAllen's RuleBergmann's Ruleecogeographymuseum research

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    Meiosis: A Play in Three Acts, Starring DNA Sequence
    Meiosis is well known for being a sticky topic that appears repeatedly in biology curricula. We observe that a typical undergraduate biology major cannot correctly identify haploid and diploid...

    Keywords: recombinationmeiosisDNA sequenceCrossingoverchromosome structureHolliday junctionhomology

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