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    How Many Squirrels Are in the Shrubs? A Lesson Plan for Comparing Methods for Population Estimation
    Estimating the population sizes of animals is a key skill for any student interested in ecology, conservation, or management. However, counting animals in natural habitats is difficult, and the...

    Keywords: population ecologywildlife managementpopulation estimationsciuridaeSquirrel-Net

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    The Science Behind the ACTN3 Polymorphism
    A common polymorphism in the alpha-actinin-3 (ACTN3) gene results in the lack of ACTN3 protein expression in fast twitch muscle fibers in ~16% of the human population (1). This genetic change has...

    Keywords: protein structure and functionhuman genetic variationskeletal muscle physiology

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    A Hands-on Introduction to Hidden Markov Models
    In this Lesson, we describe a classroom activity that demonstrates how a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is applied to predict a eukaryotic gene, focusing on predicting one exon-intron boundary. This HMM...

    Keywords: transcriptionexonintronsplicing

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    Adaptation and Facilitation of Small Group Activities in an Online Introductory Biology Class
    In spring 2020, the sudden mid-semester closure of my campus in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid transition to emergency online learning. Consequently, I adapted the...

    Keywords: Cellular communicationNeuronal functionNeuronal structure

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    Nanoparticles and Shrimp: An Interdisciplinary Lab Series in Chemistry and Biology for Undergraduate Engineering Students
    The parallels between engineering and science are vast, as both disciplines apply theory and inquiry to solve complex problems. In order to prepare students for interdisciplinary careers in STEM,...

    Keywords: microscopychemistry applications in biologytoxicity

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    The impact of diet and antibiotics on the gut microbiome
    The goal of this article is to describe an active learning exercise that can be used in a variety of advanced microbiology courses, including bacterial physiology, ecology, or systems biology. The...

    Keywords: microbiomeenvironmental controlhost responsemetabolites

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    Training future faculty in 30 minutes a week: A modular framework to provide just-in-time professional development to graduate teaching assistants
    Despite increasing recognition of the need to train the teaching assistants (TAs) teaching the majority of STEM lab sections, very few programs report offering sustained teaching professional...

    Keywords: professional developmentTA TrainingTeaching Assistants

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    Cutthroat trout in Colorado: A case study connecting evolution and conservation
    Evaluation of evidence is a key process skill for the core competencies of applying the process of science and using quantitative reasoning. This case study enables upper-division biology students...

    Keywords: population geneticsphylogeneticsSpeciationdivergencegene flow

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    The Leaky Neuron: Understanding synaptic integration using an analogy involving leaky cups
    Students have difficulty understanding synaptic integration in neural circuits, and how spatial and temporal summation combine in a target neuron to reach threshold.  This Lesson uses small...

    Keywords: neuron physiologyspatial summationsynaptic integrationtemporal summationthreshold

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    An active-learning lesson that targets student understanding of population growth in ecology
    Effective teaching and learning of population ecology requires integration of quantitative literacy skills. To facilitate student learning in population ecology and provide students with the...

    Keywords: population growthexponential growthlogistic growthpopulation ecologygrowth rateDensityAbundancecarrying capacitylinear growth

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    A Kinesthetic and Collaborative Activity to Improve Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium
    While teaching in large lecture halls, it is challenging even for experienced teachers to hold their students’ attention for the entire class period. Owing to the large enrollment in STEM...

    Keywords: collaborationdemonstrationchemistrykinesthetic learningequilibriumhands-on learning

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    Bacteria to Brains in Backyard Coyotes: An Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Case Study
    Our interdisciplinary pedagogical case study explores the differences between rural and urban coyotes at the levels of organismal and community ecology. The focus is on how coyotes’ gut...

    Keywords: dietanimal behaviorimmune systemmicrobiomeNervous systemgut-brain axisImmunoReachdysbiosisCoyoteCytokines

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    Metastatic Mastery: A Case and Game-Based Approach to Learning About Cancer Mechanisms
    Mechanisms that contribute to the development of cancer are numerous and complicated, though most can be traced to a set of mutations in cell cycle regulatory genes that throw the process of cell...

    Keywords: mutationcancertranscriptioncell cycletranslationOncogenesTumor-suppressorp53Transcription factor

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    Integrating Community Ecology Into the Study of Parasites: Exploring the Effect of Host Behavior on Parasite Transmission Rates
    Organismal life cycles are often presented as a set of facts to memorize in undergraduate biology courses. This approach is cognitively demanding for students and fails to convey how central life...

    Keywords: statisticsspecies interactionsQuantitative reasoninggraphsCommunity EcologyParasitologyfood webs

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    A How to Guide and Template for Designing a Puzzle Based Escape Room Game
    Educational games are one active and effective way of engaging students with material while also providing additional motivation to tackle challenging concepts. A particularly popular game concept...

    Keywords: Problem SolvingCollaborative WorkCorrect Misconceptions

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    Teaching Cancer Biology Through a Lens of Social Justice
    The biology classroom is not separate from the greater context of society; social issues can and should be presented in connection with the content. Here we present an example of antiracist...

    Keywords: assessmentcancersocial justicePOGILAlignmentPublic ExamPublic

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    Investigating Enzyme Structure and Function Through Model-Building and Peer Teaching in an Introductory Biology Course
    A foundational knowledge of the relationship between structure and function is critical to understanding how enzymes work. The seemingly invisible nature of these molecular interactions makes it...

    Keywords: structure-functionEnzymeallosteric regulationcompetitive inhibitionfeedback inhibitionnoncompetitive inhibitionproductsubstrate

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    Necessary and Sufficient? Solving the Mystery of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Transporter
    While there are several available lessons for teaching introductory biology students about diffusion, facilitated diffusion, and active transport, fewer materials exist to support upper-division...

    Keywords: DiffusionActive transportfacilitated diffusionNecessary and sufficientTransport proteins

    2017

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    Teaching Cell Structures through Games
    As the basic unit of life, cells are a foundational concept for all of biology. Before students can appreciate how eukaryotic cells function either in isolation or in higher order and multicellular...

    Keywords: Cell Structurecell organellesTransmembrane Transport

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    Investigating the Function of a Transport Protein: Where is ABCB6 Located in Human Cells?
    One of the challenges of teaching Cell Biology is helping students understand important research methods used to study cells.  The goal of understanding cell biology methods is especially...

    Keywords: ABC transporter familyDifferential centrifugationImmunoblottingImmunofluorescence assayProtein localizationPurifying organellesSDS-PAGE

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