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    Dynamic Daphnia: An inquiry-based research experience in ecology that teaches the scientific process to first-year biologists
    This authentic research experience lesson teaches the core concept of systems and the competencies of quantitative reasoning, communication, and the ability to apply science. The research is...

    Keywords: statisticsecologyscientific methodexperimental designAbiotic and Biotic FactorsDependent and Independent Variables

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    How to Design a Classroom Activity that Integrates 3D Print Models with Active Learning
    Student exploration of relevant physical models can deepen knowledge of course material. In this guide we describe a method by which instructors can integrate 3D printing technology with an...

    Keywords: active learning3D print modelsclassroom jigsaw

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    Why Meiosis Matters: The case of the fatherless snake
    A compelling reason to learn something can make all the difference in students’ motivation to learn it.  Motivation, in turn, is one of the key attitudes that drives learning.  This story...

    Keywords: meiosismitosissex determinationAsexual reproductionParthenogenesis

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    Biology from Molecules to Embryos, Interactive Animated Lessons
    Visualizing kinetic processes can be an impediment to student mastery of basic science coursework. To remedy this obstacle, I created an educational program called Biology from Molecules to...

    Keywords: geneticsBIOMEEmbryologycomputer assisted instructioneducational programeducational videosonline lessonsanimated lessonseducational website

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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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    Preparing Student Study Guides through Peer Collaboration in the Technological Era
    Incorporating active learning exercises into large lecture courses is particularly challenging, especially when it comes to examination preparation materials. Traditionally, study guides are used...

    Keywords: active learningDiscussionStudy Skills

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    Sequences and Properties of Gluten Proteins From Different Grains: A Virtual-Friendly Protein Laboratory
    The COVID-19 pandemic has forced much university instruction into virtual modes. As a result, many laboratory courses have either dropped content altogether or replaced hands-on activities with...

    Keywords: protein structure and functionProtein sequenceintermolecular forcesBiomacromolecules

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    Exploring the March to Mars Using 3D Print Models
    With the increased availability of 3D printers and open databases containing 3D print files, academic institutions are giving more thought into how such technology can be used in the classroom to...

    Keywords: waterMarsmicroorganismsproperties of life

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    Graphical Organizers as Course Road Maps: Using a geologic timescale in a history of life course
    Both major and non-major biology students lack understanding of important evolutionary events, how they are spaced in time, and how they relate back to the earth system. Graphical organizers like...

    Keywords: Evolutionecologyextinctionadaptive radiationdiversification

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    My Fish Tank: An Active Learning Activity for Bacterial Nitrogen Metabolism
    This active learning activity introduces students to the second part of the nitrogen cycle, nitrification. In terrestrial and aquatic environments, bacteria from the Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter...

    Keywords: nitrogen cyclenitrificationnitrifying bacteria

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    Fragile States: A Case Study Exploring Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry Through the Lens of Fragile X Syndrome
    This case aims to strengthen students’ understanding of molecular biology concepts through study of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Students begin by learning the cause and phenotypes of FXS and...

    Keywords: gene regulationtranscriptiontranslationFragile X syndrometriplet repeat expansionsex linkagemetabolic pathway

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    Furry with a chance of evolution: Exploring genetic drift with tuco-tucos
    Genetic drift is an important mechanism of evolution, yet undergraduates often fail to understand how it leads to evolutionary change due in part to its random nature. This lesson plan describes a...

    Keywords: EvolutionGenetic DriftBottle neckFounder effectRandom evolutionary processes

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    Converting a Face-to-Face Lab to Online: An Example of Process and Outcomes for a CRISPR-Based Molecular Biology Lab
    The COVID-19 pandemic created a need to convert in-person laboratory courses into an online format in a short amount of time. For this reason, we converted our face-to-face molecular biology lab...

    Keywords: mutationtranscriptioncrisprtranslation

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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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    A new approach to course-based research using a hermit crab-hydrozoan symbiosis
    There are few feasible models for marine-focused inquiry laboratory activities, a notable shortcoming for instructors seeking to engage their students in meaningful, course-based research...

    Keywords: behaviorparasitismSymbiosismutualismcommensalism

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    Splicing it Together: Using Primary Data to Explore RNA Splicing and Gene Expression in Large-Lecture Introductory Biology
    At the heart of scientific ways of knowing is the systematic collection and analysis of data, which is then used to propose an explanation of how the world works. In this two-day module, students...

    Keywords: gene regulationtranscriptiongene expressioncentral dogmarepressoralternative splicingmRNA processingActivatorTranscription factors

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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 Modeling Exercise in Sexual Selection using a Student-Created Bird Species
    Evolution-centered lessons at the undergraduate level can often be jargon-heavy, propagate misconceptions if taught ineffectively, and be uninteresting to students who may not see the relevancy of...

    Keywords: Evolutionfitnesssexual selectionNatural Selectionintersexual selectionmate choice

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    Teaching epidemiology and principles of infectious disease using popular media and the case of Typhoid Mary
    Allied health students often struggle to understand how particular content, such as epidemiology, connects to their future careers. This activity uses the case of Typhoid Mary as a foundation for...

    Keywords: epidemiologycase studyinfectous diseasepopular mediaTyphoid Mary

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    Where Does Elsie's Hair Color Come From? A "De-Simplified" Pedigree Lesson
    Pedigree analysis is part of most Genetics curricula, but the examples traditionally used in genetics courses present phenotypes as if they were entirely and inexorably defined by genotype. This...

    Keywords: pedigreeMultifactorialphenotypic variationpenetranceexpressivityquantitative variation

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