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    Science “Fails”: A Bank of Historical Examples for Learning From Failure in Science
    Learning from failure is critically important to the processes of scientific inquiry, discovery, and invention. However, students are not routinely taught how to reflect on, learn from, and...

    Keywords: metacognitionScience process skillsLearning from failurepower and privilegestudent wellbeing

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    Exploring the City of Biofilms: An Engaging Analogy-Based Activity for Students to Learn Biofilms
    Multicellular biofilms constructed by microbes are key aspects of microbiology with significant implications in various fields, including medicine, environmental science, and biotechnology. While...

    Keywords: bacteriaBiofilmsquorum sensing

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    Evaluating Representation in Science Through a Peer-Reviewed Research Study
    The demographic representation of scientists featured in biology curricular materials do not match that of the undergraduate biology student population or of the U.S. population. In this lesson, we...

    Keywords: societyRepresentationSTEM equity

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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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    Drawing “Octo-Pines”: Ice-Breaker Active-Learning Activities to Introduce Drawing-to-Learn in Biology
    Drawing has been advocated as a technique to develop visual literacy and observational skills in biology students. To increase student motivation and confidence to draw in our course, we developed...

    Keywords: Zoologydrawingdrawing-to-learnice breaker

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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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    A Multi-Institutional Alternative Assessment Faculty Learning Community: Supporting Teaching in Higher Education
    Faculty learning communities (FLCs) provide opportunities for professional development for faculty, teaching staff, and educational developers in a collaborative and open environment. In this...

    Keywords: professional developmentAlternative AssessmentFaculty Learning Community

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    Helping Students to Metacognitively Read Scientific Literature With Talking to the Text
    Reading primary scientific literature enhances students’ understanding of material, increases their self-efficacy, and critical thinking skills. However, scientific articles often present...

    Keywords: scientific literaturereading comprehensionmetacognitionScience process skillsTalking to the TextDense Scientific Texts

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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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    Enhancing the Microscopy Skills of Non-Science Majors and Nursing Microbiology Students: Promoting the Practice of Observing Multiple Fields of View Using Blood Smear Slides
    One of the challenges in teaching microscopy is having students scan multiple fields of view at high power magnification. Many times, students will feel this unnecessary, especially when presented...

    Keywords: Microscopy SkillsBlood SmearsBlood Disorders

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    Teaching the Photoelectric Effect Using an Open-Source Interactive Simulation
    The photoelectric effect is one of the fundamental experiments that established the basis of quantum mechanics. Students studying this experiment in modern physics courses struggle to understand...

    Keywords: photoelectric effectquantum mechanicsquantalight-matter interactions

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    Why Do I Need a Lab Notebook? Teaching Responsible Conduct of Research with CURE Lab Notebooks
    There are few instructional tools about data acquisition and management available for undergraduate students. I created this lesson as a Fellow of the Ethics Network for Course-Based Opportunities...

    Keywords: lab notebookresponsible conduct of researchdata acquisition/ management

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    Population Ecology of the Northern Spotted Owl
    The mathematical modeling of populations utilizing field-collected demographic data is an important component of lab curricula in a variety of undergraduate biology lab courses. During the global...

    Keywords: demographyCommunity Ecologypopulation ecologyconservation biologylife tables

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    The Flight Physics Concept Inventory: Reliably Evaluating Aerodynamic Lift, Drag and Associated (Naïve) Concepts of Flight in Class and In-Game
    Students often struggle to transfer conceptual understanding from isolated instruction to a coherent mental model. This is especially true for the context of flight physics, fluid dynamics, or the...

    Keywords: active learninggamificationmisconceptionsaerodynamicsfluid dynamicsResearch-based assessment instrumentConceptual SurveyPRE-/POST-test

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    Human Population Growth and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    Humans alter the climate by emitting greenhouse gases, by changing planetary albedo, and by altering atmospheric chemistry. Between 1900 and 2000, humans' emissions of carbon into the atmosphere...

    Keywords: demographyhuman populationgreenhouse gas emissions

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    Using Map of Life to Investigate Species Ranges Shifts with Climate Change
    Biodiversity databases, based on species occurrences, are now readily available for students to use a free of charge. These databases allow exploration of how species ranges shift through time. One...

    Keywords: climate changehabitat suitabilityspecies distributionMap of Lifethermal tolerance

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    Invasion, Restoration, and Response: Assessing changes in arthropod community assemblage using both parametric and non-parametric approaches
    This lesson, which is based around a recently published paper in the Journal of Ecological Applications, introduces students to both parametric and non-parametric approaches to statistical analysis...

    Keywords: ecologyANOVAInvasive Speciesspecies diversityquantitative analysisupper level wetland ecologysalt marshesarthropodsShannon diversity indexleast significant differences

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    Mapping Specimen Occurrence Data in QGIS
    Use digitized natural history collection occurrence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to map the distribution of the beaver in the state of Oregon from 1800-2020 using QGIS

    Keywords: natural history collectionsspecies distributionscourse-based research experiences (CUREs)digitized natural history collectionsQGIS

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    Functional trait-based restoration. Can hybrid restoration enhance invasion resistance and ecosystem services?
    A hybrid restoration experiment in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, in an area of high biocultural conservation value, that address the ecological and philosophical issues involved in conducting restoration with a...

    Keywords: Invasive SpeciesagroforestryHawaii CountyRestoration Ecologyplant functional traitstropical forest

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    Sounds of the Tropics: Part 3. Can you hear me? How do dolphins in Bocas del Toro, Panama communicate in a noisy habitat?
    This online module provides background information on dolphin communication and explores how a dolphin population responds to dolphin-watching activities in Panama.

    Keywords: Dolphin-watchingecotourismdolphin acousticshuman/nature interactions

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