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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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    Engaging Undergraduates in Mechanisms of Tubular Reabsorption and Secretion in the Mammalian Kidney
    If students fail to see the connections among physiological systems, they can become overwhelmed with the amount of information they need to learn. Some students have particular difficulty with the...

    Keywords: OsmosisActive transportMass flowRenal reabsorptionRenal secretionTransport across membranes

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    Harnessing the Power of the Immune System: Influenza Vaccines
    Because most people have been infected by and/or immunized against influenza, students should know how the immune system responds to the infection and how vaccines protect against disease. Vaccines...

    Keywords: VaccinesInfluenzaImmunizationVaccine efficacy

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    Mapping a Mutation to its Gene: The "Fly Lab" as a Modern Research Experience
    Although genetics is an invaluable part of the undergraduate biology curriculum, it can be intimidating to students as well as instructors: Students must reduce their reliance on memorization and...

    Keywords: geneticsbioinformaticsdrosophilachi-square analysiscomplementation mappingmode of inheritancethree-point mapping

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    Data Analysis Recitation Activities Support Better Understanding in SEA-PHAGES CURE
    Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are widely known to improve student learning outcomes in the sciences. Undergraduate students have a particularly difficult time interpreting...

    Keywords: bacteriophageDNA extractionGel analysisPhage purificationTiter calculationViral replicative growth

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    Exploring Species Interactions with "Snapshot Serengeti"
    Authentic learning experiences are a valuable way for students to gain an in-depth understanding of the scientific process. However, implementing such experiences in large enrollment courses can be...

    Keywords: ecologyspecies interactionscitizen scienceCommunity Ecologyanimal behaviorScience Communicationmigrationanimal activityspecies distribution

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    Going Remote: An Online Adaptation to Using a Primary Cell Culture Model to Study the Neural Extracellular Matrix
    In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors have modified materials to transition to a remote learning platform. The challenge for science instructors has been to design lab exercises that...

    Keywords: remote learningExtracellular matrixNeural extracellular matrixPerineuronal net

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    A CRISPR/Cas Guide RNA Design In Silico Activity
    CRISPR biotechnologies inspired by the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat RNA-guided nuclease adaptive bacterial immune system have revolutionized biology research and become...

    Keywords: bioinformaticsgene expressiongenetic basis of diseaseCRISPR/Cas9genetic engineeringin silico

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    Understanding Gastric Acid Secretion: An Active Learning Approach
    The human digestive system is a diverse network of cells, tissues, and organs that is regulated by systemic (e.g., nervous and endocrine systems) and local factors (e.g., secretions, pH, and the...

    Keywords: diseasesignal transductionAcid SecretionAutonomic Nervous SystemEndocrineGastric PhysiologyGPCRHistology of Gastric Pit

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    Integrating Manipulatives and Animations to Visualize Holliday Junctions
    The complex molecular architecture of Holliday junctions is often challenging for undergraduate biochemistry students to conceptualize. In particular, they have difficulty translating from...

    Keywords: dna structureDNA damageDNA recombinationGene crossoverHolliday junction

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    Using Student Perceptions and Cooperative Learning to Unpack Primary Literature on Global Change
    This case describes a three-part assignment in which students discuss key processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system and our increased risk of generating large-scale...

    Keywords: global changeAnthropoceneEarth-systemplanetary boundary conceptthresholds

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    Using the Cell Engineer/Detective Approach to Explore Cell Structure and Function
    As instructors of introductory biology courses for majors and non-majors, we have struggled with teaching the concept of cell structure and function in an engaging way.  However, this is a...

    Keywords: cell functionCell StructureCellular diversityDynamic cellular functionOrganelle function

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    Using Images of Foraging Leaf-Cutter Ants to Teach Linear Regression
    This lesson offers students a realistic, open-inquiry research experience, even when lab or field research is not possible. We first introduce students to leaf-cutter ants and how they forage. Then...

    Keywords: linear regressionexperimental designPlant-insect interactionsSymbiosisForaging behavior

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    The Comics Project: Synthesizing and Communicating Science with Comics
    Students, especially non-science majors, often see science as abstracted from their daily lives. Moreover, students often struggle to translate scientific concepts into everyday language in order...

    Keywords: communicating scienceScience & Societycomics

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    What is Speciation, How Does It Occur, and Why Is It Important for Conservation?
    Speciation provides a framework for classifying biodiversity on Earth and is a central concept in evolutionary biology. To help undergraduate students learn about speciation, we designed a...

    Keywords: EvolutionconservationGenetic DriftSpeciationNatural SelectionBiological species conceptgene flowMorphological species conceptPhylogenetic species concept

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    My Dog IS My Homework: Exploring Canine Genetics to Understand Genotype-Phenotype Relationships
    To facilitate understanding of the fundamental genetic concept of the genotype-phenotype relationship in our introductory biology students, we designed an engaging multi-week series of related...

    Keywords: gel electrophoresissequence analysiscanine geneticsdeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)dog coat morphologygenotype and phenotypemutationsPolymerase chain reaction (PCR)single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

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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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    Green Design: How do Leaf Structures Optimize Photosynthesis and Promote Survival?
    One of the major learning objectives established by the American Society of Plant Biologists and the Botanical Society of America has students answer the question: How do plant structures enable...

    Keywords: photosynthesisepidermal layerleaf anatomymesophyllpalisade parenchymaplant anatomyplant structure functionspongy parenchymaStomata

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    BioVEDA Curriculum: An Approach to Link Conceptual and Quantitative Understanding of Variation During Experimental Design and Data Analysis
    When performing a biological investigation, experts constantly cycle between conceptual and quantitative modes of thinking, integrating their understanding in both worlds to make decisions about...

    Keywords: statisticssample sizeBiological variation

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    Data, Distributions, and Hypotheses: Exploring Diversity and Disturbance in the Tallgrass Prairie
    Proper hypothesis generation, data handling, graphing, and communication are essential skills that undergraduate majors in biology are expected to master. However, students rarely get hands-on...

    Keywords: Quantitative reasoningRestoration EcologyScience process skillstall grass prairie ecosystem

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