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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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    Doctor in the House: Improving Undergraduate Critical Thinking Skills Through Diagnosing Medical Case Studies
    Students in undergraduate anatomy and physiology courses are not often exposed to clinical examples of homeostatic imbalances, particularly ones that provide an opportunity to diagnose a...

    Keywords: medicinediagnosiscardiovasculardeductive reasoningdigestiveEndocrinehomeostatic imbalancehypothetico-deductive modelurinary

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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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    Lateral Transfer Maps as a Metacognitive Tool in First Year STEM Courses
    We introduce the Lateral Transfer Map (LTM), a tool for students to actively and visually explore the transfer of ideas, skills, and concepts across concurrent coursework. The LTM is an extension...

    Keywords: concept mapmetacognitionfirst-year studenttransfer

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    A Remote Introductory Biology Lab Using Backyard Birdwatching to Teach Data Analysis and Communication
    Asking questions, designing experiments, collecting data and interpreting those data, and communicating the results are some of the most important concepts an undergraduate biology lab can teach...

    Keywords: ecologydata analysisdata collection

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    Expanding the Reach of Crop Plants for Food Security: A Lesson Integrating Non-Majors Students Into the Discussion of Food Diversity and Human Nutrition
    University general education (GE) courses host students with various academic backgrounds, interests, and perspectives. Engaging students in GE classes with agricultural issues can be challenging...

    Keywords: cereal graincrop diversitycrop yieldglobal food systemhuman nutritionnutrient qualitypseudocereal grainstaple cropunderutilized crop

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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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    Modeling Strep Throat Detection, Infection, and Spread Using an SIR Model and the Vensim Simulation Software
    The overarching goal of this lesson is to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience making and using biological models. Biological modeling can be used to investigate complex,...

    Keywords: infectious diseasebiological modelingSIR model

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    Using Musical Instruments to Model Negative Feedback in the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Target Gland Axes
    Homeostasis and negative feedback are crucial, yet difficult, concepts for undergraduates, particularly in the context of the hypothalamo-pituitary axes. This interactive activity was designed to...

    Keywords: cell-cell communicationhomeostasisnegative feedback

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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 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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    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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    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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    Exploring the Broader Impacts of Science and Society in an Active Learning Environment
    Science and society have always been intertwined. Today, scientists are increasingly encouraged to interact with the public by conducting transparent and participatory engaged scholarship, as...

    Keywords: active learningsocietyScience CommunicationscienceBroader impactsPublic engagement

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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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