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    SCIENCE/Fiction: Modular Template for Class Design
    We present a modular scaffold for designing an introductory seminar using speculative fiction and science papers to welcome university undergraduates to the biology major. A list of twelve possible...

    Keywords: geneticscell biologyneurosciencesystems biologyScience Fiction

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    Snail Races: An Inquiry-Based Approach to Learn Invasive Species Ecology
    Inquiry-based lessons allow learning that is hands-on and student-driven, fostering engagement and retention of knowledge in any discipline. Here, we use this learning framework to engage students...

    Keywords: ecologyenvironmentInvasive SpeciesScience CommunicationScientific InquiryDispersal

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    Defining and Understanding Pathogenic Disease: An Engaging Activity that Connects Students' Lived Experiences with their Academic Studies
    Contagious diseases are unavoidable realities of life. Thus, understanding pathogens and their respective diseases is important in many biological subfields including evolution, ecology, health...

    Keywords: infectious diseasePathogenspathogenic disease

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    Online Information Literacy: Applying the CRAAP Test to Vaccine (Mis)information
    Teaching scientific literacy skills can help combat the propagation of misinformation online. This lesson is intended to give students practice identifying reliable scientific information on the...

    Keywords: Vaccinesimmunityreliability

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    "Got Algae?" A Sorting Game for Introducing the Weird and Wonderful Diversity of Algae
    Algae are a fascinating and diverse organismal group, with global ecological importance, a storied evolutionary history and deep connections to both contemporary and historical human societies. Yet...

    Keywords: phylogenyBiodiversityphotosynthesisalgaeseaweedmonophyly

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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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    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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    Vitamin C for Colds? Writing LETTERS to Synthesize and Communicate Results from Multiple Studies
    Interpreting experimental results is a key part of evidence-based reasoning. However, it is challenging for students to synthesize data from multiple sources to reach their own conclusions. As...

    Keywords: pre-healthphysiologyScience Communicationscientific literacyScientific Processconventional wisdomscientific methods

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    Active Learning: Developing Self-Directed Learners Through Strong Intellectual Engagement
    When they were students, many current science instructors learned through traditional lectures. This mode of passive knowledge transmission has been shown to be less effective for student learning...

    Keywords: active learningmetacognitionconstructivism

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    Breaking It Down: What Factors Control Microbial Decomposition Rates?
    Demonstrating and modeling changes in ecosystem processes in the laboratory classroom can be logistically difficult and expensive. This complexity often leaves little time for students to generate...

    Keywords: data analysishypothesis testingdata visualizationdata managementMicrobial RespirationDecompostionAbiotic ConditionsResults Communication

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    A Classroom Intervention to Reduce Confirmation Bias
    STEM students are often unable to recognize cognitive bias in their own disciplines, and simply describing cognitive bias to students has shown to be insufficient to improve critical thinking....

    Keywords: biasprocess of sciencemetacognitionConfirmation BiasCognitive Bias

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    A Fun Introductory Command Line Lesson: Next Generation Sequencing Quality Analysis with Emoji!
    Radical innovations in DNA sequencing technology over the past decade have created an increased need for computational bioinformatics analyses in the 21st century STEM workforce. Recent...

    Keywords: bioinformaticsgenomicscodingJupyter notebookcommand lineCyVersescriptingnext generation sequencing analysis

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    Teaching Biodiversity with Museum Specimens in an Inquiry-Based Lab
    In response to the growth of biology datasets and broad efforts to digitize data, an increasingly important skill for science students is the management and analysis of large datasets. We designed...

    Keywords: data analysisnatural historyphylogenyBiodiversitymammalsAllen's RuleBergmann's Ruleecogeographymuseum research

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    Sequence Similarity: An inquiry based and "under the hood" approach for incorporating molecular sequence alignment in introductory undergraduate biology courses
    Introductory bioinformatics exercises often walk students through the use of computational tools, but often provide little understanding of what a computational tool does "under the...

    Keywords: BLASTmultiple sequence alignmentsequence similarityphylogramZika virusAlgorithmScoring Matrix

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    Using Constructed Response Questions on High-Stakes Assessments in Large Classes With Limited Support
    Large lecture courses often rely heavily, and sometimes exclusively, on Multiple Choice (MC) exams to assess student learning. Constructed Response (CR) questions, in which students generate their...

    Keywords: assessmenttestexamLarge classconstructed responseshort answerscoring

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    Using Raw Sequence Data to Analyze Tumor Suppressor Mutations
    Learning to identify DNA sequence variants from raw sequencing data (electropherograms) is a basic molecular biology skill with applications to basic research and clinical practice. Yet learning to...

    Keywords: bioinformaticsmutationDNAgenomic visualizationparts of a geneclinical consequencesraw data

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    "I Really Enjoy These Annotations:" Examining Primary Biological Literature Using Collaborative Annotation
    Critically reading and evaluating claims made in the primary literature are vital skills for the future professional and personal lives of undergraduate students. However, the formal presentation...

    Keywords: Stem cellsAdult neurogenesisCRISPR gene editing

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    Drawing flowcharts of lab protocols helps students prepare for biology labs
    With the publishing of the Vision and Change report, we know it is best practice to include authentic research experiences in our undergraduate science lab classes. One big challenge in teaching...

    Keywords: laboratorymolecular biologyUndergraduateprotocolflowchart

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    Online Adaptation to "Gotcha! Which fly trap is the best? An introduction to experimental data collection and analysis"
    We present here a simple and engaging experiment capitalizing on the universal need to rid our homes of fruit flies to teach experimental design and analysis. In an earlier paper, we described an...

    Keywords: data analysisexperimental designolfaction

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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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