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    Generating Biological Hypotheses in a "Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience"(CURE) Course
    Hypotheses are often incorrectly defined as educated guesses or if/then statements. Further confusion arises from the fact that not all disciplines define hypotheses similarly. The difficulty in...

    Keywords: scientific methodHPT axisNeural stem cells

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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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    Using Seafood Traceability to Teach the Complexities of Natural Resource Management and Sustainability
    This lesson plan addresses the challenge of conveying to students the globalized nature and complexity of natural resource management. Specifically, it uses seafood traceability, or the ability to...

    Keywords: sustainabilityfisheriesaquacultureAnthropogenic ImpactsNatural Resource Management

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    Mice, Acorns, and Lyme Disease: a Case Study to Teach the Ecology of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
    Ebola, Zika, the recall of contaminated lettuce - these are just a few recent outbreaks making headlines. Students should be able to connect what they learn in their biology courses to explain...

    Keywords: epidemiologyEcological changeInfectious disease ecologyReservoirsTransmission cycle

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    Facilitating Scientific Literacy Through Writing: A Write-to-Learn Assignment for Large Introductory Undergraduate Biology Courses
    Write-to-learn (WTL) assignments have been used in a variety of disciplines to encourage conceptual learning and critical thinking in undergraduate education. These assignments focus on...

    Keywords: geneticsEvolutionecologyCellsPlants form and functionAnimals form and function

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    Who’s That Speci-Mon? Using PokémonTM to Understand Biological Terminology Using Greek and Latin Roots
    We set out to create a fun and engaging activity using recognizable fictional characters, so students get a chance to practice using Greek and Latin roots to create binomial names. Students in...

    Keywords: linguisticstaxonomyAnatomyGreek and Latin Roots

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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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    Navigating Proposal Writing and Implementation of an NSF S-STEM Grant Program: Reflections as a First-Time PI
    Recruitment and retention issues are an increasing concern to many institutions nationwide, most especially in regard to underrepresented minority (URM) students enrolled in STEM. It is, therefore,...

    Keywords: Proposal writingGrant managementNSF S-STEM

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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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    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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    Tackling "Big Data" with Biology Undergrads: A Simple RNA-seq Data Analysis Tutorial Using Galaxy
    Analyzing high-throughput DNA sequence data is a fundamental skill in modern biology. However, real and perceived barriers such as massive file sizes, substantial computational requirements, and...

    Keywords: bioinformaticsDNA sequenceRNAseqgene expression

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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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    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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    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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    Simulating Cortical Rotation, Axis Induction, and Experimental Embryology in Amphibian Embryos Using Clay Models
    The study of development requires learners to understand spatially complex concepts like embryo anatomy. Embryo anatomy is dynamic over time, and it is often manipulated by researchers in...

    Keywords: developmentXenopusfertilizationEmbryologyinductionSymmetry breakingOrganizerCortical rotationPatterning

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    The Three Sisters of Agriculture: An Active Learning Activity on Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation
    This active learning exercise introduces students to the plant microbiome and the contributions that bacteria make to plant growth and food production. The Three Sisters are an ancient indigenous...

    Keywords: SymbiosisPlant microbiomeNitrogen fixationNutritional content of foodElectron flowSociety impact of microorganisms

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    Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research: Instruction on Plagiarism
    Helping students understand where they should provide citations in research manuscripts is an essential aspect of training them in the responsible and ethical conduct of research. This Lesson...

    Keywords: citationwritingethicsplagiarismparaphrasequote

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    Electron Location, Location, Location: Understanding Biological Interactions
    Introductory Biology courses typically introduce the structure and function of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. To understand biomolecules fully, students require knowledge of...

    Keywords: hydrogen bondshydrophobicity/hydrophilicitypolar and non-polar covalent bonds

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    Designing an Asynchronous, Self-Led Aquatic Ecology Field Trip
    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing need to teach students online, aquatic scientists are looking for ways to give students field experiences virtually. Asynchronous, self-led field trips...

    Keywords: observationecosystem structureexploration

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    From Dirt to Streptomyces DNA
    The purpose of this semester-long Lesson is to give students an authentic, course-based undergraduate research experience during which they learn basic and advanced microbiological and molecular...

    Keywords: MetabolismAntibiotic productionrRNA genesSecondary metabolitesStreptomyces

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