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    Exploring Primary Scientific Literature through the Lens of the 5 Core Concepts of Biology
    Biology students at the undergraduate level usually excel in knowing biological facts; however, they often struggle with connecting these facts to specific biological principles. In parallel,...

    Keywords: 5 core conceptsconnecting facts to principlesreading primary scientific literature

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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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    Using Gamification to Teach Undergraduate Students about Scientific Writing
    Despite its importance, scientific writing is often deprioritized in undergraduate biology classes. Reasons include assumed prior knowledge, lack of class time, tedious grading, and the complexity...

    Keywords: gamificationscientific writingE-LearningInstant FeedbackInteractive LearningReading Scientific PapersVIdeo/computer game

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    The Avocado Lab: An Inquiry-Driven Exploration of an Enzymatic Browning Reaction
    Typical biochemistry labs exploring basic enzyme activity rely on costly, time-consuming protein purification and rarely explore enzyme function in situ. Further, complex purification procedures...

    Keywords: enzymescontrolsenzyme inhibition

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    Quantifying and Visualizing Campus Tree Phenology
    Large enrollment courses present a challenge for instructors who want to engage students in authentic science practices that fit the recommendations of Vision & Change. Our lesson provides a...

    Keywords: ecologyBiodiversityphenologyplant biology

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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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    Implementing active learning approaches into an upper-division biology course
    In this essay, we present our strategy for implementing active learning strategies into an upper division course on Human Genetics. Our principal goal was to shift from a traditional didactic...

    Keywords: human biologyPedigree analysisRare genetic diseases

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    A Team-Based Approach to Course Development Involving Undergraduate Researchers
    Development of an undergraduate laboratory course can be a challenge, because of the need to balance both logistical and pedagogical considerations. We piloted a team-based approach to developing...

    Keywords: student researchcourse development

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    Using Place-Based Economically Relevant Organisms to Improve Student Understanding of the Roles of Carbon Dioxide, Sunlight, and Nutrients in Photosynthetic Organisms
    Biology students require broad preparation for diverse careers including agriculture, natural resource management, and laboratory research. Concurrent with this need, employers are seeking...

    Keywords: energyphotosynthesisbiomass

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    Building Trees: Introducing evolutionary concepts by exploring Crassulaceae phylogeny and biogeography
    Teaching evolutionary theory is foundational for all biological sciences and a key aspect of overall science literacy. The conceptual framework for understanding evolution relies on thinking...

    Keywords: EvolutionphylogeneticsTree thinkingbiogeography

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    A first lesson in mathematical modeling for biologists: Rocs
    Using a fictitious population of Rocs, a mythical species of giant raptor, students accomplish two broad objectives: 1) they undertake the process of building a first mathematical model of a...

    Keywords: population ecologypopulation modelingdiscrete generationpopulation management

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    Out of Your Seat and on Your Feet! An adaptable course-based research project in plant ecology for advanced students
    University capstone projects can offer science students a rich research experience that illustrates the process of doing scientific research, and can also help students better choose future...

    Keywords: statisticsactive learningecologyinterdisciplinaryplantscommunicating sciencegroup workfield workproces of science

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    Teaching Genetic Linkage and Recombination through Mapping with Molecular Markers
    Most introductory genetics courses cover genetic linkage, a core concept in the CourseSource genetics learning outcome framework. Although it is a classical genetics topic, genetic linkage remains...

    Keywords: meiosisphenotypegel electrophoresismicrosatellitesBanding PatternGenetic linkageInheritanceMolecular MarkersPhysical Linkage

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    Authentic Ecological Inquiries Using BearCam Archives
    Learning through authentic scientific inquiries is essential for understanding the nature and process of science and for developing critical thinking and communication skills. It is logistically...

    Keywords: behaviorinterspecific interactionsPeer reviewauthentic inquiryintra-specific interactions

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    The Lecture-Free Classroom: Teaching students backward design and Bloom's Taxonomy to create their own learning environment
    We describe Presentation Enhanced Learning (PEL), a flexible, lecture-free, field-tested teaching format to promote problem-based, active learning in upper-division or graduate biological sciences...

    Keywords: active learningbackward designProblem based learningBloom's Taxonomy

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    Sequence Similarity: A Quick Introduction to Bioconductor
    Following the Sequence Similarity exercises by Kleinschmit, et al., this tutorial will guide students in using the Bioconductor suite of R packages to likewise compute sequence similarity.

    Keywords: bioinformaticssequencingNIBLSEmultiple sequence alignmentsequence similarityBLOSUM scoring matrixBioconductor

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    Sequence Similarity: Introducing Biological Databases to Community College Biology Students
    This laboratory module, published on CourseSource, leads introductory biology students in the exploration of a basic set of bioinformatics concepts and tools.

    Keywords: phylogeneticsbioinformaticssequencingFASTANCBINIBLSEalgorithmsincubatorsBLASTmultiple sequence alignmentsequence similarityBLOSUM scoring matrixneighbor-joining distance matrixCourseSourcephylogramZika virus

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    Introductory Video and worksheets on Module 1 and 2 on "Sequence Similarity: An inquiry based and under the hood..."
    The video walks the students to complete Module 1 and 2 on Sequence Similarly and Alignment adapted from Tapprich (2019) and Hudson Alpha that teaches these modules within the context of the...

    Keywords: bioinformaticssequencingFASTANCBINIBLSEalgorithmsBLASTmultiple sequence alignmentsequence similarityBLOSUM scoring matrixCourseSource

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    Adapting "Lichens in Diverse Landscapes" for Independent Projects in BIO 3317 Ecology at McDaniel College
    This adaptation shows how students in Ecology at McDaniel College used the Lichens in Diverse Landscapes Module 2 (Lichens in YOUR Local Landscape) in Fall 2020.

    Keywords: NEONNational Ecological Observatory Network

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    Needleman - Wunsch Algorithm Exercise
    This exercise is used in a sophomore-junior level bioinformatics course. The algorithm is introduced to the students who then complete the exercise.

    Keywords: bioinformaticsUndergraduateNIBLSEalgorithmsincubatorsAudience LevelAdvancedActivity Length1 HourNeedleman-WunschC2. Computational conceptsIncubated at NIBLSE

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