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    Developing Decolonial Consciousness in Biology Students Through Critical Reflection Assignments
    There is a growing call to decolonize curricula in academia, including in scientific disciplines. In the biology classroom, this includes highlighting a diverse array of scientists and illuminating...

    Keywords: primatessocietyZoologyantiracismdecolonizingstudent activismmuseum science

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    Furry with a chance of evolution: Exploring genetic drift with tuco-tucos
    Genetic drift is an important mechanism of evolution, yet undergraduates often fail to understand how it leads to evolutionary change due in part to its random nature. This lesson plan describes a...

    Keywords: EvolutionGenetic DriftBottle neckFounder effectRandom evolutionary processes

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    Strategies for developing a science communicator through authentic science writing assignments
    To prepare biology undergraduates to be able to read and evaluate the primary literature, it is beneficial to teach students how to write documents in the style of professional science style...

    Keywords: communicationPeer reviewscience writing

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    Thinking deeply about quantitative analysis: Building a Biologist's Toolkit
    Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education encouraged faculty to focus on core concepts and competencies in undergraduate curriculum. We created a sophomore-level course, Biologists'...

    Keywords: Vision and ChangeRRStudioquantitative literacystatistical analysisScientific communication

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    Using Undergraduate Molecular Biology Labs to Discover Targets of miRNAs in Humans
    Incorporating authentic research experiences into undergraduate labs, while shown to be particularly effective at engaging and retaining students in STEM majors, can be difficult to accomplish...

    Keywords: gene regulationmicroRNAsgene expression

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    Manuscript 101: A Data-Driven Writing Exercise for Beginning Scientists
    Learning to write a scientific manuscript is one of the most important and rewarding scientific training experiences, yet most young scientists only embark on this experience relatively late in...

    Keywords: geneticsanimaldevelopmentcompetitionbacterial

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    Honoring the Complexity of Genetics: Exploring the Role of Genes and the Environment Using Real World Examples
    Historically, undergraduate genetics courses have disproportionately focused on the impact of genes on phenotypes, rather than multifactorial concepts which consider how a combination of genes, the...

    Keywords: genesenvironmentMendelQuantitative traitsMultifactorialGene by environment interactions

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    It's a Substrate... It's a Protein...No - It's an Enzyme! Teaching Using 3D Serine Protease Physical Modeling Activities to Confront Misconceptions.
    Reported misconceptions of enzyme-substrate interactions highlight the necessity for better, targeted instructional tools and assessments. A series of active learning activities with corresponding...

    Keywords: Protein StructureEnzymes-Substrate InteractionsNoncovalent InteractionsGeometric ComplementaryElectronicsStereochemistrySerine Proteases

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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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    Learning Frameworks Aid Goal-oriented Course Design
    As a new instructor it can be hard to know where to begin. Thankfully, CourseSource's learning frameworks (https://www.coursesource.org/courses) shaped my approach to teaching as a first year...

    Keywords: backward designlearning goalscourse design

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    A flexible, multi-week approach to plant biology - How will plants respond to higher levels of CO2?
    To help introductory biology students understand how plants will respond to higher levels of CO2, we have created a multi-week module consisting of a series of four related laboratory lessons....

    Keywords: statisticsplantsphotosynthesiscarbon dioxidecommunicating sciencegroup workResource AllocationRespirationStomata

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    Knowing your own: A classroom case study using the scientific method to investigate how birds learn to recognize their offspring
    Understanding the scientific method provides students with a necessary foundation for careers in science-related fields. Moreover, students can apply scientific inquiry skills in many aspects of...

    Keywords: scientific methodNatural Selectionbrood parasitism

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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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    The Science Behind Parthenogenesis: Interesting things happen when meiosis goes “wrong”
    Parthenogenetic reproduction is a fascinating, complex topic.  This article accompanies “Why Meiosis Matters: The case of the fatherless snake.” It summarizes the basic information...

    Keywords: meiosismitosissex determinationAsexual reproductionParthenogenesis

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    Coevolution or not? Crossbills, squirrels and pinecones
    This case reinforces the concept of coevolution as a reciprocal change in genetic structure between or among two or more populations, by having students analyze and interpret data, build a...

    Keywords: fitnessCoevolutionCo-adaptation

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    A Remote-Learning Framework for Student Research Projects: Using Datasets to Teach Experimental Design, Data Analysis and Science Communication
    Remote learning often requires an alternative to hands-on, student-designed research projects. To this end, we created a package of scaffolded assignments to support introductory students through...

    Keywords: population growthphysiologyecotoxicologyphotosynthesis

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    Sanger Sequencing by Hand: Using Paper Clips to Demonstrate Chain Termination
    Sanger sequencing is commonly taught with a hands-on approach. Sanger sequencing involves chain termination by dideoxynucleotides, because they are missing the oxygen on the 3’ carbon atom,...

    Keywords: nucleotidessequencingDNAgel electrophoresisChain Termination

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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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    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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    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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