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Using Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in Stream Bioassessment

Bioassessment is an evaluation of the biological condition of a waterbody using biological surveys and other direct measurements of resident living organisms. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are important indicators of stream health: they are relatively long-lived, differentially sensitive to environmental stressors, and relatively easy to sample. This lesson is a hands-on introduction to the use of stream macroinvertebrates in assessing a stream’s biological condition. Students will learn how to (1) sample and identify stream macroinvertebrates and (2) conduct a rapid bioassessment to quantify ecosystem integrity based on the macroinvertebrate taxa that they collect. The lesson can be conducted with any number of students (although a second instructor would likely be needed for class sizes >20) and is appropriate for undergraduates of all levels.

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Amanda Zirzow onto Field Studies

Species Range Over Space and Time

In this module, students use data from natural history collections to look at range shifts related to climate variables over different time periods.

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Lauren Chan onto ConsBio

Staying Alive: Extinction Risk: Introduction to Extinction and Extinction Bias

Data driven curriculum module from Dryad Digital Repository

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Lauren Chan onto ConsBio

Mapping Specimen Occurrence Data in QGIS

Use digitized natural history collection occurrence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to map the distribution of the beaver in the state of Oregon from 1800-2020 using QGIS

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Lauren Chan onto Lab Group

THE IMPORTANCE OF GREEN SPACES & NATIVE PLANTS TO URBAN AVIFAUNA: A Lesson on how urban residential yards can support birds during their annual cycle

In this lesson students will learn about the impacts of urbanization, and the conservation challenges it poses to wildlife, in particular avifauna. Introductory ecology topics such as the theory of island biogeography and habitat fragmentation will be discussed, and the student will learn about the beneficial role of native plants in urban residential landscaping. A focal paper will be used to better explore these topics, and data from this observational study will be utilized to introduce generalized linear models in the R programming environment. The student should have some prior basic knowledge of introductory ecology concepts, introductory statistics and have R studio installed on their computer with a basic understanding of this programming language. Upon completion of this lesson, students will learn how urban residential yards contribute to the overall green space in urbanized areas and be used as a conservation strategy to mitigate habitat loss. In R, the student will learn how to conduct statistical analyses and determine if the species area relationship and distance effects of the theory of island biogeography predict bird richness in this study system.

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Lauren Chan onto ConsBio

Following the Data

The video and exercise provides insight into how researchers are using digital data resources to investigate biodiversity in prairie fen wetlands.

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Lauren Chan onto ConsBio

The Importance of Street Trees and Urban Avifauna: A lesson exploring the relationship between urban forest and foraging birds

This module examines the relationship between street trees, urban avifauna, and socioeconomic gradients in the highly urbanized county of Los Angeles, California. Using edited data from a published study, students will learn how to run and interpret a generalized linear model with negative binomial distribution in RStudio.

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Lauren Chan onto ConsBio

Backyard Beetles + Pollinators for a non-lab course on biodiversity conservation

Backyard Beetles + Pollinators is a project to observe and evaluate plant-pollinator networks. This adaptation modifies the (adapted) modules for a non-lab course on conservation, conducted during a mix of in-person and remote students.

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Lauren Chan onto ConsBio

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 been linked with muscle performance in humans (2) but does not cause any known muscle disease (1). We have developed a series of laboratory modules that provide an authentic classroom research experience and which address the connection between science and society by examining the implications of ACTN3 genetic testing to improve sports training and performance. This article accompanies the lesson "The ACTN3 Polymorphism: Applications in Genetics and Physiology Teaching Laboratories," and summarizes background information that an instructor would need to implement the project in class.

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Lesley Urasky onto Biology II

2009-Peter-Howard-Modeling With ODE

This is a set of class notes rich in examples and ideas for modeling. There is some MatLab code in support of some of the activities.

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Aaron B Zerhusen onto Matlab

Molecular CaseNet - Developing and Using Molecular Case Studies at the Interface of Biology and Chemistry (RCN-UBE Introduction)

A community of educators and scholars developing and using Molecular Case Studies (MCS), to explore the molecular basis of biological phenomena, understand real world problems, and their developing solutions at the interface of biology and chemistry.

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Jeanne Sinara onto Biological Molecules

Joel E. Greengiant Learns About Peas: From Nucleotides to Selection

This case study follows purveyors of peas, Joel E. and Jolene Greengiant, as they learn about the origin, biochemistry, genetics and eventual artificial selection of sweet (wrinkled) peas, all in the context of evolutionary biology.

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Jeanne Sinara onto Biological Molecules

BioMolViz - Development of an Inclusive Community for the Instruction of Visualizing Biomolecules (RCN-Introduction)

BioMolViz is a community dedicated to advancing biomolecular visualization education. We provide training, teaching tools and validated visual literacy assessments. The BioMolViz Library—our online repository—delivers assessments to instructors worldwide.

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Jeanne Sinara onto Biological Molecules

Cystic Fibrosis Mechanism and Treatment

This animation shows how mutations in an ion channel protein lead to the genetic disease cystic fibrosis. The animation also discusses how research on this protein has been used to develop treatments for the disease.

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Jeanne Sinara onto Biological Molecules

A "Box of Lessons" for Exploring Biomolecular Structure and Function

Biomolecular structure and function is emphasized as a core concept in a variety of community determined educational standards for biology and chemistry. Most curricula introduce students to the building blocks and principles of biomolecular structures, in introductory chapters of biology, biochemistry, cell biology, and chemistry courses, but very few engage students in actively visualizing and exploring biomolecular structures throughout the course. Conversations with faculty teaching introductory courses, and/or developing and piloting molecular case studies, helped uncover the need for new resources, and professional development to support introduction of biomolecular exploration. To address this need, a group of faculty participating in a Faculty Mentoring Network in Spring 2022, gathered together resources and lessons that they had independently developed and collaboratively developed additional ones. An overview of the lessons will be presented here. Interested users are invited to pilot the lessons in Fall 2022.

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Jeanne Sinara onto Biological Molecules

Electron Location, Location, Location: Understanding Biological Interactions

Collection of resources that help teach biochemistry.

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Jeanne Sinara onto Biological Molecules

Evolution of Caffeine Biosynthesis Enzymes

Evolution of caffeine pathway

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Lori Nicholas onto Botany

Plants We Eat: Learning Form and Function from Fruits and Vegetables

Lab or class activities

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Lori Nicholas onto Botany

A Quick and Simple Natural Selection Role Play

Teaching evolution remains a challenging task in biology education. Students enter the classroom with stubborn misconceptions and many traditional examples of the process of evolution may not resonate with students. This short role play activity is designed to easily integrate into any class session on evolution and provide students with a concrete, tangible example of natural selection. In addition, it specifically addresses several misconceptions about evolution. In this activity, students become a fictional population that is under a selection pressure. As students take on the role of a population, they are reminded of the requirements for natural selection, fall victim to a selection pressure, and observe the change in allele frequencies over time. In the context of a class session that focuses on the mechanisms of evolution, students are able to immediately visualize the process of natural selection. This role play only takes 10-15 minutes, requiring minimal class and preparation time. It has been successfully used in both introductory and non-majors' biology classrooms. Though simplified and fictional, this role play provides a concrete example as a foundation for students' growing understanding of evolution.

Primary image: Depicts visual representation of populations evolving.

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Emily Rude onto Evolution - natural selection

A Quick and Simple Natural Selection Role Play

Teaching evolution remains a challenging task in biology education. Students enter the classroom with stubborn misconceptions and many traditional examples of the process of evolution may not resonate with students. This short role play activity is designed to easily integrate into any class session on evolution and provide students with a concrete, tangible example of natural selection. In addition, it specifically addresses several misconceptions about evolution. In this activity, students become a fictional population that is under a selection pressure. As students take on the role of a population, they are reminded of the requirements for natural selection, fall victim to a selection pressure, and observe the change in allele frequencies over time. In the context of a class session that focuses on the mechanisms of evolution, students are able to immediately visualize the process of natural selection. This role play only takes 10-15 minutes, requiring minimal class and preparation time. It has been successfully used in both introductory and non-majors' biology classrooms. Though simplified and fictional, this role play provides a concrete example as a foundation for students' growing understanding of evolution.

Primary image: Depicts visual representation of populations evolving.

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Emily Rude onto Evolution - natural selection

"Boost your evolution IQ": An evolution misconceptions game

Students often enter introductory biology courses with misconceptions about evolution. For example, many students believe that traits arise when a species needs them or that evolutionary processes are goal-oriented. To address these and other misconceptions, we have developed an activity called "Boost Your Evolution IQ." Student groups compete against one another in a fast-paced, challenging quiz that is presented using PowerPoint. Questions get harder from beginning to end, and the stakes get higher: Each correct answer earns double points in round 2 and then triple points in round 3. Student collaboration throughout the activity helps reinforce the concepts in advanced students and allows struggling students to hear evolution explained in various ways. Further, the same misconception is often tested multiple times, allowing students to learn from their mistakes. This activity is useful as a review before an evolution exam or as a pre- and post-test. It may also be adapted for large classes using clicker technology. We provide a detailed explanation of the approach in the attached video (Supporting File S1).

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Emily Rude onto Evolution - misconceptions

bioBUDS: How to Read a Paper

Undergraduates are often expected to read scientific papers for class and submit assignments based on their understanding of the contents of these papers. Most courses, in our experience as students and TAs, do not spend time teaching students how to approach highly technical scientific reading. We believe that reading scientific papers and interpreting figures is a skill that can and should be taught in a classroom setting. This workshop was designed for Stanford undergraduates in the bioBUDS program. The goal of this workshop is to provide students with some of the tools to start reading and interpreting scientific papers for class or undergraduate research.

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Katherine E Gibson onto MicroBio General