Introduction | Abstracts | Proposal Details | Timeline | Publication Information
Introduction
Each synchronous lab workshop may be up to 3-hours long, with a 30 minute break, and will be presented once during the conference (Thursday, June 17).
During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to perform the actual student exercise, or at least critical parts of it. Additionally, there should be time for discussion of the background and context of the lab with an opportunity for questions and answers. While many attendees are interested in introductory labs, presentations of intermediate or advanced labs are appropriate as well. This workshop format is ideal for labs that have been taught at your home institution in an online, synchronous, format with limited work to be accomplished prior to the lab workshop.
Please note that the sessions will be recorded and posted for conference registrants to view.
Abstracts
Bringing an online lab to life with Complete Anatomy
Elizabeth Cantwell, Danny LeBert and Brian Lipscomb
Online anatomy and physiology labs are greatly enhanced by tools that allow students to actively engage with the material. The lab presented includes varied exercises that focus on skeletal muscle histology, muscle movement, and the bones and muscles of the arm. The diversity of these activities enhances student interest by engaging them in different ways. A centerpiece of our anatomy and physiology labs is the Complete Anatomy 2021 application, which allows students to interact with a manipulatable 3D presentation of the human body, as well as a host of specially constructed models that highlight microscopic structures. As an institution, we selected this application for its versatility, as it may be tailored for use at a range of educational levels, from 200-level anatomy through 700-level physical therapy courses. In our anatomy and physiology course series, a practical benefit of this application is that it allows students who are working remotely to achieve a clear understanding of the interactions between body systems. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to interact with the Complete Anatomy app as part of a fully developed lab. We will address ways to narrow students’ focus to assigned structures and demonstrate the means by which their learning may be assessed.
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access, The Complete Anatomy software (access code will be provided)
Agents of Evolution
Sarah Deel
In this introductory biology lab, each student in a lab group is assigned an agent of evolution (non-random mating, natural selection, gene flow, mutation, or genetic drift) to investigate before lab. Each student completes a combination of specific tasks related to their agent—these include some combination of readings in a handout, online readings, videos, and at least one simulation they manipulate (all online resources are free). Students then meet in lab with their lab group and share what they’ve learned; each student serves as an “expert” on their agent. As a group, students investigate a free online modeling simulation that allows them to manipulate multiple variables simultaneously. Students are asked to develop an experimental question, generate a hypothesis, and then test their hypothesis using the modeling simulation. This can be completed in approximately two hours. This lab is quite flexible, and possible modifications are suggested. Student response to the lab was generally positive; students appreciated the chance to take an active role in the investigation of an experimental question. We liked that students came to lab prepared and were willing to engage fully with the material.
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access
CUREing Exposure to Environmental Chemicals from Personal Care Products
Erika L. Doctor and Cassandra S. Korte
This series of laboratory modules presents students the opportunity to perform in-classroom research while building their working knowledge of the scientific process and growing their skills in analytical methods. In the laboratory, students analyze samples of urine collected as part of an intervention study focused on reducing exposure to potentially harmful compounds, phthalates, found in personal care products. Students propose methods of extraction and detection, analyze samples from the intervention study, analyze data, present results, and propose future iterations of the intervention-study. In this workshop, participants experience the online student experience through the steps of extracting phthalates from urine samples, analyzing HPLC data, and proposing future research directions based on their HPLC data-derived conclusions.
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access, MS Excel
Integrating GPS technology and Gaming as tools for Improving Spatial Intelligence and Database Development
Trina Halfhide, Luke Rostant and Georgette Briggs
We developed an interactive assessment-based Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab exercise geared towards final year students enrolled in a Fundamentals of GIS course in the Environmental Science and Sustainable Technology (ESST) programme. This lab exercise includes a GIS software data manipulation component and an active outdoor component – a Tree Hunt, using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) enabled devices. This combination of in-class and outdoor independent activities, facilitates active learning, even in today’s virtual environment. This active, skills-based learning, requires students to draw upon and apply previously learned knowledge and skills in the form of a game. Gaming is a widely accepted teaching and learning tool, arguably not utilized frequently enough in the biological sciences. During this workshop, participants will start with an understanding of calibrating the GPS machine via a demonstration and live interactive discussion. Participants then engage in the Tree Hunt by locating the points of interest around the campus. To facilitate this, students will be provided with GPS units which have been preloaded with GPS waypoints. They must then use the GPS units to navigate towards each of the numbered trees (1 through 6) they have been assigned. Each tree is identifiable by flagging tape and a sticky note with a quote. The students must write down both the colour of the sticky note, the quote and the scientific name for the tree. The workshop will be done in a synchronous manner, where participants can join in a live feed and guide the on-site participants to locate the trees. Following data collection, participants will then have an opportunity to engage with the ArcGIS software to gain an understanding of the generation and manipulation of GIS data. We will also introduce a modified version of this lab to facilitate engagement from students in a remote modality, especially applicable to our present need to provide adaptive learning experiences.
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access, cell phone, iNaturalist App (free download), QGIS software (free download ), Google Maps, Garmin GPS unit if available
Introductory Cell Biology in a Pandemic – Adaptations for Remote Laboratory Delivery
Andy Hudson, Laurie Pacarynuk, and Ashley Curtis
The Covid-19 pandemic hit the world hard and fast, prompting a series of radical closures and other safeguards to limit the spread of infection. The pandemic has not left any sector untouched and across the globe, post-secondary frameworks have been rapidly remodeled to conserve learning opportunities wherever feasible. In scientific disciplines, such changes are particularly difficult to manage, especially for in-person experiential learning in the laboratory (a major tenet of science learning). In our Department, we felt that our core introductory cell biology teaching laboratories were critical to student learning, but due to the pandemic restrictions, we could not offer in-person delivery and maintain safe distancing at our institution. Consequently, for the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters, we developed and piloted comprehensive laboratory kits that enabled students to perform five of the eight experiments that are typically offered in the course, from their homes and without need of specific scientific equipment. The laboratory kits are inexpensive ($10 each), safe and require students to provide only common household items to perform. In this workshop, we present an overview of the lab activities developed and discuss student learning outcomes from the previous year. We will then provide a synchronous demonstration for one of our developed activities that focuses on cell membrane stress, using beet betacyanin as a membrane stress indicator. The audience is encouraged to participate alongside by performing the experiment remotely and ask questions throughout the presentation. Following the demonstration, we will open the floor to the audience for additional questions and discussion.
Items participants need during session:
mug, microwave oven, cooking thermometer, knives, timer, test tubes (or 15ml centrifuge tubes), test tube rack, tap water, beets, vinegar, rubbing alcohol
Simulating Parasite Transmission and Epidemics Using Contact Networks
Karena Nguyen, Evelyn C. Rynkiewicz, and David J. Civitello
Undergraduate students have an intuitive understanding that contact between an infectious individual and a susceptible individual can cause parasite transmission or infection. While undergraduate students can describe factors that facilitate parasite transmission, such as differences in immunity or contact patterns among hosts, it can be challenging to teach the mathematical representations that connect these processes to population-level outcomes that are of interest to medical and public health experts. Here, we develop an inquiry-based laboratory exercise where students construct a contact network based on shared courses, club/sport activities, and on-campus residential housing. We first contrast this approach with the “classic” compartment or SIR-type (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) model that ignores variation in contact patterns. Students then simulate epidemics through their self-generated network using dice to illustrate the role of demographic stochasticity, i.e., luck or chance, in the progression of epidemic clusters. Once familiar with infection spread in the network, students make predictions about the size of epidemics at different nodes of the network with and without public health interventions (e.g., vaccination, quarantine). These exercises have been adapted for nonmajor and upper-level biology undergraduates and has been implemented successfully in-person and online.
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access, Google Sheets, R and RStudio (free download)
Using software programs, SDM-Assist and SnapGene, to maximize learning benefits of performing Site Directed Mutagenesis while minimizing logistical challenges
Jason O’Donnell
Site Directed Mutagenesis (SDM) is a biological multi-step laboratory technique that introduces a point mutation in a gene, usually to mutate an individual amino acid. Implementing SDM in a CURE-centric undergraduate laboratory course comes with advantages and disadvantages. It is an advantageous because it can easily accommodate research-backed educational guidelines including student ownership and decision-making while incorporating and connecting fundamental skills. A disadvantage is that it can be technically challenging to guide large classrooms of students through this process in a manner in which they arrive at their own decisions in a scientifically sound manner. For example, with SDM a student can decide the amino acid for mutagenesis. Initial steps require designing primers with one or more mismatches for the amino acid mutation as well as an additional mismatch to create/remove a restriction enzyme site in the plasmid, which can later be used to verify mutagenesis. The choice in amino acid influences which restriction enzymes sites will be available, thereby influence experimental results and create opportunities for a student to play a larger role in the process while their “own” data. However, some amino acids are more technically challenging to mutate than others. In this workshop participants will learn how to use two freely available software programs, SDM-assist and SnapGene, to develop a student activity to maximize student decision-making while minimizing the technical challenges associated with the initial steps of this type of work. Participants will learn how each student can easily use SDM-assist to generate mutagenic primers and use SnapGene to predict the results of the mutagenesis. Participants will learn how these two programs have been incorporated in a Course Based Undergraduate Research
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access, SnapGene (free download), SDM-Assist (free download)
From Basic Statistics to Ecological Analyses: Application of the East River NYC Fish Species Database
Peter J. Park, Christopher D. Girgenti, Isa G. Del Bello, and Devin M. Gorsen
Students will explore basic statistics and ecological analyses by learning how to use the East River New York City (NYC) Fish Species Database (https://eastriverfishproject.org) and Microsoft® Excel. This database, which hosts real, current, and regularly updated fish and water quality data from NYC, was originally devised in 2019 by a partnership of environmental education organizations studying fish diversity in NYC’s East River strait. The database includes fish data, collection methods, water quality, and general geographic location of sampling sites. Data from 2019 in this database were recently published in the journal Urban Naturalist (Park et al. 2020), providing a convenient reference for instructors to tailor in-class applications of the database and for students to contextualize their learning. Statistical applications that can be explored with these data include but are not limited to graphing (e.g., histograms, pie charts) and analyses (e.g., correlation, regression, statistical tests). Ecological applications that can be applied include calculating species diversity indices and plotting rank abundance curves. Four goals represent this work: (1) To encourage instructors and students to explore and study a real, high-quality community-science based dataset in the classroom, (2) To teach students how to use Microsoft® Excel effectively and to interpret data in recent and past datasets, (3) To foster a deep appreciation for the value of applying statistics and ecological analyses to answer questions in nature, and (4) To foster a deep appreciation the importance of monitoring efforts by community scientists.
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access, Google Chrome, MS Excel
Don’t Drink and Fly: Alcohol Resistance Behavior in Drosophila Informs us about Human Genes that Contribute to Alcoholism
S. Catherine Silver Key and Jennifer Echeverria
According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), an estimated 88,000 people a year die from alcohol-related behaviors, which makes alcohol consumption the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is defined as a chronic relapsing brain disease which is 50-60% genetically based. To investigate the genes that contribute to AUD, researchers turn to model organisms including Drosophila melanogaster. In this synchronous workshop, participants will collect data on alcohol-induced fly behavior, analyze the data in Excel, and walk through a bioinformatics exercise using tools on Flybase (www.flybase.org) including ‘fly’ BLAST and ModENCODE high-throughput data. Participants will gain access to YouTube videos of live animals (fruit flies) with varying genetic backgrounds as they react to ethanol via inhalation. Upon request, the instructor can mail participants Drosophila and ethanol exposure chambers for a socially distanced hands-on experience. Data collected and provided will be used to walk participants through Excel calculations and graphing of Sedation Time-50 (ST50) and Sedation Time-100 (ST100). In combination with an author-created vignette “Don’t Drink and Fly” available at the ModENCODE website, and a PowerPoint presentation, students learn how Translational Studies in model organisms can help us understand the genetic predispositions that lead to Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) such as alcoholism. The lab module can be completed in two 2-hour or one 3-hour class period and was designed for a sophomore/junior-level Genetics course, but could be adapted to other undergraduate course levels. This work is funded in part by a seed grant from the ABLE Roberta William TIG and in part by an NSF HBCU-UP TIP Grant # 1912188.
Items participants need during session:
computer, MS Excel, internet access, computer mouse pad, timer, food coloring, 200-proof ethanol in 15 or 50 mL tube, p1000, and pipette tips. If have own flies or register early enough to be mailed flies, will also need stereoscope, FlyNap/CO2/ice, empty vial, and razor
Leveraging Computational Modeling as a Tool to Understand Cellular Respiration in Introductory Biology and Beyond
Ehren Whigham
Much attention has been given to the core concepts outlined in Vision and Change (Brownell et al. 2014; Smith et al. 2019). While broad consensus on the value of core competencies, such as systems modeling and simulation, has been reached, integration into undergraduate coursework has proven challenging. Cell Collective (https://cellcollective.org) is a web-based, research grade modeling platform adapted to engage students in creating and simulating dynamic models of biological processes. The use of modeling and simulation emphasizes higher-order cognitive skills, positioning students to be critical and reflective thinkers proficient in problem solving and effective communication (Guy-Gaytán et al. 2019; King et al. 2019). In this workshop, participants will experience, as a student, how to build a model of cellular respiration. That model will then be used to simulate behaviors of the system. Comparing the behavior of the system under varied conditions helps students gain insight into the mechanism of the phenomenon. Participants will gain confidence and experience in computational modeling which can be leveraged in their courses through self-contained, guided exercises. Cell Collective laboratories are suitable for introductory through upper-level classes, and are readily completed in either an in-class or homework setting.
Items participants need during session:
computer, internet access
Proposal Details
The proposal deadline was December 31, 2020 (extended from November 30). While a complete application is ideal, we recognize that organizing a complete application in a format similar to our published manuscript may not be possible this year. We requested that proposals include as much of the following information by the application due date so the major workshop committee could fully evaluate proposals. The committee followed up to request more details if needed.
The application process included an online Application Form which incorporated the upload of a PDF or MS Word document containing:
- Workshop title and name(s) of presenters
- Abstract describing the proposed workshop (300 words maximum)
- Student laboratory handout (what students in the class would be given)
- A list of equipment and supplies needed for a class of 25 students
- Notes for the instructor on how the experiment works
- Sample results
- A description of how you will present the laboratory to conference participants
- Student/TA evaluations of this exercise as a learning experience (optional)
Proposers were asked to specify any software or site access requirements on the application. Collaboration with commercial vendors was appropriate for this conference. They also listed any basic supplies to which a participant will need access. Proposers were asked to remember that participants may not have access to specialty items.
The host may ask presenters to contact commercial vendors for participant access during the session to software or websites. If access cannot be acquired, the presenters may be asked to present their workshop in a different format.
Timeline
- Proposal deadline was December 31, 2020 (extended from November 30)
- Notification of acceptance by selection committee by February 1, 2021
- Conference program announced on the ABLE website around the beginning of March 2021. This announcement will include the abstract from your application. Each Major workshop is given one conference registration fee waiver. This waiver of registration does not include the required ABLE membership fee for the membership year following the conference (currently $35).
- Binder materials (electronic form of student lab exercise, instructor notes, preparation instructions, equipment and materials list, information about sources and suppliers for materials, and if possible student evaluation feedback on this lab) due in April 2021 usually – an email will go out to primary presenters giving the exact date. We strongly suggest this material follows the format needed for our annual publication, Advances in Biology Laboratory Education, to save you additional editing later. For samples see previous articles and the specific Publication guidelines for Major Workshops. The binder materials will be submitted to the conference host committee.
- During July or August 2021, you will be sent the peer review comments about your workshop to guide your final edit of the chapter before submitting to the publication editor.
- Edited chapter of your lab due by October 1, 2021, submitted via the ABLE website, for our annual publication
- Upon publication (~May 2022), each workshop will receive a $200 honorarium
Publication Information
Synchronous lab workshop leaders are expected to submit a complete manuscript for publication in the conference proceedings following the conference. Please see https://www.ableweb.org/volumes for samples of Advances in Biology Laboratory Education (formerly Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching). Manuscript guidelines and due dates can be found in the author guidelines. In addition to the peer review screening during the selection of workshops, three other peer review stages give the presenter useful feedback before the laboratory exercise is published in the conference proceedings:
- A short session evaluation is solicited from the approximately 20 participants at the end of the workshop sessions;
- A more detailed written assessment is solicited from 2 participants in the workshop sessions;
- The publication editors review the manuscript and provide final suggestions.