Media Review: Grade Reader created by Jeremy Petranka, Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Reviewed by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Are you almost done with the semester, but still need to submit grades? Maybe your institution has you submit them electronically, directly from a spreadsheet? If so, kudos to your university! If this isn’t your situation, keep reading, as you may find this website really useful. Grade Reader reads grades from your Excel file aloud, so you can enter them electronically or write them on the official grade roll documents. I have been using my spouse for years to enter grades for over 600 students per semester. Now Grade Reader can replace my husband!

At the site below, the creator of the program, Jeremy Petranka, has a tutorial explaining the program and why it’s better than simply using Excel’s cell reading function. While he details the reasons UNC faculty will find utility in it for our specific grading management system, the function translates to any institution where instructors have to enter grades manually in some way. The program (Windows only) can be downloaded here too. It is easily edited to grades that fit your institution, and Jeremy shows this in the tutorial.

http://cfe.unc.edu/projects/gradereader/

Do you have any ways that make you more efficient at the beginning or end of the semester? Please share in the comments!

Vertebrate Phylogeny

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Written by Kelly A Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Learning Outcomes:

- To describe how phylogenetic trees show evolutionary relationships

- To describe shared characteristics in vertebrate evolution

- To construct a simple phylogenetic tree for mammalian evolution

Activity Description: This activity can be used while teaching vertebrate evolution. It will also bring in phylogeny, as a way for students to see relationships rather than lists of characteristics to memorize about vertebrate. Students will explain phylogenetic trees, practice with the vertebrate phylogenetic tree they have seen in their textbook, and then construct their own tree to demonstrate their understanding of phylogeny. After the worksheet, an assessment question (see below) can be used b the instructor in various ways.

Time Needed: 15-20 minutes

Materials Needed: The activity worksheet can be printed for class time. A key is also attached. An optional “Guided Reading Questions” worksheet accompanies the activity for students to do on their own while reading to prepare for this day’s activity.

Vertebrate Phylogeny Worksheet

Vertebrate Phylogeny Worksheet KEY

Guided Readings Questions for Vertebrate Evolution

Activity Instructions: Students should read about vertebrate evolution before this activity. Students work through the worksheet and are then given the assessment below.

Assessment: The following assessment is adapted from an “Applying the Concepts” Question in Chapter 15 of Campbell Biology Concepts and Connections 7th Edition. It can easily be modified into a set of clicker or multiple choice exam questions.

Directions: Arrange the species on the phylogenetic tree below and indicate the derived character that defines each branch point.

Numerous questions can be made for clicker or test exams for students to make correct labels. Example:

What should be at label “Z”?

A)    Fur

B)     Green Skin

C)    Bleeker

D)    Suction Cup Feet

E)     Giant Eyes

Answer: D

Key: for all labels:

W – Green Skin

X – Giant Eyes

Y – Fur

Z – Suction Cup Feet

1- Bleeker

2- Floof

3- Snoozle

4- LooHoo

Demonstrating That Your Students Do Learn

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Written by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina. Adapted from Jenny Knight at the University of Colorado.

Learning Outcomes:

- To assess student learning by calculating learning gains between pre and post testing (Because you will not discuss the pre-test answers, the students are not learning with this actvity.)

Activity Description: A pre-test is a great activity to do in the first week of class. The results inform your teaching for the semester and allow you to evaluate your effectiveness at the end of the semester. By using the same questions on a post-test final exam, learning gains can be calculated.

Time Needed: 10-20 minute or longer pre-test

Materials Needed: A set of pre-test questions that align with some of your learning goals for the course. Have you seen the AAAS Project 2061 bank of questions based on misconceptions? Do you have some great final exam questions? Concept Inventory tests are also useful and heavily class tested/validated.

Activity Instructions: See the attachment written by Jenny Knight at the University of Colorado. Jenny has much great advice about using pre- and post- tests.

Worksheet: Knight Assessment Handout

Media Review: Concept Cartoons from Point Loma Nazarene University

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Reviewed by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

I attended the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) meeting in November 2011 in Anaheim, CA. One of many memorable resources was presented by Dianne Anderson from Point Loma Nazarene University. I was familiar with her earlier work, as the author of the Concept Inventory on Natural Selection. http://www.pointloma.edu/experience/academics/schools-departments/department-biology/faculty-staff/dianne-anderson-phd/teaching-resources

In this presentation, Dianne discussed her research group’s development of concept cartoons in biology, similar to ones previously used in physics.

These cartoons address misconceptions (or as she likes to call them, “alternative conceptions,” so as to not to entirely reject what a student brings to the topic.) Example topics addressed in these cartoons are natural selection, dominant traits, where the mass of a tree comes from and more.  I would describe the cartoons as multiple choice questions in an engaging, visual format. You can see the cartoons here: http://www.pointloma.edu/experience/academics/schools-departments/department-biology/faculty-staff/dianne-anderson-phd/teaching-resources

In a college classroom, these would make wonderful clicker/discussion questions. They can be answered and thoroughly discussed in 5-10 minutes. Some of the cartoons have no right answer, some have more than one right answer, and some have only one right answer. (Dianne’s research group develops the questions, class tests them, and revises them accordingly.) Students must individually answer them and then persuade and argue for their answer choice with a fellow group of students. In the process, they learn about scientific argumentation and correct an alternative conception that they hold.

What do you think, do you find the cartoon format more engaging for a discussion of misconceptions over a text-only one?

Demonstrating a Frame Shift Mutation

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Written by Edward J. Zalisko, Blackburn College. Adapted by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Learning Outcomes:

- To demonstrate the effect of a reading frame shift mutation in DNA

Activity Description: Students compare three sentences and/or design their own frame shift sentences.

Time Needed: 5 minutes

Materials Needed: None

Activity Instructions: A simple way to demonstrate the effect of a reading frame shift is to have students compare three sentences. The first is a simple sentence. Students then compare the sentence when a letter is added (2) or deleted (3). The reading frames, or words, are reformed into nonsense.

(1) The big red pig ate the red rag.

(2) The big res dpi gat eth ere dra g.

(3) The big rep iga tet her edr ag.

A more active approach is to have the students come up with their own sentence using only three letter words. Ask them to then demonstrate their understanding of a frame shift mutation through a deletion or addition. Adding/deleting one or two bases would be correct ways to demonstrate this.

Video Review: YouTube – Bang Goes the Theory: Evolution Made Simple

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Reviewed by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

From a BBC show called Bang Goes the Theory (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lz9fp) and shown on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld-db5njUJY

5 min and 28 seconds

A clever and simple analogy is made by Dr. Yan to show how evolution produces large scale diversity. Dr. Yan draws a perfectly straight line on a tablet computer. He then asks people at a large fair to trace the line with the computer pen. Each person that traces only sees the line that the previous person traced. Over time, the original straight line looks less like a line. He also shows how different branches of an evolutionary tree arise with the same line analogy.

I found Dr. Yan’s personality and entire video really engaging. The simple demonstration will stick with your students because it is a memorable analogy that is easily understood. This would make an excellent in-class activity too with stacks of tracing paper!

Do you think this is a useful analogy and would you show it to your students?

The Genome as the Harry Potter Series

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Written by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The genetic code is often described as being analogous to the written language. I expand this analogy to help students understand the hierarchy that exists in genetics, since I find many students don’t understand the relationship between a gene and a chromosome. Imagine a set of books, perhaps the Harry Potter series. The entire series on the shelf is analogous to the genome. Each book can be thought of as a chromosome. Within each book are chapters, these can be thought of as genes. Lastly, the 26 letters of the alphabet are arranged to make the variation of words within the genes. The genetic code has 4 letters to make unique arrangements/sequences. What would be the consequence if a few sentences or a chapter or an entire book was lost from the series? Would the story still make sense? (This would be analogous to mutations and chromosomal abnormalities.)

Pairs of Shoes and Pairs of Chromosomes

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Written by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

When discussing homologous chromosomes and sister chromatids, I often use analogies to shoes or socks. For example, I may have two pairs of the same cute flats, one pair in yellow and one in turquoise. These flats are the same size, same brand, exact same style. The yellow shoes are like sister chromatids to each other, just as the turquoise shoes are sister chomatids with each other. The yellow and turquoise are like homologs to each other. To carry the analogy further, I ask them what a pair of running sneakers might be analogous to. (These would be a completely different chromosome.)

Losing Control of a Car Relates to Unregulated Cell Division

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Written by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

When discussing the cell cycle and cancer causing genes, I often use an analogy to cars. There are two ways to lose control of a car: the gas pedal can get stuck down or the brakes will not work when engaged. In either case, the car speeds along without driver control. In this anology, tumor supressors are like brakes, which normally prevent the cell cycle from losing control (preventing cancer). When mutated, the brakes are lost and the cell divides out of control. Proto-oncogenes are like the gas pedal, in that they promote cell division. When mutated, like a gas pedal stuck down, they cause unregulated cell division.

Baking Cookies Describes the Central Dogma

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Written by Sheri Kuslak, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

When discussing the central dogma of molecular biology I equate it to baking cookies using a recipe that is written in a foreign language. DNA is equivalent the foreign language recipe in the cookbook that must first be transcribed from the foreign language to English (DNA transcribed into mRNA). Once it is transcribed the ingredients (amino acids) can be gathered and put together in the appropriate order (translated) to make your cookie (protein). If the foreign recipe or DNA has a mutation, this error is transcribed into the English recipe or mRNA and could call for one or more incorrect ingredients or amino acids resulting in a botched set of cookies.