2017 Workshops
View the Conference Schedule at a Glance here
WORKSHOPS
This session format is designed to give participants hands-on experience to implement a particular technique or activity or develop innovative approaches to curriculum design. There is one pre-conference workshop on Thursday and 10 Hands-on Workshops on Friday and Saturday to choose from.
Pre-registration is required for all workshops. There is an additional $20 fee for the Thursday pre-conference workshop. Workshops on Friday and Saturday are included in your conference registration fee.
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Evolution in Action |  |
Ecology and Earth Systems Dynamics |
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Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services |  |
Structure and Function |
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Human Dimension |
Thursday Preconference Workshop
Additional Fee: $20
| Thursday | Room A3 |
| 2:00 PM |
Hupp: Bringing Lecture to Life: The Use of Modern Research Instrumentation in the Classroom and Lab |
Friday Workshop
| Friday | Room A3 | Room A5 | Room A6 | Room A |
| Workshop 1 | Workshop 2 | Workshop 3 | Workshop 4 | |
| 1:30 PM |
Bonner: Are you sick? Introducing quantitative skills through hands-on infectious disease simulation games |
Csikari: The Nuts and Bolts of Data Analysis using HHMI BioInteractive Resources |
Monfils: Using Natural History Collections to Increase Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education |
Schultheis: Best practices for using authentic research data to teach core concepts |
Saturday Workshop
| Saturday | Room A3 | Room A5 | Room A |
| Workshop 5 | Workshop 6 | Workshop 7 | |
| 11:00 AM |
Jenkins: Getting a Feel for Tree Thinking: Activities to Teach Phylogenetics |
Goodner: Guiding Education through Novel Investigation (GENI) – Virtual and Wet Lab Explorations of Genomes |
Jones: Using NEON Data and Educational Materials in Your Classroom |
| Workshop 8 | Workshop 9 | Workshop 10 | |
| 1:30 PM |
Grayson: Teaching Coral Bleaching with HHMI BioInteracitve Tools and Research Data |
Berkowitz: Exploring Data Literacy Using Local Environmental Data for NGSS-aligned Curricula |
Hamerlinck: Infusing quantitative skills into the Biology classroom |
Preconference Workshop
Thursday, October 19th 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Bringing Lecture to Life: The Use of Modern Research Instrumentation in the Classroom and Lab
Additional fee applies: $20 includes refreshments
Jason Hupp, LI-COR Biosciences; Kayla Kemp-Smith, LI-COR Biosciences
Thematic Track: Investigate Data
Intended Audience Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division
The tools used to do modern science have a role beyond the research lab and can serve as valuable teaching tools in undergraduate education. Application of modern research instrumentation at the undergraduate level provides not only a means of exploring biological systems in a quantitative manner but exposes students to methods used in current scientific research and can better prepare them for a future in the sciences.
In this workshop, participants will be lead through an undergraduate styled example laboratory exercise exploring photochemistry using the LI-6800 Photosynthesis System. The lab will include hands-on data collection and discussion. Following the exercise, information will be presented from the LI-COR Environmental Education Fund (LEEF) Program demonstrating the impact of incorporating research instrumentation at the undergraduate level. For over ten years, the LEEF program has been a resource for Primarily Undergraduate Institutes (PUI) to obtain research-grade instrumentation for use in the classroom. Over 100 educational institutions have benefited from the program, allowing them to impact the lives of numerous undergraduate students. More on LEEF can be found at www.licor.com/leef.
This workshop is relevant to attendees from PUIs with an interest in using instrumentation for teaching or research at the undergraduate level or learning more about opportunities to acquire instrumentation. Discussion from participants on programs similar to LEEF, or from those who have incorporated research instruments in the classroom would be welcomed.
Conference Workshops
Friday, October 20th 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Are you sick? Introducing quantitative skills through hands-on infectious disease simulation games.
Kaitlin Bonner, St. John Fisher College; Arietta Fleming-Davies, Radford University
Thematic Track: Investigate Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division
Models and simulated data are essential to understanding biological processes. Although models are ubiquitous in biology, many students in fail to see the relevance of math and mathematical modeling in biology, even in higher level courses. Mathematical models are introduced throughout introductory courses (Hardy-Weinberg, Mark-recapture, etc), but students do not recognize them as models nor do they appreciate the significance of their predictive power.
Our goal is to introduce modeling and the utility of simulated data through two different infectious disease-related games. Diseases are inherently interesting to students because of the potential for personal impact and prevalence in today’s news (Ebola, Zika, Malaria, etc…). Therefore, they represent an optimal topic to engage students in discussing the relevance of modeling in biology and the development of important quantitative skills. Both games involve students directly producing simulated data on disease transmission through the classroom population. Students can decide how to collect data, generate their own summary figures of the epidemic, make predictions about drug and vaccine development, and apply their knowledge from the simulations in class to authentic outbreak data from primary literature. By simulating models with hands-on games, students get a deeper understanding of how the models work and develop important quantitative skills.
Faculty attending this workshop will play both games and leave with teaching tools to introduce modeling through each of the games. We will compare and contrast the two activities, demonstrate the quantitative skills gained through each activity, describe extensions to challenge student perceptions about disease life-history traits (trade-offs between virulence and transmission), incorporate vaccine prevention into the models, and present data from primary literature to support the models. The materials have been used with introductory undergraduate and upper division biology courses and high school outreach, and we will discuss how to modify the materials for different courses.
Friday, October 20th 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
The Nuts and Bolts of Data Analysis using HHMI BioInteractive Resources
Melissa Csikari, Fairview High School; Paul Strode, Fairview High School
Thematic Track: Discover Data, Investigate Data, Inform with Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division
Practice 4 of the NGSS is Analyzing and Interpreting Data. Indeed, among other data and error analysis skills, the Framework for K12 Science Educations stresses that by Grade 12 students should be able to: 1) analyze data systematically; 2) recognize patterns in data that suggest relationships; 3) distinguish between causal and correlational relationships; and 4) collect data from physical models and analyze the performance of a design under a range of conditions. Most students are able to easily perform tasks related to data analysis using online calculators, graphing calculators, and spreadsheets. However, most of the operations that produce the statistical output take place in a black box,’ and so the mathematical operations for how each test is performed, and why it is performed this way, are unavailable. In this hands-on workshop, we will dissect two of the most common statistical tests students are likely to use with life science data: the T-test and regression analysis. We will do this in the context of a few of HHMI BioInteractive’s data analysis resources. Participants will be able to return to their classrooms with a deeper understanding of how these tests work, how to help students use them and understand them, and how BioInteractive resources can be used to support building data and error analysis skills in our students.
Friday, October 20th 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Using Natural History Collections to Increase Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education
Anna K. Monfils, Central Michigan University; Debra Linton, Central Michigan University; Molly Phillips, Florida Museum of Natural History
Thematic Track: Discover Data, Investigate Data, Inform with Data
Intended Audience Undergraduate: Lower Division
A new initiative entitled Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education (BLUE) aims to bring together communities of biodiversity, data, and education specialists to identify core undergraduate data competencies and standards, delineate learning progressions and develop effective strategies for sustained development and implementation of biodiversity and data literacy education. BLUE participants have also brought some of these strategies into practice by developing example activities.
In this workshop, we will present a completed BLUE resource, Angiosperm Reproduction, and Coevolution, in which students use publicly available digitized natural history collections data to analyze spatial co-occurrence of pollinators and the plants they pollinate. Using various data layers and digital resources, students explore the global patterns of species occurrence in a geographic context and form hypotheses related to the interdependence of bats and agave. Specific questions are asked regarding the ecology, distribution, and conservation of both the plant and animal species. Students are asked to propose research questions in a geographic context. The lab is currently being evaluated at Central Michigan University as part of the introductory biology curricula.
This module, along with others, is part of a QUBES-Hub Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN). We will also introduce other modules under development, demonstrate the module’s design process, and talk about the ongoing evaluation. Finally, the presenters will explain how participants can get involved in both BLUE and FMNs (https://qubeshub.org/groups/nhc_fmn/overview).
Friday, October 20th 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Best practices for using authentic research data to teach core concepts
Elizabeth Schultheis, Michigan State University; Kristine Grayson, University of Richmond; Melissa K. Kjelvik, Michigan State University; Kaitlin Bonner, St. John Fisher College; Arietta Fleming-Davies, Radford University
Thematic Track: Investigate Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division
Observations of nature and experimental research often yield datasets that are complicated, messy, and full of variation. Students may be exposed to authentic data for the first time when they perform their own inquiry projects, leaving them underprepared. We argue it is important for students to frequently engage with authentic datasets to build a foundation to properly analyze and interpret their own data from inquiry investigations. Helping students understand variation and messiness in data is a key life skill and will build their confidence for interacting with complex datasets during their careers or as informed citizens. While the value of bringing real data into the classroom is recognized, classroom implementation can seem overwhelming. For example, how do you help students go from developing their own scientific question to actually finding, utilizing, and interpreting relevant data?
In this workshop, we will discuss best practices for bringing real data into the classroom to improve student quantitative reasoning abilities. We will introduce Data Nuggets, DryadLab, and Teaching Experiments in Ecology and Evolution (TIEE) as effective classroom resources to help scaffold student abilities when working with data, as well as the process of developing new classroom resources based on publically available research data. We will focus on the steps necessary to build student proficiency in practices that scientists employ when asking and answering scientific questions. We will identify learning objectives necessary for a scientifically literate citizenry, and how the use of real data can uniquely help achieve these learning objectives.
Workshop participants will discuss steps from finding data from reputable sources, identifying learning objectives, helping students ask and test their own scientific questions, data analysis and interpretation, and eventually turning classroom materials into publishable teaching resources.
Saturday, October 21st 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Getting a Feel for Tree Thinking: Activities to teach phylogenetics
Kristin Jenkins, BioQUEST; Phil Gibson, University of Oklahoma; Andrew Hasley, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Thematic Track: Investigate Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division
Phylogenetic trees are visual representations of biological theories of evolutionary relationships The ability to read and interpret phylogenetic trees is integral to understanding evolutionary biology, however, reading trees is not intuitive and there are a number of common misconceptions that interfere with students’ understanding of phylogenetic trees. For example, many students read across the tips of the tree or count nodes between tips to determine relatedness. These errors obscure the evolutionary relationships and shared common ancestry demonstrated in trees.
In this session, we will present a combination of resources, including a validated concept inventory that will allow faculty to provide a solid foundation in tree reading in one to two class sessions using simple materials, such as paper and pens and pipe cleaners. The core activity was adapted from Goldsmith (2003) and has students reconstruct the route for a foot race based on stamps collected by runners at checkpoints. The phylogenetic trees represent an evolutionary tree, and the runners are replaced by species after the tree is drawn. This activity has been modified to make it accessible to visually impaired students as well as sighted students. This activity is supplemented with a 3D version of the race adapted from Halverson (2010). A concept inventory of basic tree reading skills will be introduced for use as a pre/post assessment of student understanding.
This activity engages students in group work, hands-on learning to address the core concept of evolution from Vision and Change, AP Biology, and NGSS. This activity allows students to use trees correctly in their study of evolution, laying out common ancestry, evolution of traits and relationships between species.
Goldsmith, D. 2003. The Great Clade Race. American Biology Teacher, Vol 65(9) pp679-682
Halverson, K. 2010. Using Pipe Cleaners to Bring the Tree of Life to Life. American Biology Teacher,
Vol 72 (4) pp223-224. DOI: 10.1525/abt.2010.72.4.4
Saturday, October 21st 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Guiding Education through Novel Investigation (GENI) – Virtual and Wet Lab Explorations of Genomes
Brad Goodner, Hiram College; Derek Wood,
Thematic Track: Discover Data, Investigate Data, Inform with Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division
Publicly accessible genome sequences from 48,000 different organisms have changed biology and its applications in medicine, agriculture, bioenergy, and environmental remediation. Most called putative genes in those genomes will never be looked at by human eyes, we just assume each gene and its functional name are real. These questions can be explored by high school and undergraduate students while they learn the basics of molecular genetics. The GENI platform allows for collaborative student research to connect genes to cellular/organismal functions. Virtual explorations occur through GENI-ACT (Annotation Collaboration Toolkit; geni-act.org) where faculty can assign 1 putative genes from a genome of interest for a student to explore deeply. Does a putative gene have homologs in closely related organisms and/or more distant relatives? Evidence for horizontal gene transfer? Do homologs in other organisms have the same functional call? Is entire gene present or does start codon need to be changed? Does the encoded protein have functional domains expected given its initial functional call? Students bring together data from different analyses to answer these questions and summarize their findings in a proposed functional name for an assigned gene and whether any other changes are required. Examples will be shown of conclusive evidence for new functional names, new start codon positions, and rare cases of assigned genes not being real. Wet lab tests of genomic hypotheses can be organized and shared through GENI-SCIENCE (geni-science.org), including background readings, protocols, data, analyses, and conclusions. Current projects include functional complementation of known E. coli mutants with putative genes from a genome of interest, overexpression of putative genes and test for enzymatic function, and Mendelian analyses of mutations in the roundworm C. elegans. GENI-ACT and GENI-SCIENCE have been used for research projects embedded in a wide variety of introductory and advanced courses as well as in independent projects.
Saturday, October 21st 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Using NEON Data and Educational Materials in Your Classroom
Megan Jones, Battelle- National Ecological Observatory Network; Wendy Gram, Battelle – National Ecological Observatory Network
Thematic Track: Discover Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division
Data discovery is a crucial step to bolstering lessons with data and for students to be comfortable asking questions using data. The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) collects data at 81 sites across the United States and freely provides this data that can be used to ask questions about the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on natural resources and biodiversity. Participants in this workshop will explore how to directly access the full NEON database to get the data they want for use in the classroom. Participants will also explore already curated teaching data subsets that are available for download and classroom use.
The learning objectives of the workshop are for educators to have the tools and comfort level to discover and access data from the NEON database (data.neonscience.org), to be aware of the increasing number of data visualization tools that NEON will be offering through their website (www.neonscience.org), and to be able to use the curated teaching data subsets (neondataskills.org/teaching-data-subsets/) with or without the associated activities in their own educational setting.
The workshop will be presented as a guided navigation through the resources available, therefore, workshop participants should bring a laptop or tablet (phones are not ideal) to be able to participate fully in the workshop. The workshop instructors will model how educators can present the data discovery tools in their own classrooms. Each participant will have the opportunity to leave the workshop with a downloaded data set that they may use for a classroom lesson.
Saturday, October 21st 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Teaching Coral Bleaching with HHMI BioInteractive Tools and Research Data
Kristine Grayson, University of Richmond; Melissa Csikari, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
Thematic Track: Investigate Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division
We will present classroom-ready data investigation tools centered around coral bleaching. In a sea surface temperature mapping module, students graph and analyze satellite temperature data for coral reef sites around the world to observe global trends in temperature data and evaluate the threat to coral reefs from heat stress. This investigation teaches data visualization and summation using large temperature data sets. Students reach conclusions about increases in the intensity and frequency of coral bleaching events.
Students can then apply this knowledge to interpreting research data on the resistance of corals to bleaching. A series of video resources are available that introduce the process of coral bleaching and the research of Steve Palumbi on how corals can respond to warmer ocean temperatures. The resources for discussing and interpreting the research findings are available at multiple curriculum levels and are enhanced by the availability of a Science in the Classroom annotated of the original research paper.
These curriculum materials are centered around HHMI BioInteractive resources, but we also highlight connections with other research data sets, NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch, and the bleaching events occurring in oceans today. Instructors will gain familiarity with these resources and will conceptualize how they can be implemented in their classrooms. We ask that participants bring their computers to participate in the data exploration.
Sea surface temperature mapping:
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/coral-bleaching-activity
NOAA Coral Reef Watch:
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.php
Coral bleaching video explanation:
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/coral-bleaching
Spotlight on coral research in American Samoa:
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/steve-palumbi-megan-morikawa-study-coral-reef-damage-american-samoa
Lecture by Steve Palumbi on threats to coral reefs and research on their responses:
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/ocean-species-respond-climate-change
Science in the Classroom annotated research paper: http://scienceintheclassroom.org/research-papers/take-heat/university
Resistance to Bleaching data interpretation: http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/resistance-coral-bleaching
Saturday, October 21st 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Exploring Data Literacy Using Local Environmental Data for NGSS-aligned Curricula
Alan Berkowitz, Cary Institute
Thematic Track: Investigate Data
Intended Audience Grades 9-12
We present a case study of how local data can be incorporated into NGSS-aligned curricula by exploring data on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Hudson River fish. The Hudson River is one of the largest US Superfund sites because of PCB pollution, and the Hudson River fish dataset is among the largest datasets on fish contamination in the world. During this interactive workshop, we will create a conceptual diagram of what we need to know to understand the movement of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems, provide background information on PCBs in the Hudson River Superfund Site, explore PCB data from Hudson River fish, and outline insights from classroom implementation of PCB data in Hudson Valley schools. Our data exploration framework is applicable to many different datasets beyond PCBs, and the underlying ecological concepts have broad applications.
Participants in the workshop will: 1) Learn about the complex ways in which pollutants enter, persist in, and leave aquatic ecosystems and impact ecosystem functions; 2) Explore PCB contamination using Hudson River fisheries data, and be able to explain why different fish, and fish from different parts of the estuary, have varying levels of PCBs; 3) Develop skills and confidence in a) manipulating data (calculating means, ranges, minima and maxima, indices and other variables to address questions of interest), b) different types of summary or representation (based on their strengths and limitations), and c) using statistics to determine the significance of patterns or differences, and to qualify confidence in claims; 4) Gain insights into student thinking and ways to assess and respond to it, with regards to food-chains, food-webs, biomagnifications, and data exploration; and 5) Gain confidence, motivation and practical ideas for combining data exploration with hands-on experiences with real phenomena using local environmental data for NGSS-aligned instruction.
Saturday, October 21st 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Infusing quantitative skills into the biology classroom
Gabriela Hamerlinck, BioQUEST; QUBES; Kristin Jenkins, BioQUEST
Thematic Track: Investigate Data
Intended Audience Undergraduate: Lower Division
Quantitative skills have been identified as a core competency for bioscience curricula (Vision and Change) at all academic levels and are crucial for our students in any biology class. However, the incorporation of quantitative skills into classrooms can be challenging as students are often underprepared and less than enthusiastic about quantitative approaches. Additionally, biology instructors may not be aware of high quality and readily accessible quantitatively focused resources. The BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium has a 30-year history of helping teachers incorporate quantitative skills in biology classrooms and our latest project, QUBES (qubeshub.org), focuses on providing resources and evidence-based pedagogical approaches to promote student success with quantitative skills in biology classes. This workshop will focus on accessible resources to strengthen basic quantitative skills (i.e. graphing, data interpretation, working with authentic data). We will also discuss strategies for overcoming potential anxiety your students may have when encountering mathematics in the classroom. The goal is to have students be comfortable with and able to use appropriate mathematical tools for better understanding of scientific phenomena. Participants will work with open resource materials (MathBench mathbench.umd.edu; DataNuggets datanuggets.org; DryadLab qubeshub.org/groups/dryadlab) designed to help students understand how to use mathematical tools in a biological context and engage in discussion of the effective implementation of these resources in the classroom.