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This interactive mini-workshop demonstrates experimental approaches to teaching oral infections and antimicrobial salivary peptides in undergraduate microbiology courses. Participants will engage in guided activities simulating antimicrobial assays and host–microbe interactions to explore innate immune defenses. The session emphasizes active learning, inclusive teaching strategies, and practical implementation of laboratory-inspired exercises in lecture or hybrid settings. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools to enhance student engagement, conceptual understanding, and application of microbiological principles related to oral health and infection.
Many microbiology labs use series of biochemical testing to obtain a putative identification of a bacterial isolate's identity. The analysis of biochemical testing data becomes increasingly challenging when working with unknown microbial isolates. This is large part due to the fact that many, if not most, bacteria are not yet identified. BactID.com is a tool used to help students analyze these results and predict a putative bacterial identity when isolating bacteria from soil. This website was created using AI and serves as a example of how AI can be used to meet teaching challenges. Students enrolled in a Tiny Earth CURE lab used BactID.com in lab and provided feedback through a survey on how it connected to their course learning objective to apply appropriate microbiological methods to differentiate and identify microorganisms.
Biosafety and biosecurity are increasingly important for students entering the biological sciences, but these topics are often limited to laboratory safety training or briefly discussed within other courses. MICR 202, “Introduction to Biosafety and Biosecurity,” was developed to give undergraduate students a broader understanding of biological risks and the responsibilities associated with working in the biological sciences. This course asks students to consider how risks are assessed, managed, and communicated in real-world situations. Students explore these topics through workshops, case studies, discussions, and a culminating group presentation. Case studies examine laboratory accidents, emerging disease outbreaks, and the deliberate misuse of biological agents. Applied workshops cover personal protective equipment, biological safety cabinets, aseptic technique, risk assessment, emergency response planning, and public communication.
Although laboratory benchwork remains the superior way to educate future microbiologists, some students (e.g. non-microbiologists), circumstances (e.g. health or resource constraints) and concepts (such as those that are difficult to visualize) can justify an electronic simulation(s) if they actually enhance student learning. This roundtable is a place to : 1) Identify and compile list(s) of valuable electronic resources (especially those available at no cost and validated by peers) 2) Identify existing gaps where new electronic resource(s) simulations would be valuable. 3) Identify ways to validating that students actually performed the work in question given current and future AI technologies. A written list findings and resources will be available after this roundtable for those with an interest in this topic.
Cancer is a complex disease characterized by several hundred genetic alterations that lead to “hallmark” phenotypes. Understanding how natural selection plays a role in cancer development is challenging for undergraduate students because mutations that are advantageous at the cellular level are deleterious at the organismal level. Students must therefore reason about evolution principles across biological scales. In this microbrew, we describe a new educational board game and educational intervention designed to simulate the evolution of “hallmarks of cancer” by natural selection. We used an expanded framework for cancer genotypes and phenotypes that includes emergent, complex properties of cancer - from microbiomes to epigenetics to immune modulation. Designed for up to ten players, each cell (player) acquires mutations and hallmark phenotypes over time that influence fitness in the face of several rounds of selective agents. Its impact on student learning gains is presently underway.
Our current biology curriculum includes a three-course introductory series where the first course (BIO160) results in a bimodal distribution of grades. The group of students with the lower grades are roughly the same cohort of underprepared students that place into and take the remedial chemistry course. The biology introductory series is transitioning from three to only two courses and BIO160 will no longer be offered. Therefore, we designed a new course that allows these underprepared students to learn basic chemical and biological concepts in a single course and prime them to take General Chemistry I and General Biology I. Thus, this new interdisciplinary course becomes an essential experience that prepares students for studying STEM in college, and reduces barriers to STEM disciplines. To that end, we have developed a fully integrated introduction to scientific measurements, aiming to help students understand concepts, procedures and data analysis through the disciplinary lenses of both biology and chemistry. This course develops problem solving skills for students to be successful in STEM fields while also contributing to the science requirement of the general education curriculum for those students who ultimately decide to pursue a major outside of the sciences. Some of the challenges we encountered in the development of the course include significant alignment of schedules between the two instructors. In addition, the selection of topics required consultation with both departments, as well as negotiation of the lecture and lab times across disciplines. Furthermore, the instructors, a biologist and chemist, need to stretch across disciplines, which require extra preparation and consultation with each other. We seek inclusive pedagogies, aiming to reduce barriers for entry into STEM majors and ASMCUE serves as a great platform to gather feedback.
Viruses are ubiquitous molecular parasites whose productive and rapid infectious cycles make them ideal tools in molecular and evolutionary biology. While viruses have important roles in molecular biology, exploring environmental viral diversity offers an open-ended opportunity for undergraduate research. Here, I present a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) centered in the discovery of new cruciviruses —novel chimeric DNA viruses that encode an RNA virus protein, representing an extreme case of horizontal gene exchange. During this course, Biology undergraduate students become active researchers for a semester, by hunting for cruciviruses in familiar local environments (University campus, parks or backyard). Students work in groups to apply a series of molecular techniques (e.g. DNA extraction, PCR, cloning, sequencing) tailored at the discovery of viruses, and use computational tools for the characterization of their new viral genomes.
Background and Project Description: The University of Central Florida is a large (70,000+) metropolitan research institution (R1) that serves a diverse student body with a substantial number of transfer students. The Burnett School offers five undergraduate degree programs in life sciences. In response to a lack of student preparation at both the concept and course level, the School implemented tighter academic standards (progress policy; restricted access) to address these concerns. During this same time frame (2018-2026) UCF was held to a performance-based funding model driven by measures such as first year retention and four year first-time-in-college (FTIC) graduation rates. This Microbrew reviews student success data retrospectively across this timeline and evaluates any potential impact of these policies on student success metrics. A variety of data (enrollment, student academic progress, etc.) will be mapped over the period to seek to correlate these changes with increases in retention and graduation rates.
Student engagement on a holistic level can be difficult to achieve in large undergraduate STEM classes. Often, the level of engagement can be contributed to student previous exposure to content and educational background. Student motivation, specifically self-efficacy, and sense of belonging in the classroom can also be major contributors to student success. Each year, we classify 15% of the student cohort as ‘struggling students; ’ these are defined as students who performed poorly on initial assessments, accumulated class absences, or missed homework or classroom assignments. Here, we discuss strategies employed to initially identify and distinguish between the variety of students who struggle (or perceive themselves to struggle) throughout the entire semester of a large microbiology class. We highlight our success with improving student engagement, first by installing a simple, in-class reading check’ and also with the employment of several gamification strategies that were implemented throughout the semester.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Science Ambassador Fellowship is a professional development opportunity that connects science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators with public health professionals to integrate public health concepts, practices, and resources into classrooms. As a 2024–2025 CDC Science Ambassador Fellow, I participated in an orientation at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, followed by a year-long collaboration with a cohort of educators and CDC scientists to explore how epidemiology, disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, and public health decision-making can enhance STEM education. In this microbrew, I will share my experiences as a fellow, including lessons learned from engaging with CDC facilities, scientists, and resources, as well as insights gained from developing and implementing public health-focused curriculum. Attendees will learn about opportunities for integrating CDC resources and public health perspectives into microbiology education, as well as pathways for pursuing professional development through the Science Ambassador program.
Agar art is a fun way to engage allied health students in microbiology. Students “paint” with microbes on agar plates. The goal of this study was to explore the success of integrating semester-long microbiology concepts into an agar art laboratory experience. Students completed standard laboratory experiments throughout the semester, including growth condition variations and differential media. They were required to keep a lab notebook, in which they recorded results and characteristics about various microbes. At the end of the semester, students completed an agar art lab experiment. They were given a “palate” of microbes, that were used throughout the semester, and a prompt that aligns with ASM agar art, such as “What brings you joy.” They then drew, with microbes, on agar. Students were given the option of using different agar plates and were allowed to grow their microbes at different temperatures. Making these decisions relied on a good lab notebook. For example, their red Serratia would be white if grown at the incorrect temperature. Their reports for this laboratory exercise required discussion of why they chose a particular temperature and medium. They were also required to consider how the microbes grew when placed next to each other. After submission of the lab report, students were given a survey about the agar art learning experience. 76 students were surveyed. 97% enjoyed the lab experience, 93% said they felt this was a fun way to incorporate some of the things they learned during the semester into an enjoyable lab experience and 93% also said that the agar art improved practical laboratory skills (e.g., aseptic technique, microscopy, culturing). Finally, 92% stated that agar art was a valuable experience to learning microbiology. In sum, agar art is not only fun, but it can also be used as an important learning tool for microbiology.
Microbiome science has broad applications in agriculture, human health, and environmental sustainability, yet educational opportunities often depend on laboratory-intensive experiences that can be difficult to implement in resource-limited settings. The Agricultural Microbiome Program (AMP) developed a series of art-, game-, and analogy-based activities that modeled key stages of the microbiome research pipeline, including microbial isolation, DNA amplification, and sequence analysis. Integrated into an informal learning environment, these activities transformed abstract concepts into interactive learning experiences. Participants in the 2026 cohort demonstrated significantly greater gains in microbiome knowledge and identification workflows than the 2025 cohort, highlighting the effectiveness of these approaches.
Research on peer feedback in higher education shows that it can significantly improve student success. Studies suggest that peer feedback exposes students to diverse perspectives and encourages them to reconsider assignment criteria, strengthening their revisions and future writing performance (Huisman et al., 2019; Jin et al., 2024). Effective peer-feedback processes focus on specific writing challenges, provide multiple comments on key issues, and use clear guidelines/rubrics (Gao et al., 2019). Recent research also highlights the importance of considering student characteristics, learning environments, and instructional design when implementing peer-feedback activities (Kerman et al., 2024). This study examined students’ perceptions of structured peer feedback in undergraduate microbiology and graduate education courses. Students participated in two feedback sessions and revised their work before final submission. Preliminary findings indicate that peer feedback promoted reflection, enhanced understanding, and exposed students to diverse perspectives. Challenges included vague comments, delayed responses, and lacking specific suggestions for improvement.
Early exposure to microbiology is often limited in many K-12 settings, which contributes to low awareness of microbes and microbiology-related career pathways. To support microbiology outreach and recruitment to our undergraduate Microbiology and Immunology program, we developed Microbe Memory Cards, a fun, interactive, and scalable educational game designed for community engagement and classroom use. The first card set that we developed focuses on commonly recognized bacterial pathogens that are familiar to most microbiologists, serving as an accessible entry point for younger students through visual recognition and name association rather than detailed mechanistic content. We selected a memory-matching game format since it encourages participation, collaboration, and curiosity in a low-pressure environment, making it particularly effective for informal science outreach events. While the initial card deck is intentionally simple and targeted toward younger learners, the project was designed to be modular and expandable to other microbiology topics to engage older or more advanced students. Microbe Memory Cards will be used in community outreach and educational settings as both a learning activity and a conversation starter, helping to normalize microbiology terminology and spark interest in the field. Preliminary outreach implementation demonstrated strong participant engagement and generated positive anecdotal feedback from learners and facilitators. Formal assessment using pre- and post-activity surveys is currently underway to evaluate changes in microbiology knowledge, interest, and perceptions of the activity. These findings will be presented at the conference. Overall, this project aims to use a game-based, adaptable educational tool to increase engagement, raise awareness of microbiology, and support recruitment efforts across a wide range of educational levels.
MicrobéMon is like Pokémon with microbes! This innovative project asks students to choose a microbe relevant to their interests and to research its structure and properties. The goal? To create a microbial trading card for use in a final showdown, where students demonstrate their understanding of their “villain” (pathogen) or “hero” (beneficial microbe) by predicting how it will survive or be defeated when exposed to various environmental insults. With the goal of teaching students how to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethically and to fact-check scientific information against peer-reviewed sources, the project is run in carefully guided phases and includes explicit requirements for transparent use of AI and for documenting specifically where each piece of information was found in a book or journal article. The process and outcomes of a preliminary run of this project will be presented, and advice is sought on improvements and useful measurement metrics for its effectiveness.
Microbiology is a core course in many STEM programs of study where student success significantly depends on their understanding of the underlying concepts of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Yet the incoming students of microbiology often have insufficient background knowledge of these fields. Furthermore, they do not necessarily see the connections between these disciplines and Microbiology which further exacerbates the problem. To remedy this, we focused on the integrative approach to teaching undergraduate course of Microbiology that incorporated the concepts of other disciplines that were essential for the comprehensive understanding of course material. Based on the course outcomes, physics and math learning tools that we created and integrated into the course proved to be a significant factor in improving student performance in Microbiology, enhancing their learning experience, and deepening connections between the STEM fields. This microbrew will focus on the development of tools and strategies for teaching integrative course of Microbiology.
Community colleges provide skilled workers for local industry and prepare students to further their academic careers. Thus, to optimize student success, institutions need to provide high-quality education that trains the workforce at all levels. Herein, I discuss program growth of a skills-based curriculum at a community college for university transfer. Northwest Arkansas Community College offers a certificate of proficiency in Pre-Biotech, technical certificate in Biotech, and a General Technology AAS. These degrees offer intensive skills-based academia coursework, focused on skills that local biotechnology industry partners require. Within the coursework, students can earn microcredentials in topics such as Cell Culture, CURE Research Presentation, and Safety and SOP. To further enhance student opportunities, NorthWest Arkansas Community College is currently developing 2+2 degree pathways with other four-year institutions, specifically in biotechnology. For example, Arkansas State University has a B.S in Biotechnology, allowing students to transfer to continue their education.
Upper-level microbiology courses like medical microbiology are historically best taught using realistic case studies, in-class activities, and laboratory-centered content. However, students struggle on assessments due to the content depth and breadth. This project’s goal is to investigate the usefulness of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving learning outcomes and the student experience in medical microbiology. This will initially be accomplished by developing prompts that result in innovative methods to assess student knowledge and encourage learning in the classroom. Different AI models will be tested to understand the effect of the model on AI output. The results of this initial exploration of AI-enhanced learning will be tested in a medical microbiology course and compared to historical non-AI assessments and activities.
When I had to adapt a microbiology lab class for a condensed summer course, The schedule did not allow time to write the last report. Since I knew at this point that my students could write lab reports, I came up with an alternative assessment modality. My students read reviews on the project followed by a round-table discussion about how to frame the data and report. It became evident to the students that the data, discussion and the design of additional experiments depended on how the introduction and hypothesis were framed (and there were three very different ways to frame this report). The students got to collaborate and give feedback for the first time. I will now adapt this to a larger class (5 vs 80 students) and have designed a worksheet that will facilitate discussion between small groups where they will create different potential outlines for a lab report.
Learn about a full-term project focused on science research, science literacy, and science communication, which also incorporates the use of an AI platform. Students begin by selecting their own topic which relates to course content, and they then run their topic through the AI platform to generate research questions. One of the AI generated questions is selected and one of the linked references is read and analyzed. A journal analysis assignment is completed, and then the student decides how to communicate the science to an audience of their choice. Their completed communication project is shared with the class. Finally, at the end of the term the student must relate their project to the content learned during the course. Completion of the project allows students to better understand the process of science and the challenges of communicating science concepts.
A question that I often get as a microbiology instructor for an undergraduate medical laboratory science (MLS) program is "What do I need to know for the exam?". Students often seem to focus more "getting an A" rather than striving to master course content that they will need to know to become entry-level competent as an MLS. As an educator, I am interested implementing activities that encourage students to adopt a mastery orientation vs a performance orientation. One activity I have recently implemented in an effort to promote mastery orientation and intrinsic motivation is the Exam Wrapper. After taking each exam, students reflect on ways they prepared for the exam (amount of time spent preparing, type of resources used, etc.) and how they could better prepare for future exams. I'm hoping this intentional reflection will help to foster intrinsic motivation and reinforce a mastery mindset by way of increasing students' metacognition.
In advanced fields including immunology, it is challenging for educators to balance the influx of terminology and techniques with developing engaging curriculum. Educators, particularly in microbiology and immunology classes are faced with integrating and transmitting information from the arena into the classroom in a way that is simply understandable by the students. We have developed a student-as partners program (SAP) model in an upper-level Immunology class where a former student from the immunology was involved in the course to observe faculty teaching. The classroom observation was followed by weekly one-to -one meeting between student partner and the instructor. As a result of this collaboration, student partner and faculty co-create meaningful and effective teaching and learning experiences. The student partner regularly provided a formative and summative feedback throughout the semester which allowed the faculty to make changes in the classroom teaching including flipped classroom environments and use of active learning strategies such as small group discussions and concept maps. Student partner was actively involved in creating focus groups and understanding student issues in the class rooms. This resulted in enhanced student success and student-centered teaching. Additionally, it inspired students to make a difference in the classroom and do well in the class tests and overall performance in the classroom. Furthermore, SAP allowed us to develop a strong understanding of our student’s learning needs and vision. Mid-term surveys and end of semester surveys and student evaluations indicated that SAP is indeed an important and innovative approach to learn upper-level immunology course.
Within elective study course “Technologies for Bioenergy and Biomolecule Production” each semester at least one student is encouraged to take lead and act as a lecturer by preparing a lecture on topic related to individual Thesis work but fitting within the boundaries of the course thematics. In study year 2024/2025 a student developing Thesis on synthesis and study of the properties of chitosan-cyanoguanidine derivatives produced a 1.5 h long lecture on valuable molecules from chitosan. The theoretical lecture was supplemented with groupwork and attendee presentations. In 2025/2026 a student working with biomaterial production from biomass fibers prepared a lecture on sustainable packaging. The 40 min lecture was supplemented with a practical tour in a scientific institute where the student worked. Students acting as teachers received additional credits. The key challenges included the extra time investment required for student-teachers but was awarded as practical experience in work with auditorium.
Non-traditional project-based assessments can make learning more memorable and engaging because students can explore topics of interest and apply their knowledge in creative ways. This Microbrew will describe a unique assessment strategy being used in a biochemistry and molecular biology course where students work in groups to create a drug education video. Students conduct research about a drug therapeutic and explain how it works at molecular, cellular, and systemic levels to treat a specific medical condition. The video assessment format encourages creativity but also ensures students gain a deeper summative understanding of the subject matter by applying course content to their own personalized project, while also developing science communication skills. This evaluation approach has the potential to be adapted to diverse learning environments where students are exploring molecular, cell and systems processes and would be of interest for instructors who wish to embed multimedia or non-traditional assessment in their course.
Students entering college, especially first-year students, often struggle to adapt to the pace and volume of STEM coursework. Besides mastering course content, many need support developing effective study strategies. While academic success centers, tutoring, and time-management resources are useful, research shows that peer-to-peer learning opportunities significantly enhance student success. Collaborative studying and informal study groups can improve academic performance, strengthen understanding of concepts, and provide critical support for students facing academic challenges. However, in diverse populations that include both commuter and residential students, forming study groups outside of class can be difficult, particularly for freshmen who are still building social and academic networks. To address this, we are testing an in-class “study buddy” tool that helps students connect with peers based on course enrollment, topics, and availability. The tool will be implemented in introductory biology courses during Fall 2026, and will use feedback to assess its impact on student engagement.
Teach Together is a collaborative teaching model at Nightingale College in which a general education instructor and a nursing instructor align their courses' learning objectives and topics to bridge foundational knowledge and clinical nursing practice. The approach emphasizes meaningful intersections that embrace intentionality over totality, which makes learning authentic and professionally relevant. Here, we paired Microbiology with Concepts of Nursing III, using coordinated instruction, cross-disciplinary guest teaching, and explicit discussion of how microbiology concepts inform patient care. Rather than operating in parallel silos, the two instructors work in tandem: the microbiology instructor previews how content connects to learners' professional futures, while the nursing instructor reinforces it from a clinical perspective. Science instructors teaching learners outside their discipline often struggle to make content feel relevant to those learners' goals. This session provides a practical strategy for increasing learner engagement, strengthening career relevance, and fostering partnerships across academic programs.
Microbial morphology, growth, and metabolism are foundational topics in both introductory and advanced microbiology courses. Yet these concepts are often taught in isolation, leaving students with limited understanding of their role in pathogenesis and disease outcomes. This workshop will explore how clinically relevant pathogens can be used to connect microbial traits with mechanisms of infection, helping students move beyond memorization toward meaningful application of core microbiological principles.
Traditional writing assignments are vulnerable to circumvention through generative AI. To address this in our online Microbiology lab, we redesigned a writing assignment to intentionally integrate AI while emphasizing the writing process and final product. Students collaborate with AI to develop a script for a 5-minute video comparing Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus, then create illustrations and record the presentation. The drafting process encourages students to reflect on their knowledge, critically evaluate AI outputs, develop AI literacy, and engage in self-reflection. Creating the final video further reinforces learning through verbal and visual communication. Survey results suggest the assignment strengthened content understanding, highlighted the importance of responsible AI use, and increased student confidence in prompt engineering. However, the mutable AI landscape requires continual adaptation of our reimagined writing assignment. Ongoing refinement focuses on preserving pedagogical value, fostering critical thinking and self-reflection, and adapting to emerging AI capabilities and student needs.
Community college faculty serve as a valuable link between students and their opportunities in employment and continued education. Yet, we would benefit from improved insight into new research and innovation, technical skillsets, and workforce expectations. Collaborations between academia and external partners are a terrific source of enrichment for faculty that translate to relevant classroom and lab experiences for students. Through an externship supported by grant funding from the NSF EPIIC (Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity) program, I had the opportunity to interact with regional partners through facility tours, observation, and hands-on research. The experience provided a deeper understanding of the broad applications of biotechnology and spawned ideas for the classroom and curriculum to build relevant skills, provide avenues for undergraduate research, and, more importantly, capture student interest in the positive impact they can have in their community.
BioQUEST is a long-standing (over 35 years) 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that serves as a support community for STEM educators interested in reforming their teaching and learning practices. BioQUEST’s mission is to build a transformative, collaborative community that empowers teachers to drive innovation in STEM education for all students. In support of this mission, BioQUEST provides diverse services to the reform community, including project support, professional development, open educational resources publishing, and the QUBES platform - an online space for collaboration around teaching and learning scholarship. This poster will provide an overview of these services through a series of examples, highlighting opportunities for faculty to connect with the community and participate in reform activities.
Maintaining a laboratory notebook helps students hone their record-keeping and meet the ASM curriculum guidelines for scientific thinking and laboratory skills 1d, “Document and communicate the methods, results, and conclusions.” However, grading a laboratory notebook is time-consuming for the instructor and, for hand-written lab notebooks, there is an additional challenge of reading student handwriting. The lab notebook quiz provides a quick, easy-to-grade solution. A laboratory notebook quiz has been previously described as one part of the lab notebook assessment for an upper-division microbiology course (Fleming, 2023). Here, we describe its use as the sole means of assessment of the lab notebook in a non-majors lab with 8 sections of up to 24 students each. We discuss specific learning objectives that can be assessed using the quiz, as well as considerations for working with Teaching Assistants and reducing the possibility of cheating between sections held at different times of day.
Fermented food products are an accessible and familiar entry point to first introduce students to microbiology. By connecting microbial processes to food, students can connect how ingredients, microorganisms, environmental conditions, and scientific innovation interact to produce fermented products. This Microbrew will present a science-enriched fermented recipe book assignment for a 100-level undergraduate microbiology course. Students will select a product with personal or cultural significance, and investigate the microorganisms, biochemical processes, and environmental conditions involved in fermentation using peer-reviewed scientific literature. They explain how microbial metabolism influences product characteristics and food safety while exploring the product's historical and cultural importance. Each student will contribute to an illustrated cookbook entry, where the recipe will be enriched by the scientific explanations and cultural context and history of the product. Students will strengthen their scientific literacy, information evaluation and science communication skills through an authentic and culturally relevant learning experience.
Undergraduate Immunology courses are of high interest but particularly challenging for students due to the involvement of myriad cells and soluble factors involved in an immune response, as well as several unusual genetic mechanisms key to aspects of adaptive immunity. This presentation will describe three hands-on activities for teaching fundamental genetic and developmental mechanisms of the immune system: V-D-J recombination that creates B- and T- cell receptor diversity, the polygeny and polymorphism that results in individual and population diversity of MHC I antigen-presenting molecules, and how MHC molecules shape the development of a repertoire of mature, naïve T cells in an individual. The activities utilize simple craft and toy items (beads, stickers, and blocks) that are easily sourced and can be completed in small or large lecture-based courses in as little as 15 minutes each, making them adaptable for teaching in a variety of contexts.
Quantitative methods, a term covering computational, mathematical and statistical approaches in biology, are a major component of modern microbiology. However, undergraduate education on these techniques is typically housed in non-biology departments and developed from a mathematics-first perspective. This separation is compounded by historical adversarial relationships between mathematicians and biologists. Prior work on teaching quantitative methods to biologists aimed to integrate biological examples within introductory mathematics courses. However, we posit that this approach is inadequate, arguing instead that to prepare biology students to integrate quantitative methods into their future careers, we must develop a biology-first approach to teaching quantitative methods. We propose a two-pronged approach: (1) bolster educators' confidence in quantitative methods and (2) develop curricula with a biology-first perspective to expose students to quantitative methods. In doing so, we hope to transform quantitative biology education and empower students to confidently integrate quantitative methods into their studies.
The American educational system hosts an asymmetry between the standards for initial adoption of curricular content versus its critical reworking. I argue that this dichotomy is especially present in our teaching of chromatin – the organized structure of DNA and its associated proteins – across the different domains of life. Prokaryotes, and in particular bacteria, have been continually misrepresented in their chromatin complexity primarily due to overgeneralizations made from early studies in a few model species. Even recently published educational materials contain inaccuracies such as claiming that bacteria have a single, circular chromosome – a claim for which we have had documented counterexamples for more than a half-century. Furthermore, there is growing evidence challenging the characterization of prokaryotic chromatin as “simple.” To keep our curricula current, educators and textbook authors should critically evaluate and advocate for updating these areas where our educational materials have not incorporated well-established findings.
In recent years, the addition of heatmaps have become available to instructors as in-class engagement opportunities whereby students click a location on a provided image in response to a prompt. Here, I describe an additional implementation that incorporates interactive lecture hall activities with over 100 students. Using an image of distinct sections of a lecture hall, I have students simulate spread of a disease by clicking their location to represent a disease case. A few individuals start with a disease and subsequent transmission events spread the disease throughout the lecture hall – all while remaining seated. Variation in individual student composition (e.g., personal belongings in lecture), or clustering of students add to the stochasticity of the model which facilitates discussion in the simulated data. The visualization of the heatmaps provides permanence to the student generated data and an added layer of graphical interpretation in this digital medium.
Upper division immunology courses often emphasize complex cellular and molecular mechanisms while offering limited insight into the human stories behind scientific discovery. To address this gap and to boost student engagement and understanding of textbook content and challenging immunological concepts, students first read a nonfiction biographical science narrative in full before beginning the course textbook. Early exposure to the personal and professional journeys of scientists, clinicians, and patients provided historical context and humanized the development of the field. Structured assignments, including reflective summaries, in-class discussions, and student generated oral presentations on the people discussed in the narrative that contributed to immunological discovery, reinforced the nonlinear nature of science and strengthened students’ sense of connection and belonging. Integrating storytelling with scientific inquiry increased motivation, engagement, and conceptual understanding, supporting science identity development and deep learning in advanced biology courses.
Reading primary scientific literature (PSL) in the biology classroom has been associated with various positive outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate reading PSL into science courses. Similarly, there has been an increased need for science communication (SciComm) skills and generative AI (GenAI) literacy in the workforce. This microbrew details the creation of a 3-module curriculum that integrates PSL, SciComm, and GenAI in a microbiology course. Each module is composed of a 15-minute mini-lecture and a corresponding assignment. First, students are assigned an annotated bibliography of an article of their choosing. In the next module, students prepare a “3-Minute Thesis”-style presentation of the same article. Finally, students use a Generative AI model of their choosing to prepare an annotated bibliography of their article, comparing their bibliography to the AI-generated one. This curriculum aims to prepare biology undergraduates for a modern workforce through development of these crucial skills.
Many biological systems are exceptionally complex, often including a variety of cellular and molecular interactions. This complexity can make it extremely difficult for undergraduate students to visualize and understand these processes. Immunology is a discipline known for its complex signaling pathways and cellular interactions. One way to improve students' learning of multi-step immunological biomolecular networks is by having students build and manipulate dynamic computer models. The Cell Collective platform allows faculty to implement pre-built or build their own biological network models that their students can access. The student builds the model and then can manipulate parameters and see a graphical representation of the outcome. Furthermore, the models can incorporate assessment questions to ascertain student learning. I will introduce the attendees to Cell Collective, outline the lesson I built and assessed in my 300-level introductory Microbiology course on TLR4 signaling, and invite them to try the Cell Collective training module.
Background Bacteria coordinate behavior with hormone-like chemicals called autoinducers. As a population grows, autoinducer concentration rises in step; past a threshold the cells sense the crowd and change behavior via quorum sensing. It underlies biofilms, bioreactor performance, and anti-virulence drug targets. Why Vibrio campbellii? Aliivibrio fischeri is a widely used model organism, which accommodates diffusion mediated signaling; however, signaling bypasses receptor mediated signaling. V. campbellii has the light (lux) operon controlled by membrane histidine-kinase receptors converging on one phosphorylation cascade, an ideal model for teaching signal transduction. Research Question: Can we turn an invisible protein cell signaling pathway into something students can see? Can we give students the agency to perturb this pathway, see the visible effect, and extrapolate why? Most importantly, can we do it safely? Problems: V. campbellii is not a human pathogen, but it is a marine pathogen. Vibriosis is a concern in aquaculture systems with high mortality rates (possible loss of an entire population). There are three major histidine kinase receptors complicating the ability to effectively interrogate the phosphorylation cascade. In line with our high standards for environmental stewardship, we created attenuated, highly bio contained the Vibrio strains. Design choices: - Focus on one stable, well-behaved receptor, LuxN, and its autoinducer HAI-1. This deleted the noisier LuxPQ and less influential CqsS receptors, so strains respond cleanly to a single ligand. - Attenuate and biocontain through auxotrophy + weakened DNA repair: ΔglmS, ΔthyA, ΔbioABFCD, ΔrecA. - Prophage element removal to remove risk of intact phage activation. - Kit-activity strains, ΔluxM, luxN-H471A, ΔluxB. With this and an upcoming related product, students can visualize and differentiate the signaling phases of reception, transduction, and response. Students understand the Lux pathway using a model. They culture bacteria, rescue luminescence, test inhibitors, and even design their own experiments.
In introductory or first-year courses, many students struggle with their sense of belonging. Sense of belonging, along with psychological safety and trust, is directly related to a student's engagement and persistence in their coursework. This microbrew is designed to introduce the Encouragement-as Instruction Toolkit which was designed bring encouragement into everyday interactions in the biology classroom. These tools are meant to be implemented in the classroom right away without any need for restructuring the course. They are meant to encourage students, create a welcoming learning environment, and maintain rigorous academic standards.
