Life Sciences Commons^™

A "Choose-Your-Own" Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry About Rna Interference, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

RNA interference (RNAi), the process that results in the degradation of a target gene’s mRNA, is a fundamental part of eukaryotic gene regulation and is also an important molecular technique that allows for experimental manipulation of gene expression without altering DNA sequences. Despite the importance of RNAi, there have been relatively few lecture-based activities designed to teach about the consequences of this process and counter common misconceptions. I present here an inquiry-based activity that is centered around a “choose your own experiment” design where students generate hypotheses and critically evaluate their ideas by choosing several simulated experiments. The activity presents …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of Entomology Incorporation In U.S. Secondary Science Instruction, Erin M. Ingram

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

To encourage understanding and appreciation of insects, entomology education advocates have supported and encouraged K-12 teachers to integrate insects and insect-related content into formal science instruction. However, research examining how and why science teachers incorporate entomology into secondary science courses is limited.

A sequential explanatory mixed-methods research study was conducted to address this gap. The study was conducted in two phases. During the first phase, quantitative survey research was conducted with a representative sample of 254 U.S. secondary life science teachers. During the subsequent qualitative phase, follow-up interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 18 survey participants and an …

Collaboration And Inquiry For The Science Classroom, Jessica Amacher, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Crystal Randall

Faculty Publications & Research

Science is a collaborative endeavor, where most of the significantly influential advances are achieved by groups of scientists working together across varying institutions and disciplines. To reflect this, we should offer opportunities for our students to learn, research, and communicate with their peers. In this workshop, we share models that we have found successful for designing opportunities, as well as ideas for topics that promote real world application and cross disciplinary work for students, drawing from our experiences with the International Student Science Fair and other international strategies. We will help interested teachers in developing their own working groups to …

A Scientometric Appreciation Of Robert J. Baker's Contributions To Science And Mammalogy, David J. Schmidly, Robert D. Bradley, Emma K. Roberts, Lisa C. Bradley, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

This article describes Robert James Baker’s academic pedigree and genealogy, his scientific productivity (number of publications), his citations, his students, his contributions to his university and scientific societies, his personality in relation to his scientific achievements, his legacy, and a personal note of appreciation by individuals who worked with him and knew him well. His accomplishments are compared with other dominant personalities in the field of mammalogy, both historical and contemporary. The paper builds on the 2018 obituary authored by Hugh Genoways and others that was published in the Journal of Mammalogy, but includes a much more quantitative and …

Overture [From Field To Laboratory: A Memorial Volume In Honor Of Robert J. Baker], Robert D. Bradley, David J. Schmidly, Hugh H. Genoways, Lisa C. Bradley

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Introduction to the memorial volume of Special Publications / Museum of Texas Tech University in honor of Robert J. Baker.

First paragraph:

Herein, we use the word “Overture” not in its first meaning, but rather in its second—“An introduction to something more substantial” ([Def. 2], Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press 2018). In our current case, this is the overture to a memorial volume in honor of our friend and colleague Robert J. Baker. Here, his former students and colleagues have taken time and effort to write 43 essays and scientific articles and 54 personal encomia in demonstration of their …

Integrating Mathematics And Biology In The Classroom: A Compendium Of Case Studies And Labs, Becky Sanft, Anne Walter

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Engaging Undergraduates In Research In Mathematical Biology With Limited Resources, Timothy Comar

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

The Next Generation Science Standards: Saving K-12 Science Education, Kaitlin Caylor

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The United States has been struggling to provide effective K-12 science education. In response, states began adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013 with the hopes of improving science education in the United States. As the NGSS become more common throughout schools in the U.S. it is important to begin collecting data on how they are affecting science education. This study was designed to collect preliminary data on the effectiveness of the NGSS in preparing students for college-level biology. University students with varying levels of exposure to the NGSS were given a biology benchmark assessment that is aligned …

Traffic Noise And Sexual Selection: Studies Of Anthropogenic Impact On Bird Songs And Undergraduate Student Reasoning Of Evolutionary Mechanisms, Sarah Spier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Humans have transformed much of the natural landscape and are continuing to do so at an accelerated rate, compromising natural areas that serve as important habitat for many species. Roads impact much of the environment as they fragment habitat and introduce traffic noise into the acoustic environment, deferentially affecting wildlife in roadside habitat. I explored how traffic noise affects the detection of birds based on whether their vocalizations were masked by traffic noise. Masked species detection was not affected by an increase in traffic noise amplitude, while there was a negative effect of traffic noise amplitude on unmasked species detection, …

Smaller Classes Promote Equitable Student Participation In Stem, Cissy J. Ballen, Stepfanie M. Aguillon, Azza Awwad, Anne E. Bjune, Daniel Challou, Abby Grace Drake, Michelle Driessen, Aziza Ellozy, Vivian E. Ferry, Emma E. Goldberg, William Harcombe, Steve Jensen, Christian Jørgensen, Zoe Koth, Suzanne Mcgaugh, Caroline Mitry, Bryan Mosher, Hoda Mostafa, Renee H. Petipas, Paula A.G. Soneral, Shana Watters, Deena Wassenberg, Stacey L. Weiss, Azariah Yonas, Kelly R. Zamudio, Sehoya Cotner

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

As science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms in higher education transition from lecturing to active learning, the frequency of student interactions in class increases. Previous research documents a gender bias in participation, with women participating less than would be expected on the basis of their numeric proportions. In the present study, we asked which attributes of the learning environment contribute to decreased female participation: The abundance of in-class interactions, the diversity of interactions, the proportion of women in class, the instructor's gender, the class size, and whether the course targeted lower division (first and second year) or upper division …

Protein Structure Analysis, Agnieszka Szarecka, Chris Dobson

Peer Reviewed Articles

We describe a series of engaging exercises in which students emulate the process that researchers use to efficiently develop new pharmaceutical drugs, that of rational drug design. The activities are taken from a three- to four-hour workshop regularly conducted with first-year college students and presented here to take place over three to four class periods. Although targeted at college students, these activities may be appropriate at the high school level as well, particularly in an AP Biology course. The exercises introduce students to the topics of bioinformatics and computer modeling, in the context of rational drug design, using free online …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 31, No. 3, August 2019

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Welcome: Dr. Kyle Koch, Dr. Débora Montezano, Dr. Lise Pingault, Dr. Prince Zogli, Dr. Tobiasz Druciarek, Zuguo Guo, Vilma Montenegro, Sabrina Ongaratto, Emily Reinders, Otávio Silva Xavier, plus Online M.S. students for Fall 2019:

Faculty News: Dr. Jeff Bradshaw, Dr. Louise Lynch-O’Brien, Dr. Matthew Smart, Dr. Ana Vélez, Dr. Judy Wu-Smart

Publications

Congratulations

Student News

Grants

Inaugural 10 week NIFA-funded Beneficial Insects Research and Extension Ex-periences for Undergraduates (REEU) program

Insects and Murder: educational murder mystery game created by graduate student Justine LaViolette.

Open Textbook Project [Poster], Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Conference Presentations and Speeches

Details of a porject undertaken to collaboratively write and produce an open access parasitology textbook for undergraduate and graduate students. The book will be published by Zea Books at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2020 and be available in English and Spanish both online and print-on-demand through lulu.com.

Co-Executive Editors: Sue Ann Gardner and Scott L. Gardner, University of nebraska-Lincoln. Copyeditor: Linnea Fredrickson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Spanish Translator: Yoanna Esquivel Greenwood, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Project Coordinator: Sue Ann Gardner.

Project website: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasittext/.

A Multi-Institutional Analysis Of Instructional Beliefs And Practices In Gateway Courses To The Sciences, Joseph J. Ferrare

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

This paper builds on previous studies of instructional practice in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses by reporting findings from a study of the relationship between instructors’ beliefs about teaching and learning and their observed classroom practices. Data collection took place across six institutions of higher education and included in-depth interviews with 71 instructors and more than 140 hours of classroom observations using the Teaching Dimensions Observation Protocol. Thematic coding of interviews identified 31 distinct beliefs that instructors held about the ways students best learn introductory concepts and skills in these courses. Cluster analysis of the observation data suggested that …

The Potential Of Socio-Biologically Relevant Mobile Applications To Attract Girls To Stem, Vanaja Nethi, Santanu De

FDLA Journal

Stimulating girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) when they are in school, and sustaining that interest, is critical in motivating girls to choose STEM-related disciplines in higher education and enter STEM careers. Research indicates that girls show an interest in STEM until about 11-12 years of age, but this starts to wane by the time they are 15-16 years. Thus, there is a clear need to focus on sustaining the interest of girls in STEM at middle or high school levels. Research has shown that one of the main drivers that impact girls’ interest in STEM is …

Integrating Online Instruction And Hands-On Laboratory Activities For Summer Learning For Students Of Color: A Design Case In Forensic Science, Douglas Elrick, Jiaqi Yu, Connie Hargrave

Constance P. Hargrave

The popularity of TV shows such as Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) has generated high school students’ interest in forensics. Yet, forensic science is not commonly accessible to students, and especially students of color who often attend under-resourced high schools. This article presents the design, development, and evaluation of an online forensics course created for high school students of color who were a part of an informal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational development program. Two essential elements guided the course design: the target learners (high school students of color) and integrating online instruction and hands-on laboratory activities involving real-world …

A Qualitative Analysis To Identify The Elements That Support Department Level Change In The Life Sciences: The Pulse Vision & Change Recognition Program, Mary Peteroy-Kelly, Loretta Brancaccio-Taras, Judy Awong-Taylor, Teresa Balser, Thomas Jack, Sara Lindsay, Kate Marley, Sandra Romano, J. Akif Uzman, Pamela Pape-Lindstrom

Publications and Research

The 2011 report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, provided the impetus to mobilize the undergraduate life sciences education community to affect change in order to enhance the educational experiences of life sciences majors. The work of the appointed Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) Vision and Change (V&C) Leadership Fellows has focused on the development of programs and resources to support departmental change. In this report, we present a qualitative assessment of several documents generated from the PULSE V&C Leadership Fellow Recognition Team. The Recognition Team developed two initiatives to provide …

Using Drones For Precision Agriculture, Jiyul Chang, Madhav P. Nepal

Madhav Nepal

In this teaching module, students will learn what Precision Agriculture is and how to apply drone into Precision Agriculture practices. To use data (images) taken by drone, students will learn the basic theory of Remote Sensing. Using images, students learn how to make NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) maps and how to apply drone (remote sensing technique) in agriculture.

Learning Science: Physical And Life Sciences In Curricula Across U.S. Schools Of Nursing, Valerie C. Sauda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nursing educators are being challenged to provide curriculum that meets the changing healthcare environment and demand for creative, innovative nurses to assist in transforming healthcare into the future (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010; Institute Of Medicine, 2011). The liberal education provided within a baccalaureate of science in nursing (BSN) degree program provides a diversity of courses within the curriculum, including courses in the natural, physical, mathematical, and social sciences (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2008). Although nursing programs have included science courses in curriculum since the early 1900s (Nutting & Dock, 1907), there is lack of nursing …

Initiation Of A Roundtable Meeting To Determine Safety Hazards And Provide Education To Range Bison Herd Workers, Lucia Finocchiaro

Capstone Experience

This capstone project serves as an important piece of greater project studying bison handling. Bison production is both a growing and dangerous industry. As a new enterprise in many parts of the country and on tribal lands, significant numbers of untrained employees may be hired. This project undertakes methods to better understand the risks associated with bison handling and to thereby improve handling procedures and increase safety. Herd managers (from tribal and non-tribal sites), researchers, safety experts, and stakeholders were brought together for a roundtable meeting in Omaha. This meeting was designed to provide stakeholders a forum to discuss common …

Effects Of An Educational Intervention On Nutrition And Healthy Eating Habits In Minority Group Parents And Children Living In Arkansas, Peri Clay

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: The Hispanic population is the largest growing minority ethnic group in the United States today. Minority groups have an added struggle with obesity and have higher rates of obesity in this country than the caucasian counterparts. While minority group parents want more for their children they face many cultural and language barriers related to proper nutrition and hydration. This prevents these families from gaining adequate nutrition.

Objective: The purpose was to evaluate the impact of nutrition education on obesity rates through implementation of a year long educational intervention for minority group mothers and their children through and …

Understanding Neglect Of Plant Biology Education In Michigan Middle Schools, Kim Smith

All NMU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify historical trends of neglect in plant biology education, their continuation today in Michigan middle school classrooms, and to uncover reasons for this neglect. A content analysis of state and national science standards and an online survey of Michigan middle school life science teachers were conducted. Findings showed a trend of increasing references in national standards from animals or plants to general organisms, as well as a decrease in the overall number of specific references in the standards. The data also revealed that nearly half of the teachers surveyed spent less than ten …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 31, No. 2, May 2019

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Congratulations -- Meeting News -- Welcome -- Publications -- Grants -- Faculty News -- Outreach -- Student News -- Busy as a Bee -- Distinguished Alumni Recognition -- Entomology Department Alumni Dinner

Making 3d Laser Cut Stratigraphic Audio-Responsive Tactile Templates, Michael A. Kolitsky

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The geologic method of stratigraphy which studies the structure of the earth by making layers was employed with 3D laser cutting techniques to make more easily defined tactile regions in templates of cells, tissues and anatomic regions containing muscles and bones. Templates were made audio responsive by hand-drilling a small hole in a template and filling that hole with conductive electric paint. A finger touch to the template top side now carries a charge similar to an electric circuit to the template bottom side resting on the surface of an iPad or iPad Pro where an audio button produces audio …

Interview Of Alice L. Hoersch, Ph.D., Alice L. Hoersch Ph.D., Selena Bemak

All Oral Histories

Alice Lynn Hoersch was born in 1950 in Abington, PA to Albert and Alice Hoersch. She moved to Honey Brook, located in Chester County, PA at two-years-old. Hoersch lived in Honey Brook until she finished graduate school in 1977. She attended Honey Brook Elementary School. She graduated as valedictorian from Twin Valley High School in 1968. Hoersch studied geology at Bryn Mawr College, graduating in 1972. She received both her master’s and Ph.D. in metamorphic petrology from Johns Hopkins University in 1974 and 1977, respectively. The same year she obtained her Ph.D., Hoersch began teaching as an assistant professor of …

Establishing Enhanced Learning Outcomes In Science For First Generational Undergraduate College Students, Marianna Burks

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

First-generation students represent an increasing percentage of the demographic for college and university enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Since 2001, results from the National Center for Education Statistics Longitudinal Study, indicates ‘higher percentages of first-generations college students attended public postsecondary institutions-76 vs. 72%’ (Redford & Hoyer, 2017). There is insufficient research, however, concerning how first-generation students’ needs are different, even unique, from those students who are second- generation and beyond attending college (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2017). Since this increase of students enrolling in post-secondary education, ‘understanding the needs of first-generation students is imperative more now …

Investigating Student Conceptual Understanding Of Structure And Function By Using Formative Assessment And Automated Scoring Models, Kelli Patrice Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been a call from the national community of biologists and biology educators to increase biological literacy of undergraduate students, including understanding and application of core concepts. The structure and function relationship is a core concept identified by the wider biology community and by physiology faculty. Understanding of the core concept structure and function across multiple levels of organization may promote biological literacy. My research focused on the development of formative written assessment tools to provide insight into student understanding of structure and function in anatomy and physiology.

In chapter two I developed automated scoring tools to facilitate the …

Using Drones For Precision Agriculture, Jiyul Chang, Madhav P. Nepal

iLEARN Teaching Resources

In this teaching module, students will learn what Precision Agriculture is and how to apply drone into Precision Agriculture practices. To use data (images) taken by drone, students will learn the basic theory of Remote Sensing. Using images, students learn how to make NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) maps and how to apply drone (remote sensing technique) in agriculture.

Stephen Lory Williams (1948-2018), In Memoriam, Suzanne Boyer Mclaren, Catharine A, Hawks, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Obituary and biography of Stephen Lory Williams (1948-2018).

Excerpts:

His move in 1990 returned him to Texas Tech University, taking up positions as Collection Manager in the Museum, and Adjunct Professor in the Museum Science Program. His final professional move was made in 1995 to the Department of Museum Studies at the Strecker Museum now known as the Mayborn Museum Complex at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he took positions as Assistant Professor and Collections Manager. Steve retired from Baylor in 2007.

Steve was present at the birth of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, serving …

Bibliography Of The Published Works Of Stephen L. Williams, Suzanne Boyer Mclaren, Catharine A. Hawks, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Bibliography of the published works of Stephen Lory Williams (1948-2018).