Major Workshops are opportunities for attendees to experience hands-on laboratory activities that have been developed and implemented for the classroom. Each three-hour workshop is reviewed prior to approval by the Major Workshop Committee, then peer-reviewed by participants, and ultimately by the Advances in Biology Laboratory Education editor before publication.
Most workshops are offered twice daily, morning and afternoon, so participants will have the opportunity to attend two workshops on each of two days, Wednesday and Thursday of the conference. Attendee selection of workshop sessions happens during the conference registration process, as space is limited in each.
For general information about major workshop sessions, see https://www.ableweb.org/conferences/able-major-workshops/.
Currently accepted workshops for ABLE 2026 as of February 16, 2026 (alphabetical by presenter, schedule yet to be determined):
Enhancing Engagement in Biology Office Hours: A Student-Centered Approach
Rachael Barry (University of California, Irvine), Eduardo Gonazalez-Nino, Jeremy Hsu, Vanessa Woods
Office hours, a time set up for instructors and students to come together outside of the formal class environment, are typically required at most higher education institutions. Office hours can be a space for academic support, professional development, mentoring, and other activities. However, attendance and engagement in office hours are often both low, limiting the ability of students and instructors to interact. In this workshop, we will empower biology instructors to design and implement evidence-based strategies to promote student engagement in office hours and support student success. Participants will be able to summarize recent research on student and instructor experiences in office hours and discuss how these findings may apply to their own office hours. We will guide participants through the development of an individual action plan to implement strategies to encourage office hours engagement in their own courses. Participants will have the opportunity to receive feedback on this plan from the group. Finally, we will highlight strategies for assessing the impact of these office hours praxis changes on their students.
Elevate Student Dissections with Data Analysis and Critical Thinking: Investigation of Mouse Organ Size and Melanin Production
Gemma Bartha (Springfield College)
In a first year biology course, students are taught data collection skills along with beginner data analysis. In some courses, students are also given the opportunity to complete a dissection. Often these skills are not taught in tandem. Student dissections are limited to student identification of internal and external anatomy, organ functions and dissection techniques. In this workshop, participants will be able to see how to elevate their own dissection lesson plans to include experimental design, data collection, data analysis and critical thinking. Participants will be given background information of how the lab was developed and then will be able to follow student protocols for a mouse dissection. Participants will complete a hands-on mouse dissection, extracting and comparing the weight of a rodent heart and lung. They will then plot their data and determine if there is a relationship to the fur color and sex. Student data from previous labs will be presented to the participants and further discussion among participants will allow for adaptations to their own courses.
Identifying Cultured Microbiome Bacteria with Oxford Nanopore Sequencing
Lawrence Blumer (Morehouse College), Christopher Beck
In this course-based undergraduate research experience, students extract microbiome bacteria from insects and culture bacteria on nutrient agar plates. Students pick individual bacterial colonies to make a suspension of each colony and use that suspension to perform PCR on 16S rDNA. A unique barcode DNA sequence is attached to the PCR products in each sample in a separate rapid reaction. Subsequent pooling of as many as 24 barcoded samples permits sequencing the DNA with an Oxford Nanopore sequencer for the purpose of identifying gut microbiome bacteria. The instructor (teaching assistant or laboratory technician) uses the pooled barcoded samples to complete the DNA Library preparation and loads a DNA sequencing flow cell (Oxford Nanopore Flongle flow cell) to start the sequencing process. A folder of FASTQ files of the DNA sequence data will be created for each sample in a sequencing run that the instructor then must process with free web-based software (Epi2Me software) to determine the consensus sequence for each sample. The resulting consensus FASTQ files are then converted to FASTA files for BLAST analysis by students.
Mapping and Landcover Characterization Using Google Earth Pro
Ann Cheek (University of Houston)
Students use Google Earth Pro to map field sampling locations and to measure the area of each landcover type within a specified radius of the sampling location. This lab activity is an essential part of a semester-long course-based research experience. Students create a map showing all sampling locations along two transects across their city. They also build a dataset characterizing landcover distribution at each sampling point. Land use can change rapidly in a city. Having a reliable dataset supports student projects in the current semester and generates data that will allow future students to compare land use over time and evaluate how changes in land use impact wildlife diversity in our city. Workshop participants will complete the same activities as students. Participants will create a map of sampling locations, measure distance between two points, and measure the area of particular features on the map. Participants will also apply the National Landcover Database landcover definitions to Google Earth imagery and use measurement tools in Google Earth Pro to quantify the amount of various landcover types within a 1 km radius circle around each sampling point. Participants will verify the completeness of their characterization and discuss student data. Participants will gain familiarity with mapping and spatial measurement tools in Google Earth Pro and consider approaches for evaluating quality of student data.
How Do We Know What Proteins Look Like? A Combined Wet-Lab and Computer-Based Module for Understanding Protein Structures
Aaron Coleman (UC San Diego)
Structure dictates function for biological macromolecules and this is a fundamental concept that underpins students’ understanding of many areas of biology. It is often taken for granted, however, that students understand what they are looking at when they see protein structure images presented in lectures and textbooks. Furthermore, how these images were generated often remains a mystery to undergraduates through their college career. Here we introduce a module that gives students a hands-on understanding of how proteins structures are determined by X-ray crystallography, and in-depth knowledge of how to access and analyze these structures. Students prepare crystals of the protein lysozyme via the hanging drop method. The lab takes an inquiry-based approach, where they must determine the best conditions for crystal formation. It takes two weeks for the crystals to form, and during this interval they conduct a computer lab module that teaches them how to use the Protein Data Bank to find structures, and then how to image and analyze the structures using PyMOL (or Mol*) and AlphaFold. The computer lab uses B-Raf as an example protein. The gene for this signal transduction protein is frequently mutated in melanoma skin cancer, and students investigate how this alters the protein structure to constitutively activate its protein kinase activity. The module can be adapted to fit varying time requirements and student levels. Workshop participants will prepare hanging drops for lysozyme crystal formation and examine lysozyme crystals, while also performing segments of the computer lab that will allow them to use these free, online resources in their courses. Central to the student module is understanding how X-ray diffraction is used to determine the structures they see in their classes, and resources for teaching this will be provided to participants.
Scaffolding Statistical Analysis in Introductory Biology Labs using Microscopes and Micropipettes
Cassandra Debets (University of Manitoba)
This workshop highlights ways to introduce first-year biology students in the process of scientific inquiry by integrating theoretical understanding with hands-on experimentation. Through guided exercises, students develop core skills that reflect the scientific method – observation, hypothesis formulation, experimentation, data analysis, and interpretation. The workshop emphasizes critical thinking as the foundation of scientific practice, encouraging participants to identify limitations, challenge assumptions, and evaluate alternative explanations in their approach to experimental design and data interpretation. The workshop will allow participants to complete two data collection exercises that were designed to give students exposure to foundation biology tools. Students learn to operate a micropipette through a mini-experiment comparing pipetting techniques, participants of this workshop will collect quantitative data, analyze precision, and apply t-tests to assess significant differences. In addition, participants will use light microscopy to observe and sketch unicellular specimens enhancing their observational and recording skills. Finally, the workshop also introduces R statistical software for analysis of the results of the micro pipetting and microscope exercises. In the laboratory students run R scripts to analyze experimental datasets, calculate statistical values (t-tests, p-values, degrees of freedom), and interpret results in the context of their hypotheses with the guidance of the TA; during the workshop the materials used in the lab will be shown and discussed among participants after they complete the R code themselves. This workshop will conclude with a discussion on ways to scaffold statistics and R statistical software into first year biology lab courses.
Invasive Mussel Project
Tim Dwyer (Friday Harbor High School)
This workshop brings two decades of real science into the classroom through a fully hands-on, single-session molecular ecology lab. Built from a 20-year partnership between Friday Harbor Labs, the University of Puget Sound, and Friday Harbor High School, the Invasive Mussel Project now allows students to carry out authentic DNA barcoding and ecological analysis in a single 3-hour class period. Thanks to a collaboration with the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center Science Education Partnership and MiniOne Systems, we’ve streamlined the full molecular workflow—from tissue collection to DNA analysis—into something any advanced biology or undergraduate instructor can realistically run with students. The project ties together core molecular biology techniques (DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis) with ecological questions about species competition and adaptation. Students investigate why the invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis outperforms our native Mytilus trossulus in one key trait: adhesion. In this workshop, you won’t just observe—you’ll do the entire investigation. You’ll harvest mantle tissue from live mussels, extract DNA, amplify an adhesive gene using PCR, and visualize your results on a gel. Along the way, we’ll discuss strategies for scaffolding the lab, supporting students with minimal prior experience, and connecting results to local ecosystems or community science projects. Participants will leave with a complete classroom-ready kit: protocols, timelines, student handouts, and field-tested tips from over a decade of implementation. Most importantly, you’ll walk away knowing exactly how to bring this kind of authentic, place-based research experience to your own students—without needing a research lab or a week-long block schedule.
Sunflower Science: Anatomy, Germination and Growth
Jessica Goldstein (Barnard College), Jordan Balaban, Henry Truong
During this workshop, participants will perform multiple steps of an introductory biology lab activity that asks students to examine factors that influence the germination and growth of sunflowers. This lab also provides an opportunity for students to learn about flower structure and function. Sunflowers are an economically important edible seed oil crop, and there is active interest in understanding factors that would produce the best sunflower seed yield. Furthermore, sunflowers are easy to maintain and grow in a lab setting and have an interesting floral composition, with the sunflower head being composed of different types of flowers. This lab activity first guides introductory students through examining floral anatomy to learn more about flower structure and function. It then ask students to use data to develop a hypothesis about how specific factors (such as soil type) might affect sunflower growth and germination. Students then design an experiment to test their hypotheses by planting sunflower seeds in different soil conditions. Students then wait two weeks for germination and growth to occur. After 2 weeks, students collect and analyze data to determine if their hypotheses were supported. Participants in this workshop will run through aspects of this multi-week lab, including observing the different floral structures of a sunflower head using a dissecting microscope, Then, participants will examine prior data about how soil type affects sunflower growth to develop hypotheses and design an experiment to test their ideas. They will plant seeds in different soil conditions and analyze germination and growth data.
Writing and Using Problem-Oriented Discussion Cases to Develop Students’ Thinking Skills
A. Daniel Johnson (Wake Forest University)
Discussion cases are widely used to explore concepts in biology lecture courses, but not as often in the lab setting. Participants in this workshop will work through a mini-case showing how the presenter has used cases to supplement wet labs. Using this experience as a starting point, participants will come up with case ideas of their own for guiding students to specific learning outcomes in their own courses. Next the presenter will present a generalized case writing framework. Participants will use the framework to refine their initial ideas then get feedback on their draft cases from peers. As time permits, participants can begin writing the core case materials. Attendees will leave this workshop with examples of cases of differing lengths and structures, the presenter’s case writing framework and guidelines, and a starting draft of a “peer-vetted” case of their own. In addition, participants will have access to an online repository of case development resources and example cases from the workshop’s presenter.
Investigating Chemical Effects on Development Using the Chicken Embryo Model: A Physiology Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE)
Ania Majewska (University of Georgia)
This workshop provides an overview of a physiology CURE where students investigate how everyday chemicals affect developing systems using chicken embryos as a model organism. Students design and conduct experiments testing how chemicals (endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, or pharmaceuticals) affect cardiovascular, nervous, or skeletal system development in chicken embryos. They expose embryos to the chemical, measure physiological responses, analyze changes, and interpret results. Participants of this workshop will practice the laboratory techniques needed to implement this CURE: handle and stage 3-7 day old chicken embryos at different developmental points, perform injections and dissections, measure heart rate, and document morphology via photographs. Participants will acquire the knowledge and skills to implement this CURE. They will learn to work with chicken embryos as a research model, practice the key laboratory techniques, and understand how to adapt laboratory activities to their institution. Faculty will also learn strategies for guiding students through research-based learning and maintaining chicken embryos for classroom use.
Breaking Mendelian Genetics with Selfish Chromosomes: a multi-week genetics lab module screening Zea mays for Abnormal Chromosome 10
Natalie Nannas (Hamilton College), Yuxuan Xu
This workshop introduces a multi-week advanced genetics lab module in which students investigate an exception to Mendel’s laws using Zea mays (maize). The focus is on Abnormal Chromosome 10 (Ab10), a “selfish” chromosome in maize that breaks typical inheritance patterns by driving its own transmission at greater than 50% frequency. In one dramatic example, a plant carrying Ab10 yields ~80% purple kernels (linked to Ab10) instead of the expected 50%, violating Mendelian ratios. Through this multi-week module, students learn key genetics concepts and skills: they reinforce classical Mendelian genetics and explore non-Mendelian inheritance alongside modern cytogenetic techniques. Specifically, students perform fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to detect Ab10, a critical cytogenetic technique used in chromosome identification in both agricultural and medical applications. The lab is inquiry-based as students have the opportunity to screen novel varieties of maize for the presence of Ab10. Workshop participants will experience the core elements of this lab from a student’s perspective. After a brief introduction to Ab10 and meiotic drive, participants will engage in hands-on activities that mirror the student experience. The majority of the workshop will be spent on the cytogenetic FISH technique: participants will practice preparing root tip chromosome spreads, creating FISH probe mixtures and applying these fluorescent DNA probes slides. After an incubation (simulated for time), we will examine slides (or pre-collected images) to visualize Ab10’s distinctive DNA structural elements. By the end, attendees will have experienced how students can engage in a discovery-based genetics module that combines classical genetics and modern cytogenetic techniques.
A Simplified Rich Inquiry-Based Cell Motility Lab on Dictyostelium discoideum Chemokinesis
Jonathan Moore (Pomona College)
We have revised and simplified an introductory to intermediate inquiry-based cell motility lab to capture videos of both stimulated and unstimulated Dictyostelium discoideum chemokinetic movement. For this, we have used both Amscope cameras with old 70-year-old compound microscopes and Leica microscopes with built-in cameras. Students analyze their videos and perform a t-test on their data. Subsequently, students propose, execute, and analyze experiments of their own design on cell motility. This five- to six-session lab develops students’ lab techniques, numerical skills, and statistical methods, and provides opportunity for literature exploration, scientific inquiry, and presentation of findings. This lab can also be scaled back into several shorter formats including a one to two session non-inquiry-based lab. Compared to our original chemotaxis lab, this new chemokinesis lab simplifies lab preparation, shortens students’ wait times in lab, and eases students’ difficulties with microscopy.
In this workshop, in addition to discussing the merits and logistics of the lab, participants will perform either the experimental or control half of the lab, take a video of the Dictyostelium motion, analyze the motion, and perform a t-test with the data of another group.
Powering discovery through partnership: A novel implementation of the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE) CURE
Danielle Palow (Trinity University), Marie Tipps
The PARE project offers a fully authentic course-based research experience in which students investigate the prevalence of antibiotic-resistance genes in their local environment using real molecular biology techniques. This workshop introduces faculty to two implementation models of the project—a short mini-CURE format (4 – 5 weeks) and a full-semester CURE format—highlighting the flexibility of integrating PARE into a variety of course structures. Students participating in PARE engage in the full research workflow: evaluating environmental data to select sampling sites, collecting sediment, extracting environmental DNA, running PCR for tetracycline-resistance and 16S targets, and visualizing their results through gel electrophoresis. They also create study designs, analyze public datasets, conduct a literature search, and communicate their findings in written and oral formats. During the workshop, participants will simulate the field-sediment collection process as well as the final gel electrophoresis step to experience key components of the workflow. We will also discuss the challenges of running this CURE in both large and small course sizes and explore potential modifications, including collaborations with partner universities and local organizations that may benefit from environmental antibiotic-resistance data. Overall, PARE provides meaningful student engagement, robust scientific skill development, and valuable opportunities for community-connected learning.
Exploring animal biodiversity using the clay caterpillar decoy method
Peter Park (SUNY Farmingdale State College)
The clay caterpillar decoy method is widely used in ecological research and in science teaching to explore biodiversity of terrestrial animals that prey on caterpillars. Clay caterpillar decoys are placed in locations where predators occur. Abundances of bite marks that result from feeding attempts of arthropods, birds, and mammals can be used to calculate biodiversity differences across habitats. During Summer 2024 at Farmingdale State College, this method was successfully employed to quantify differences in species richness and species abundance between an urban campus site (i.e., a parking lot) and a relatively undisturbed campus site (i.e., forest hiking path). This work was adapted into a set of lab activities and internships focused on data validation, visualization, and analysis. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use iNaturalist to survey a site for potential caterpillar predators. Then, participants will be introduced to the clay caterpillar decoy method by experiencing various aspects of the 2024 Farmingdale State College study. A field experience is incorporated that will encompass making clay caterpillar decoys, applying these decoys to outdoor structures, documenting bitten decoys, and exploring real data using results from the 2024 Farmingdale study. Lastly, an in-lab validation experiment will be introduced that focuses on matching bite marks observed in the field with similar bite marks elicited under controlled laboratory conditions.
Modeling Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Behaviors in Fruit Flies
S. Catherine Silver Key (North Carolina Central University)
There are four main goals of the laboratory module. For students to: 1.) gain experience collecting behavioral data on a human condition modeled in fruit flies; 2.) Apply Microsoft Excel formulas and graph functions to analyze their behavioral data; 3.) Analyze data from a peer-reviewed publication; 4.) practice communicating findings to a group of peers. The relevance of the experiment and other activities is for students to gain an understanding of how Drosophila melanogaster can be used as a model for studying the human condition known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). During lab class, students will perform 3 behavioral tests on Drosophila larvae that have been either exposed to control or ethanol-containing solutions during embryonic or larval development These experiments include 1.) the locomotor distance assessment, 2.) the peristaltic movement analysis, and 3.) the gustatory assay. Students record the assays using their cell phones and analyze the recordings to accurately record observations in Microsoft Excel. Additionally, students assess published data on fruit flies modeling FASD through a Construction of Knowledge Exercise (CoKE). Finally, students communicate their science to their peers in a ‘flash talk’ format. During this Major Workshop, participants will have hands-on experiences with all three of the Drosophila behavioral assays using 2-3 genetically different strains. Additionally, participants will practice exposing Drosophila embryos to alcohol. Class data will be collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Time permitting, participant groups will analyze and report out on a randomly assigned figure from the CoKE activity. Participants will gain the ability to collect Drosophila embryos, expose them to ethanol, execute three behavioral assays, and be introduced to scientific literature on studying FASD in the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster.
Loony Physiology: A Comparative Approach to Studying the Dive Response
Amber Schlater (The College of Saint Scholastica)
The dive response allows air-breathing vertebrates to sustain viability during underwater submersion and is of particular importance in those vertebrates with life history traits tied to the water, such as foraging, hunting, predator avoidance, and/or reproduction. On a systemic level, the dive response entails a suite of adaptive physiological changes that collectively promote long term physiologic success during breath-hold activity, including apnea, bradycardia, decreased cardiac output, and peripheral vasoconstriction; in other words, curiously, the dive response is essentially the exact opposite of the conventional terrestrial exercise response. Animals that routinely experience this type of breath-hold exercise have many physiologic adaptations that offer unique insights into adaptations to hypoxia and may therefore offer insight into a variety of human pathologies associated with tissue hypoxia and ischemia-reperfusion injury. In this interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to learn about diving physiology of vertebrate animals living in North American water systems, with a primary focus on the Common Loon (Gavia immer). Following a brief introduction to diving physiology (generally) and loon biology (specifically), participants will have an opportunity to measure their own dive reflex (a response that is shared across vertebrates and thus similar to what a Common Loon experiences while diving). Using a stethoscope and plethysmograph, participants will measure their physiologic response to apnea, comparing breath-hold outside of water to breath-hold while dunking their face in water (simulating diving). Upon completion, participants should be able to:
– Understand the dive response, which describes the physiology behind breath-hold exercise on an integrated level, from cellular and molecular to organ and organismal levels.
– Appreciate of the importance of using comparative, non-model organisms to understand physiological concepts.
– Use a plethysmograph and understand the basic science behind using transducers to make physiological measurements.
Ecotoxicology made easy(ish)- using Lake-in-a-Tube microcosms to assess the impacts of freshwater pollutants
Brian Swisher (Saint Michael’s College)
Through drainage from their basins, freshwater lakes are on the receiving end of a wide-variety of pollutants from both man-made and natural sources. While students of biology typically understand that pollutants are “bad,” the actual real-world impacts of pollutants tend to be more subtle than causing the deaths of organisms outright. Current research in ecotoxicology focuses on how pollutants can impact the population biology of ecologically important taxa and how changes might alter ecosystem function. While the U. S. EPA has stringent protocols to conducting toxicological assays on freshwater organisms, the specific requirements of these tests tend to preclude use in classroom laboratory setting. The Lake-in-a-Tube (LIAT) microcosm system is a broadly accessible, flexible system for testing hypotheses regarding lake ecology, including the impacts of pollutants on the organisms serving as the base of lake food webs. Using common freshwater organisms (green algae and water fleas), students can investigate the acute and chronic impacts of a variety of pollutants. This workshop will lead participants through designing LIAT microcosm assays of various pollutants and data collection steps for measuring potential pollutant impacts on populations of two focal organisms.