For general information about mini workshop sessions, see https://www.ableweb.org/conferences/able-mini-workshops/.
Extended Mini Workshops (90 minutes)
Aligning your ecology labs with the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education Framework
Christopher Beck (Emory University)
The Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework, endorsed by the Ecological Society of America, provides a multi-dimensional framework for teaching and learning in ecology. The Framework encourages integrations across the four dimensions: Core Ecological Concepts, Ecology Practices, Human-Environment Interactions, and Cross-Cutting Themes. This integration is essential for understanding how ecologists work to solve complex ecological problems. Most ecology labs likely integrate Core Ecological Concepts with some key Ecology Practices. In this mini-workshop, participants will expand on their existing ecology labs by being introduced to the 4DEE Framework and the concept of integration across the dimensions. Then, they will have the opportunity to work collaboratively to further elaborate and align their ecology labs to the Framework.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Instructors/Administrator
Empowering Students’ Data Visualization Skills with HHMI BioInteractive’s Data Explorer
Dr. Kristine Grayson (University of Richmond) and Rosina Bolen (Mount St. Mary’s University)
Developing students’ graphing and data visualization skills is a foundational goal in undergraduate biology education, yet many students struggle to select appropriate graph types and interpret graphical representations of biological data, including in laboratory contexts. Structured exploration with real biological datasets provides an effective context for building these skills while engaging students in authentic scientific practices.
In this interactive workshop, participants will use HHMI BioInteractive’s free Data Explorer tool to examine an authentic dataset pre-loaded in the tool. The featured activity supports student learning by emphasizing how to choose, construct, and interpret different types of graphs, including bar graphs, box plots, and scatterplots. It also emphasizes how graphing can be used to develop and test predictions from data, either preloaded in Data Explorer or uploaded from a lab exercise.
Workshop participants will engage in guided exploration of the student activity, followed by a facilitated discussion of strategies for teaching graphing in the lab. Supplemental and extension activities will also be highlighted, as well as strategies for scaffolding to other data analysis tools.
By the end of the session, participants will gain a better understanding of best practices for teaching data visualization skills. They will also leave with a concrete plan for using or adapting the featured activity in the lab, creating additional activities, and/or applying Data Explorer with other datasets.
This workshop is suitable for instructors teaching laboratory courses for majors or nonmajors and are seeking classroom-ready tools using authentic datasets to strengthen students’ graphing and data interpretation skills. Participants are expected to bring a tablet or laptop with Wi-Fi to access the materials and tools presented.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior)
ELISA-Based Detection of HSP70 in Plants under Salinity Stress with AI-Based Quantification
Waxman Pirchia Tamar, PhD and Herman Shoshy (Bar-Ilan University)
Increasing soil salinity is a growing environmental challenge, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where reduced precipitation and intensified evaporation lead to salt accumulation in agricultural soils. These conditions impose abiotic stress on plants, affecting cellular processes, growth, and productivity. Investigating plant responses to salinity stress at the molecular level provides a meaningful framework for connecting laboratory experimentation with real-world environmental processes.
The activity supports student understanding of biological concepts such as plant responses to abiotic stress, protein function, and cellular regulation under changing environmental conditions. The protocol is structured as a complete laboratory module that allows instructors to incorporate experimental comparison, data interpretation, and discussion of biological variability.
This workshop translates the environmental challenge into a hands-on laboratory experience, by investigating plant responses to salinity stress through ELISA-based detection and quantification of Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70). HSP70 is a well-established molecular biomarker of cellular stress. During the session, participants will actively perform the experimental procedure themselves, experiencing the complete workflow of an indirect ELISA assay from protein extraction to quantitative data analysis. This technique can be directly adopted in teaching laboratories.
Following the experimental phase, participants will analyze ELISA results using a dedicated AI-based quantification tool developed for this module. The tool enables objective measurement of color intensity, visualization of trends across treatments, and clear interpretation of results, providing an accessible introduction to AI-supported data analysis in biology education.
This laboratory activity can serve as a foundation for inquiry-based teaching, allowing students to design experiments, compare treatments, and interpret quantitative data.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; High School, Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior), Upper (Senior – Grad Student)
Survival in Action: A Holistic Approach to Teaching Life Cycles, Adaptations & Interactions in the context of Natural Selection
Sanjiva Gunasekara (California State University, Fresno)
The core idea of natural selection intersects many related topics, such as biodiversity, ecology and coevolution. However, connecting these concepts in a lab environment can be challenging. This workshop presents a series of activities for major or non-major introductory biology students involving life cycles, adaptations and ecological interactions, with an underlying theme of natural selection. In the first activity, workshop participants will assume the role of students and identify organisms’ adaptations as features of their unique life stages, while also exploring the ecological interactions between different organisms. Working in groups, participants will first individually receive one photo that depicts a single stage in an organism’s life cycle. The group will then receive an envelope with a variety of scrambled photos — these are photos of the remaining stages in each organism’s life cycle, and each participant must find the photos that will complete their organism’s life cycle. Once all photos are correctly sorted, each participant will perform some quick research to further elucidate details on their organism, including adaptations that help it survive and relationships with other species it interacts with. This will be followed by a brief ‘whole-class’ discussion which can examine how a particular life stage helps an organism survive in its environment, the impact(s) of disrupting a particular stage in a life cycle, etc. Participants will then perform the second activity: a game demonstrating genetic drift and natural selection. The game consists of three rounds, each involving the survival of different-colored butterflies on a patterned cloth. The cloth represents the butterflies’ environment, and they will be eliminated via genetic drift (modeled in the first round) or through natural selection (modeled in the remaining rounds), with survivors reproducing through successive generations. The workshop will conclude with a discussion on how these activities can be modified for other programs.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; High School, Introductory (Freshman)
Introduction of Computational and AI Modeling Tools to First-year Students Through a Guided DNA and Protein Analysis Activity
Lynley Doonan and Amanda Willard (Carnegie Mellon University)
Frontiers, Analysis, and Discovery in Biological Sciences is a first-year, research-based laboratory course. The goal of the semester long research project this year is to investigate how swapping different domains between related proteins can affect protein structure and function. Before investigating the effects of the mutations we were creating in the lab, we wanted students to generate hypotheses about how the changes would affect protein function. We did this by implementing a computational module where students use different computational and AI modeling software, such as Benchling, PHYRE2.2, AlphaFold and PyMOL, to analyze the mutations at the DNA and protein levels to make predictions about the mutations. We created a guided DNA and protein analysis activity to help students understand the basic functionality of a handful of software tools, while also using them to analyze our mutations and make their hypothesis. Participants will complete the AlphaFold analysis and comparison of protein structure portion of the activity we implemented in the lab. Together, we will compare and contrast the AlphaFold and PHYRE2.2 generated structures using PyMOL and discuss their relative strengths and limitations in the context of different research questions. Then we will have a discussion as to how we structured this activity in the context of our class and how it can be applied in either the lab or classroom setting. Participants will leave with a general understanding of the software and how this activity can be implemented in the classroom for different contexts.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; High School, Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior)
Bugs in bugs: Environmental Effects on Parasite Susceptibility
Ann Yezerski and Michelle Ash (King’s College)
Most organismal traits have both a genetic and an environmental component. Host susceptibility to parasites is no exception. Previously, I had presented a lab used in a Parasitology course that explored the genetic basis of human susceptibility to malaria (Yezerski 2013). This year we will be exploring the other half of the equation by demonstrating that by holding genetics constant, you can accurately measure the effects of environmental variables on parasite load. The system we use is the rat tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta, in its intermediate host, the flour beetle, Tribolium confusum. By using Recombinant Inbred lines of the beetles, genetics is held constant. In the workshop, we will discuss the possible variations in the infection protocol that represent different environmental factors that could ultimately affect subsequent parasite load in this system. These range from starving and feeding times, to temperatures, to beetle age and more. Then, participants will microscopically dissect beetles previously infected under different environmental conditions to learn the process to assess parasite load. Although this exercise has historically been used in a Parasitology lab, it uses a simple protocol that can be used in any class where the idea that “genotype x environment = phenotype” is presented.
Intended for: Biology Majors; High School, Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior), Upper (Senior – Grad Student)
Launchpad to Success: Building Student Readiness Through Preparatory Courses
Joseph Kele, Kevin Courchesne, Gemma Bartha, Mindi Fried, and Brittany Velikaneye (Springfield College)
This presentation showcases the design and implementation of an online undergraduate biology preparation course developed to support both biology and non-biology majors as they transition into first-year General Chemistry, General Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) lecture and laboratory courses. The course addresses gaps in student preparedness by establishing a shared foundational skill set designed to offset the diverse academic backgrounds, laboratory exposure, and scientific confidence of incoming first-year students.
The prep course integrates foundational biological and chemical concepts with targeted instruction in laboratory readiness, scientific reasoning, and academic skill-building. Core components include experimental design, data interpretation, basic quantitative reasoning, laboratory safety, scientific terminology, and expectations for college-level STEM coursework. Learning activities are delivered through interactive modules, low-stakes assessments, case-based applications, and scaffolded practice to support engagement while managing cognitive load.
This session will guide faculty through the pedagogical framework used to develop the course and demonstrate how its modular structure can be easily adopted for institutional contexts, disciplines, and student populations. Participants will gain practical strategies for designing an online or hybrid prep course, aligning content with downstream laboratory and lecture expectations, and using prep-course data to inform instructional decisions in gateway STEM courses.
By empowering faculty to create targeted preparation experiences, this work aims to facilitate student confidence, laboratory competence, and academic readiness—ultimately supporting student success and retention in early undergraduate STEM pathways.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; High School, Introductory (Freshman), Instructor/Administrator
Teaching With Kindness in Higher Education
Laurel Rodgers (Shenandoah University)
Academia is a complicated place to work. It is full of wonderful people and rewarding experiences, but it also often operates in a high stress, unkind, chaotic manner. In this workshop, participants will be provided the opportunity to apply ideas from Dr. Cate Denial’s book title “The Pedagogy of Kindness” to their own classes. Themes center around increasing kindness to oneself, kindness in the syllabus, kindness in assessment, and kindness in the classroom. Through both group and individual activities, participants will finish the workshop with clear, tangible ways to strengthen their courses by increasing kindness without sacrificing rigor and student accountability. While I highly recommend reading Dr. Denial’s book, reading it prior to the workshop is not required. Participants are encouraged to bring one of their course syllabi to the workshop.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Instructor/Administrator
Mini Workshops (45 minutes)
Using retracted articles for student journal club: Helping students learn to read literature more critically
Dan Johnson (Wake Forest University)
When students begin reading primary literature they frequently treat the published conclusions as unquestionable facts. When a claim is made without sound backing, they often assume they do not understand the article, instead of questioning the claim itself. Instructors may unintentionally reinforce this by only assigning articles with well-constructed arguments and robust datasets. Reading flawed articles helps students become more skeptical of claims made by authors. Retractions provide a pre-vetted source of flawed articles that are readily available for nearly every topic. Those containing fabricated for falsified data get the most attention, but articles may be retracted for more mundane reasons. Authors may request corrections or retractions when they find errors in the data analysis, flawed methods or reagents, or have other reasons to question their conclusions. Frequently the journal’s accompanying retraction notice summarizes the key errors, simplifying the instructor’s task of screening for articles with the appropriate level of difficulty.
This workshop presents two strategies for using retracted articles: open, where students know the article is flawed in advance; and covert, where students only learn it was retracted later. The presenter will provide examples of each type, along with typical student assignments. As time allows participants will learn how to search for articles that have been flagged for editorial concerns or retracted, and how the presenter edits articles to remove evidence of retraction prior to assigning them to students.
Participants will work with two retracted articles. Article 1 illustrates how openly retracted articles are presented and evaluated. Article 2 shows how to use articles which students do not know have been retracted. The presenter will provide examples of pre- and post-class assignments. Participants will learn how the presenter selects and revises articles, and as time allows, search for retracted articles.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; High School, Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior)
Roundtable: The Value of Biology Laboratory Teaching in the Modern Era
Star Lee, Rachael M. Barry, and Ana E. Garcia-Vedrenne (University of California, Irvine)
Biology laboratory courses have long been a cornerstone of undergraduate science education, yet their purposes, formats, and outcomes vary widely across institutions. In recent years, technological advancements in biology and other STEM fields have changed what types of techniques, supports, and resources are accessible to and used by students. Given changing educational landscapes, this workshop brings together various stakeholders to critically examine and discuss the current state and future directions of laboratory instruction.
This workshop will facilitate structured discussions around fundamental questions: What are the core goals of laboratory courses from both student and faculty perspectives? Why do we require specific amounts of lab coursework, and are these requirements still appropriate? What types of institutional support are necessary to teach laboratory courses? How should we adapt laboratory instruction to continue meeting our educational goals with changes in support, resources, and technology?
Workshop participants will engage in small group discussions organized around key themes. Facilitators will guide conversations and collect insights through structured prompts and shared documentation. We anticipate participants will benefit from: (1) perspective on how colleagues at other institutions approach laboratory instruction, (2) concrete ideas for adapting their own lab courses, (3) the opportunity to contribute to a broader research initiative exploring the future of biology laboratory education.
Intended for: Biology Majors; Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior), Upper (Senior – Grad Student), Instructor/Administrator
Learning Data Management and Literacy with HHMI BioInteractive
Angela Lynne Hodgson (North Dakota State University)
Modern biology is increasingly data-intensive, yet many students lack data management skills, creating roadblocks to their completion of statistical analysis and independent research. Free resources from HHMI BioInteractive address this gap by providing tools to build data and spreadsheet literacy, and as a gateway to more advanced statistical analysis tools.
Workshop participants will explore two customizable HHMI BioInteractive resources to develop students’ essential data literacy skills. Using authentic experimental data, participants will examine data entry and organization while identifying effective teaching practices for creating understandable and shareable datasets. The workshop will also highlight strategies to guide students through classification of variable types, performing data conversion and understanding how measured variables connect to research questions. All strategies and practices will be explored and discussed in relation to an engaging case study that experimentally examines the effect of elevation on the physiology of common wall lizards.
Participants will leave with a suite of free resources and strategies for teaching data literacy skills that prepare students for inquiry labs in the classroom, or for independent research projects. Whether teaching high school biology or college-level courses, these tools provide a structured approach to building the data management foundation every biology student needs.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman)
Designing Scalable Course-Based Research Experiences in Undergraduate Biology Laboratories
Alma Edith Rodriguez Estrada, Michelle Korir, and Richard Boniak (Aurora University)
Undergraduate research experiences are widely recognized as high-impact practices that promote student learning, persistence, and professional skill development. However, traditional apprenticeship-style research models often limit student participation due to time, space, and mentoring constraints. This mini workshop engages participants in the design and implementation of a scalable, course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) embedded within the biology curriculum.
Participants will actively work with instructional materials from a two-credit Research in Biology laboratory course, including course structure, scaffolded research assignments, electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) templates, and assessment rubrics. Rather than a passive presentation, attendees will analyze sample materials, identify essential components of an authentic research experience, and adapt provided templates to their own institutional contexts.
Through small-group activities, participants will map research themes to learning objectives, outline feasible research workflows for limited-enrollment laboratory courses, and discuss strategies for managing student collaboration, feedback, and assessment. Guided discussion will focus on practical challenges such as instructor workload, student preparedness, assessment consistency, and maintaining authenticity while scaling research experiences.
By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with adaptable course design tools, example assignments, and a clear framework for implementing or revising course-based research experiences in undergraduate biology laboratories. This workshop is intended for biology laboratory instructors, coordinators, and faculty interested in expanding access to authentic undergraduate research through formal laboratory courses.
Intended for: Biology Majors; Upper (Senior – Grad Student)
Parking Lot Ecology: Population Size, Community Diversity, and Species-Area Relationship
Martin G. Kelly (D’Youville University)
In this workshop, I am presenting a simple approach to teaching ecology concepts to students at an urban university. Teaching at an urban campus, we lack access to an area where surveys could be done with species. Also, my urban-suburban students are unfamiliar with the identity of the species we would encounter in nature. As an undergraduate student in ecology (1980) I used automobile make and model information collected from campus parking lots to learn how to calculate a community diversity index. I remember this lab activity as being, fun, innovative, and informative. Later in my career (2009), I successfully adapted the use of parking lot auto data to teach biology lab students the Lincoln-Petersen method (capture, mark, release, and recapture) to estimate population size. This past year (Fall 2025), I decided to write a set of ecology labs based on parking lot data (auto make and model). I updated and revised my existing lab activity to estimate population size (Lincoln-Petersen method) to include data on each auto’s make and model, with its license plate number. This expanded data set provided the data for the two later labs on A) community diversity indexes and B) the relationship between the number of species recorded (auto make and model) and area surveyed (the number of parking lot spaces). I wrote these labs to use one set of data for three lab activities; the three labs were scheduled for mid-October, when good weather for outside work is not reliable during autumn (western New York). These three lab activities could easily be separated by the instructor for data collection. Three separate data sets could be combined later for more robust analysis if larger sample sizes are needed.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior)
Endocrine System Escape Room
Mindi Palmer Fried (Springfield College)
In most anatomy and physiology classes, there isn’t much that is “fun” to do in lab for the endocrine system. Students identify glands on models and slides and maybe specimen, and then memorize hormones. If the institution is lucky, maybe a blood sugar lab or a salivary cortisol could be performed. Even in that case, however, the focus is put on only one hormone out of many in the body. To address this problem, I created this escape room lab activity, with the following student learning objectives:
- Identify major organs of the endocrine system on models and diagrams
- Describe the hormones produced by each gland within the system.
- Diagram a feedback loop of the endocrine system.
- Given specific case studies, explain which hormones might be at issue in each, and why the hormones have the effects that they do.
- Uncover and explain five foundational concepts about the endocrine system before leaving the room.
This workshop will focus on the process of creating and implementing an escape room lab activity on the endocrine system. After attending this workshop, participants will
- Have hands-on experience with at least one existing station
- See how the lab flows and how the escape room is completed
- Have time for questions
- If time allows, a discussion of other station activities and problem solving for individual circumstances can occur.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; High School, Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior), Upper (Senior – Grad Student)
From water to land: Building an evolutionary timeline with vertebrate fossils
Kimberly M. Kellett, PhD (Perimeter College at Georgia State University)
In this short (25 minute), paper-based activity, students act as evolutionary paleontologists to reconstruct the transition of vertebrate life in water to life on land and determine patterns in skeletons and other features that occurred during this transition. This low-cost activity was designed as an active learning approach to the learning objective “explain how transitional fossils show evidence of the evolution of vertebrates from life in the water to life on land.” It can be used at the beginning of a lab focused on fossils, vertebrate evolution, comparative vertebrate anatomy, or similar topic and takes about 20-25 minutes of in-class time. In this workshop participants will act as students to complete the full activity and discuss ways to use a similar approach to teach other important evolutionary transitions. While the activity was designed for non-majors students enrolled in biology or life science courses, it could be modified to use for majors students as well. It can also be modified for use in online labs or as an at-home pre-lab assignment.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman)
An active-learning activity to teach micropipetting
Megan Cole (Emory University)
We will do a POGIL (Process-oriented guided-inquiry learning) activity that introduces students to micropipetting. This activity scaffolds students in exploring micropipettes and being able to use them properly. Students use active learning to learn how to pipette rather than passively listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration. The activity can be completed in approximately 30 minutes. During this workshop participants will first learn about the POGIL format and then will explore its use in labs by completing the micropipetting POGIL. We will debrief at the end to discuss adopting the activity for partcipants’ classroom as well as use of POGILs to teach other lab skills.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior)
Guess and draw that concept! “Telephone” like review game for Biology
Joanna Vondrasek (Piedmont Virginia Community College)
Instructors looking for fun ways to review, reinforce course concepts, and cultivate class camaraderie can employ many different types of games. Some of these games take a substantial amount of set-up for each iteration, which can be a barrier to implementation. In this workshop I will demonstrate a hands-on review activity based on the party game Telestrations ® in which participants receive a word/term that they draw and pass on to the next participant, who tries to guess the word based only on the drawing, and then passes to the next person, ending up with a “telephone” like chain of images and guesses. Ultimately the drawings and guesses return to the origin, and the initial word is revealed, along with the iterations. Often, hilarity ensues. I have successfully used this game as a review of concepts in both introductory biology and in a second-year genetics course. Students enjoy the game, as it promotes a relaxed, fun, classroom environment while also requiring students to think about how to illustrate sometimes complex concepts. I will present options using the commercially available materials that come with the game including small dry-erase drawing tablets, but will also demonstrate how to conduct the game just using paper. This game can be widely adapted for most concept- or term- based courses.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior), Upper (Senior – Grad Student)
Going Beyond If/Then: A Method to Teach Students to Write Testable Research Hypotheses
Hans Lemke and Michael Keller (University of Maryland)
There are many ways to define hypothesis: from “an educated guess” to “an idea we can test.” Students enter introductory biology lab courses with a wide variety of experiences crafting hypotheses. Our goal is to teach our students a method to write a clear, testable research hypothesis. In this workshop participants will practice a method to teach students how to write a testable research hypothesis based on four simple criteria. We will begin with a discussion of hypotheses in general and then provide background material and an explanation of our criteria. Based on these, participants will work through an in-lab activity that guides students through evaluating and correcting hypotheses and then creating original hypotheses based on a research scenario. We will conclude with a discussion of how this exercise fits into our overall learning goals.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman)
Exploring Natural Selection Pressures in Wild Goldenrod Gall Fly Populations
Sarah Staffiere (Colby College)
During the summer in the northeastern United States, fields and roadsides are often covered with goldenrod (Solidago spp) wildflowers. Many have conspicuous bulges about half-way up the stems. These round growths, called a gall, are produced by the larvae of the goldenrod gall fly, Eurosta solidaginis. The gall provides food for the larva and protection from the weather and predators while it matures from larva to adult. This relationship between goldenrod plants and gall flies does not take place in a vacuum and various predators of the gall fly are known to interfere with the life cycle by entering the gall chamber and consuming or parasitizing the fly Survival probability of the gall fly has been shown in studies to depend on gall size since gall flies’ vulnerability to different predators is often dependent on the physical size (diameter) of the gall produced (Abrahamson et al 1989).
This workshop will mimic the student experience where participants will be provided a basic overview of natural history and predators of goldenrod galls flies as well as opportunity to dissect and identify fate and predator of gall flies based on gall contents. This will be followed by discussion of different approaches to using this data in a lab activity including possible research questions as well as analysis approaches. Graphics and statistics summarizing patterns in data collected in Maine over the last eight years by students will available to work with as participants will explore how predator preference for galls of certain sizes is exerting selection pressure on the populations and thus possibly shaping future gall fly populations.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior)
Roll for Alleles: A Game Modeling Population Genetics and Beyond
Sarah Manka (Dickinson State University)
During this workshop, participants will get hands-on experience building and playing a game to model population genetics concepts using a self-designed habitat game board, dice, and beans representing alleles. Gamification has become increasingly popular to increase active learning techniques in the biology lab setting. This game of gene beans illustrates to students how alleles move through different populations within a landscape. Challenges such as genetic bottleneck, founder effect, and natural disasters lie in wait on the d100 table. These challenges threaten to eliminate alleles if students structure starting populations poorly, if habitats lack connectivity, or if the dice decide to choose chaos.
The hands-on activity starts with participants designing landscapes with various habitats in which to house their beans, representing different alleles. In lab, students use tabletop whiteboards so they may edit their game board after 10 generations, potentially increasing their chances of maintaining a genetically diverse landscape. Workshop participants will place beans on their boards in groups of populations and roll a set of d100 dice. Each roll corresponds to an event occurring that generation. As populations fluctuate with each event, participants will record values such as population count, allelic frequencies, and species size. Participants are encouraged to share & compare thoughts throughout the exercise.
We will then investigate how this system may be modified for use in other models, such as in environmental economics or ecology courses. The workshop finishes with a discussion sharing how gamification has worked in other biology lab settings. The main goals of this ABLE workshop are to (1) demonstrate gamification opportunities for a population genetics lab, (2) present modifications to this game for other subjects that balance decision-making and stochasticity, and (3) cultivate discussion of other gamification opportunities in biology lab settings.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman), Intermediate (Sophomore – Junior)
SimBio tutorials as an active, affordable alternative to a traditional intro bio textbook
Eli Meir (SimBiotic Software, a Sponsored Mini Workshop)
SimBio is releasing a new web-based Active Learning System for use both in labs and homework. The new system was designed keeping in mind the growing number of faculty using SimBio tutorials in place of a traditional textbook in introductory biology and in ecology classes. SimBio’s tools use simulations and other interactives, together with questions, feedback, animations, and videos, to help students learn difficult concepts in biology through their own discovery and exploration. These tools are often used as a conceptually-focused complement to wet labs, and as a way of having students come to lecture prepared to engage with the ideas being discussed.
Please join SimBio’s Director of Research to explore an inquiry-driven alternative that puts lab-like learning into your pre-lecture “readings”. We will briefly overview the SimBio platform and the tutorials that faculty use as homework. Participants will then choose whether to run through the new Photosynthesis Explored tutorial, or its companion Cellular Respiration Explored. Both use simulations of energy storage, electron transport chains, and other portions of those processes to help students discover how energy is captured, stored and released by cells. We’ll also briefly present research data on student learning with Cellular Respiration Explored.
Workshop participants choosing to try one or both of those tutorials in class during the 2026/27 school year will receive a one term discount on all tutorials they haven’t previously used to facilitate getting student feedback. Please bring a laptop if you have one, your syllabus, and a readiness to play with fun interactive biology learning tools.
Intended for: Biology Majors & Non-Majors; Introductory (Freshman)