Students come to science class with many ideas of how the natural world works, some of which do not match the consensus of the scientific community and can lead to misunderstandings. Because a growing body of educational research indicates that these misconceptions can serve as resources for learning, we developed a four-point plan to leverage knowledge of common misconceptions to improve classroom teaching by refining instructional focus, providing opportunities for reflective practice, applying evidence-based practices, and promoting exploration of learning theories. By sharing this plan with our teaching colleagues, we were able to foster a collaborative approach to our and others’ practice. To do this, we compiled a resource bank of common student misconceptions using data collected from the University of Toronto’s National Biology Competition, developed a guide for using this misconception resource bank to promote best teaching practices, then shared this plan with our teaching colleagues in order to foster a collaborative approach to our pedagogy. In this article, we present the resource bank and guide and provide teaching tips that can be applied to a wide array of scientific course types and educational levels.

Fake news and alternative science are increasingly popular topics of conversation in the public sphere and the classroom due to increasingly far-reaching social media and a shifting political climate. Promoting scientific literacy by providing opportunities for students to evaluate reports of contentious scientific issues and analyze the underlying factors that influence public perception of science is necessary for the development of an informed citizenry. This article describes a three-part learning activity useful for engaging biology students in evaluating the accuracy of science-related news reports, and reflecting upon the ways that social cues, religion, and political ideologies shape perception of science. These activities are appropriate for teaching about climate change, evolution, vaccines, and other important contemporary scientific issues in upper-level high school and undergraduate science courses.

This lesson presents an interrupted case study based on the true story of the 2002 murder of Christa Worthington in Massachusetts. The case was developed for use in an undergraduate non-majors life science course, but would also be appropriate for a high school biology course or a forensic science course. During this lesson, students examine a crime scene diagram and discuss evidence collection. Students then conduct a hands-on activity extracting DNA from wheat germ to simulate how DNA would be isolated from crime scene samples. Lastly the students will analyze simulated DNA profiles produced using STRs, polymerase chain reaction, and gel electrophoresis to help match a crime scene sample to one of five suspects. The pros and cons surrounding the use of a DNA dragnet are also discussed.