Molecular biology topics tend to be abstract and hard to visualize, and consequently pupils form many misconceptions about genetics and molecular biology. We describe how to make a hands-on educational set that provides visual and tactile modeling of DNA replication, transcription, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and random mutations so that students can examine these processes in detail. The set is inexpensive and easy to make, has been used successfully, and allows for modification to fit individual teachers' needs.

Active-learning approaches can improve understanding of core biological concepts. We describe a revised hands-on simulation for teaching evolution by natural selection, which focuses on prey–predator coevolution in escape/pursuit speed. It illustrates how selection pressure on individual speed increases average population speed through differential survival, while also reducing variation in speed among individuals. A simulated beneficial mutation helps differentiate the generation of individual traits from the process of natural selection and illustrates the effects of a beneficial mutation on immediate and subsequent generations. Overall, this exercise addresses several common misconceptions and allows students to collect and assess their own data, quantitatively. We report results from pre- and post-assessments in an introductory, undergraduate biology class, which indicate significantly improved understanding associated with the simulation.

“Investigating the Exposome: Vinyl Chloride Exposure, DNA Damage & Repair” is a data interpretation and graphing activity that provides students a relevant context in which to explore and refine what they know about DNA structure and function, mutation, DNA repair, and cancer formation. The activity utilizes published scientific data and invites students to assess the impact of exposure to vinyl chloride on DNA in an effort to introduce them to the concept of the exposome and engage them in this exciting field of scientific research.

Traditional transcription-translation exercises are instructionally incomplete by failing to link prescriptive genetic information with protein structure and function. The T3 Method solves this problem by adding a conceptually powerful yet easily learned third step where students use simple protein folding codes to transform their translations into corresponding protein structural models. This brings structural sense to sequence and makes the information-to-proteins connection that is so profoundly important to understand in biology more directly evident, experiential, and intrinsically meaningful. The T3 Method has further utility, proving versatile and adaptive to a wide range of academic levels and learning contexts, with possibilities for differentiated instruction, application, and extension.

Evolutionary theory is critical for a comprehensive understanding of biology, yet students often fail to grasp its underlying principles. This results partially from ineffective teaching; however, the use of interactive activities could alleviate this problem. In this guided investigation of evolutionary mechanisms, students use LEGO bricks to simulate how mutation, migration, genetic drift, and natural selection can affect the evolution of a population. This exercise was undertaken and assessed with college introductory biology students, but is also appropriate for advanced high school students.

Microbial cultures swiftly adapt to lethal agents such as antibiotics or viruses by acquiring resistance mutations. Does this remarkable adaptability require a Lamarckian explanation, whereby the agent specifically directs resistance mutations? Soon after the question arose, Luria and Delbrück devised a clever experiment, the fluctuation test, that answered this question in the negative: microbial adaptation, they showed, is entirely consistent with a Darwinian explanation. Their 1943 article is a classic of biology literature, with practical and theoretical implications that continue to expand today. Implementing an updated fluctuation test in a college teaching lab provides a simple experimental setting in which beginning students learn to apply basic principles of evolutionary biology and scientific reasoning, while gaining hands-on experience in core technical advances of contemporary life science.

The molecular basis of evolution is an important and challenging concept for students to understand. In a previous article, we provided some of the scientific background necessary to teach this topic. This article features a series of laboratory activities demonstrating that molecular events can alter the genomes of organisms. These activities are most appropriate for undergraduate students in Honors Biology, Genetics, or Molecular Biology courses. Student laboratory instructions are included to allow students to conduct the activities, make observations, interpret the results, and draw conclusions.

The molecular basis of evolution is an important concept to understand but one that students and teachers often find challenging. This article provides training and guidance for teachers on how to present molecular evolution concepts so that students will associate molecular changes with the evolution of form and function in organisms. Included are examples that illustrate how mutation followed by selection causes populations to evolve. Next month we will share lab activities that illustrate the concepts and reinforce the complementary roles of mutation and selection in the overall process of evolution.

New science standards and reform recommendations spanning grades K–16 focus on a limited set of key scientific concepts from each discipline that all students should know. They also emphasize the integration of these concepts with science practices so that students learn not only the “what” of science but also the “how” and “why.” In line with this approach, we present an exercise that models the integration of fundamental evolutionary concepts with science practices. Students use Avida-ED digital evolution software to test claims from a study on mutated butterflies in the vicinity of the compromised Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex subsequent to the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. This exercise is appropriate for use in both high school and undergraduate biology classrooms.

Evolutionary theory is the foundation of the biological sciences, yet conveying it to General Biology students often presents a challenge, especially at larger institutions where student numbers in foundation courses can exceed several hundred per lecture section. We present a pedagogically sound exercise that utilizes a series of simple and inexpensive simulations to convey the concept of evolution through mutation and natural selection. Questions after each simulation expand student comprehension; a class discussion encourages advanced thinking on mutation and speciation. A final paper requires students to synthesize their learning by summarizing selected papers on these topics. A grading rubric for the papers is included.

To learn why natural selection acts only on existing variation, students categorize processes as either creative or sorting. This activity helps students confront the misconception that adaptations evolve because species need them.

Sunlight is required for vital biological processes. However, solar ultraviolet radiation can have a detrimental impact on living organisms, by acting as a natural mutagenic agent. With this activity, intended for middle school and high school, we propose a simple hands-on experiment to investigate the bactericidal effect of sunlight. The activity provides appealing visual results and opportunities for extension of inquiry. Procedural instructions, discussion topics, and assessment suggestions are detailed.

The Y chromosome is of great interest to students and can be used to teach about many important biological concepts in addition to sex determination. This paper discusses mutation, recombination, mammalian sex determination, sex determination in general, and the evolution of sex determination in mammals. It includes a student activity that illustrates how sex is determined in people.