Hands-on immunology: Engaging learners of all ages through tactile teaching tools.

Ensuring the public has a fundamental understanding of human-microbe interactions, immune responses, and vaccines is a critical challenge in the midst of a pandemic. These topics are commonly taught in undergraduate- and graduate-level microbiology and immunology courses; however, creating engaging methods of teaching these complex concepts to students of all ages is necessary to keep younger students interested when science seems hard. Building on the Tactile Teaching Tools with Guided Inquiry Learning (TTT-GIL) method we used to create an interactive operon molecular puzzle, we report here two TTT-GIL activities designed to engage diverse learners from middle schoolers to masters students in exploring molecular interactions within the immune system.

Sugar-seeking insects as a source of diverse bread-making yeasts with enhanced attributes.

Insects represent a particularly interesting habitat in which to search for novel yeasts of value to industry. Insect-associated yeasts have the potential to have traits relevant to modern food and beverage production due to insect-yeast interactions, with such traits including diverse carbohydrate metabolisms, high sugar tolerance, and general stress tolerance. Here, we consider the potential value of insect-associated yeasts in the specific context of baking.

Using Metabolic Engineering to Connect Molecular Biology Techniques to Societal Challenges.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a topic of broad interest and are discussed in classes ranging from introductory biology to bioethics to more advanced methods-focused molecular biology courses. In most cases, GMOs are discussed in the context of introducing a single protein-coding gene to produce a single desired trait in a crop. For example, a commercially available kit allows students to test whether food products contain GMOs by detecting the delta-endotoxin gene, which confers resistance to European corn borers.

Building the lac Operon: A Guided-Inquiry Activity Using 3D-Printed Models.

Undergraduate biology courses rely heavily on visual representation of information. Students view images of plants, animals, and microbes, interpret data presented in graphs, and use drawings to understand how cells and molecules interact in three dimensions. Traditional teaching approaches exclude students with visual impairments and disadvantage students with disabilities that affect their interpretation and processing of visual and spatial information, and also students who simply do not identify as "visual learners.

STEM BUILD: An Online Community To Decrease Barriers to Implementation of Inclusive Tactile Teaching Tools.

Access to 3D printing and other "maker" technologies has opened new doors for the creation of classroom activities using physical models. Multiple strategies for implementing 3D-printed models exist, and work to define best practices is ongoing. We outline the strengths and weaknesses of common strategies for employing physical models in undergraduate biology courses and describe a novel strategy that we have developed to pair 3D-printed models with guided inquiry learning to create inclusive and interactive learning experiences.