Team-based learning (TBL) is a research-based instructional practice (RBIP) shown to increase students’ content knowledge, class engagement, motivation, and science self-efficacy. After several years of using TBL in an upper-division biochemistry course and noting the same positive effects, we were hesitant to abandon TBL when forced to consider options for teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was little published research to inform efforts to adapt TBL for online instruction. But, by carefully considering the critical components of TBL it was possible to anticipate the potential challenges an online environment would present. In this paper, we describe how we created an online facsimile of the in-person TBL experience by prioritizing student–student and student–instructor interactions and present student performance data that suggest that learning outcomes were similar in both the online and face-to-face course offerings. Finally, we contribute to the TBL literature by reporting our challenges (e.g., keeping groups on similar pace) in implementing TBL in the online space and our efforts to minimize these obstacles (e.g., rotating through breakout groups, broadcasting messages). This work provides guidance for anyone considering online use of TBL, particularly instructors who might be concerned about pacing of activities or promoting positive team dynamics, or researchers who plan to systematically study the efficacy of TBL in the online environment. More broadly, this report supports the call for instructors and researchers to collectively consider how RBIPs can be adapted and leveraged to design more robust, effective online instruction.

In this Perspective, we contribute to the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education special issue “Opportunities and Challenges of Online Instruction—Blurring the Lines Between Online and On-Site Teaching and Learning” by introducing a framework to guide instructors in transitioning from on-site to online instruction. The discipline-based education research community has produced a significant literature base demonstrating the effectiveness of various research-based instructional practices (RBIPs) that support student learning in face-to-face environments.

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The ability to interpret and create an argument from data is a crucial skill for budding scientists, yet one that is seldom practiced in introductory courses. During this argumentation module, students in a large lecture class will work in groups to understand how a single mutation can lead to an obvious phenotypic change among tomatoes. Before the module begins, students are provided with background information on mutations and techniques to give them a starting point to explain what they will see in the data. In class, students will use data from the primary literature to understand the relationship between single amino acid mutations and phenotypic variation within the context of a "big question" about garden tomatoes that ripen without turning red. Over two days, small groups will negotiate data, create and evaluate hypotheses, and consolidate their understanding through clicker questions and writing tasks. Together, they will craft an argument for how mutations can lead to phenotypic changes, even if they do not lead to disease like in many common examples. Through this activity, the instructor and students work together to understand an engaging and relevant example of the central dogma. During our implementation of this activity, we observed high engagement with the in-class and out-of-class aspects of the argumentation activities to explain how a single mutation could result in a visible change to the flesh of a tomato.

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