Introductory biology courses form a cornerstone of undergraduate instruction. However, the predominantly used lecture approach fails to produce higher-order biology learning. Research shows that active learning strategies can increase student learning, yet few biology instructors use all identified active learning strategies. In this paper, we present a framework to design biology instruction that incorporates all active learning strategies. We review active learning research in undergraduate biology courses, present a framework for organizing active learning strategies, and provide clear implications and future research for designing instruction in introductory undergraduate biology courses.

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Late transition metal oxo and imide complexes play an important role in the catalytic functionalization and activation of small molecules. An emerging theme in this area over the past few decades has been the use of lower-coordination numbers, and pseudo-tetrahedral geometries in particular, to stabilize what would otherwise be highly reactive species. However, the bonding structure in d⁶ oxo and imide complexes in this geometry is ambiguous. These species are typically depicted with a triple bond, however recent experimental evidence suggests significant empirical differences between these complexes and other triply bonded complexes with lower d-counts. Here we use a suite of computational orbital localization methods and electron density analyses to probe the bonding structure of isoelectronic d⁶ Co(III) oxo and imide complexes. These analyses suggest that a triple bond description is inaccurate due to a dramatically weakened σ interaction. While the exact bond order in these cases is necessarily dependent on the model used, several metrics suggest that the strength of the metal–O/N bond is most similar to other formally doubly bonded complexes.

Merrill proposes First Principles of Instruction, including a problem-or task-centered strategy for designing instruction. However, when the tasks or problems are ill-defined or complex, task-centered instruction can be difficult to design. We describe an online task-centered training at a land-grant university designed to train employees to use Banner, an administrative suite supporting student, financial aid, finance, HR, and advancement systems. Our training solution, housed in Blackboard Vista, includes desktop capturing application screencasts, interactive HTML, and Flash. We present several obstacles in designing and developing the training, including (1) implementing effective technology solutions, (2) identifying, analyzing, and documenting real-world tasks, and (3) creating a systematic process for design. We describe our solutions and prescribe methods for designing a course with a task-centered instructional strategy.