AN ACTIVE LEARNING PROJECT FOR TEACHING BIOINFORMATICS, PHYLOGENETICS, AND PARASITOLOGY

This article describes an active learning project designed for implementation in general biology, ecology, evolution, and parasitology courses. It involves individual or group-based tasks in which students role-play as various types of biologists to solve real-world parasitology problems through molecular data analysis. Specifically, students are provided with a scenario and a molecular data set to analyze, which involves performing bioinformatic tasks to construct a phylogenetic tree. Students use MEGA software to explore, create, and illustrate a phylogenetic analysis of parasites with GenBank sequences. The resulting phylogenetic tree helps identify an "unknown" taxon and provides the evidence required to address the scenario and answer the posed question. By fostering a deeper understanding of evolutionary processes and bioinformatics tools, this project not only enhances students' knowledge of parasitology but also prepares them to tackle complex, interdisciplinary challenges in global health, biodiversity conservation, and beyond, shaping the next generation of scientists capable of addressing the urgent issues facing our world.