Big ideas in science education are meant to be interpretive frameworks that empower student learning. Unfortunately, outside of the broad conception of scientific evaluation, there are few theoretical explanations of how this might happen. Therefore, we contribute one such explanation, an instructional concept called integrative analysis wherein…

This research investigated how collaborative e-learning strategies affected the understanding of DNA Replication among the 9th-grade Biology CC class. The study involved 24 diverse students (ages 15-17), including regular education students, English Language Learners (ELLs), and students with IEPs selected through proportional stratified random…

This article presents an authentic writing opportunity to help ninth-grade students use the writing process in a science classroom to write and illustrate picture books for fourth-grade students to demonstrate and share their understanding of a biology unit on cells. By creating a picture book, students experience the writing process, understand…

Empirical investigations on students' conceptions of cell biology indicate major misunderstandings of scientific concepts even after thorough teaching. Therefore, the main aim of our research project was to investigate students' difficulties in learning this topic and to study the impact of learning activities on students' conceptions. Using the…