This mixed-methods research study aimed to observe the changes in relational conceptual changes and achievement in photosynthesis and cellular respiration in 15 seventh-grade students using the variation theory of learning, a framework for contextual distinctions, and supports the Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM) for science education.…

There is a collective agreement about the necessity of content knowledge (CK) as a prerequisite for pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). However, most PCK models lack explanatory power because of the missing link between CK and PCK. Thus, the study firstly attempts to develop a theoretical model that consists of knowledge of students' learning…

This educational study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptance of a literacy exercise adopted from the real world of scientific publishing in a cell and tissue biology course. For that purpose, a tertiary-level multimodality science course, which integrated a blended learning faculty and student lectures, journal club, and wet laboratory…

Research into the efficacy of modules featuring dynamic visualizations, case studies, and interactive learning environments is reported here. This quasi-experimental 2-year study examined the implementation of three interactive computer-based instructional modules within a curricular unit covering cellular biology concepts in an introductory high…

In our explorations of students' concepts in an inquiry science classroom with grade 6 students from urban schools in India, we uncovered a variety of problems in their understanding of biological cells as structural and functional units of living organisms. In particular, we found not only that they visualised the cell as a two-dimensional (2-D)…

This article describes the substance, structure, and rationale of a learning progression in genetics spanning kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12). The learning progression is designed to build a foundation towards understanding protein structure and activity and should be viewed as one possible pathway to understanding concepts of genetics…

This study investigates Swedish biology teachers' inclusion of proteins when teaching genetics in grade nine (students 15-16 years old). For some years, there has been a call to give attention to proteins when teaching genetics as a means of linking the concepts "gene" and "trait". Students are known to have problems with this…

Discusses the process of the construction of entities following a social semiotic approach that enables the use of new analytical tools and describes the rhetoric used in construction. Based on an analysis of the historical formation of the notion of cells by scientists, and analysis of a lesson on the microscopic observation of onion cells.…