We introduce the "Whitehead complex", a one-complex associated to a finite regular cover of the rose and show that it is connected if and only if the fundamental group of the associated cover is generated by its intersection with the set of elements in proper free factors of the fundamental group of the rose. The Whitehead complex admits…

Studies of both professional science practice and children's science learning show that care is not merely ancillary to disciplinary work but a core and generative constituent of science practice. In science education research, however, students' care is often overlooked. In this paper, we describe the expression of care across two STEM classrooms…

Wetlands ecosystems play an important role and are relevant to biotic and abiotic factors including survival of humans. Therefore, it is imperative that learners in Lesotho become sensitized to the knowledge about the ecology of wetland ecosystems. Few studies investigated Lesotho students' ecological literacy of wetlands hence this study explored…

Undergraduate biology educators strive to understand how to best teach students the concepts of climate change. The root of this understanding is the establishment of what students know about climate change. This research aims to describe undergraduate biology students' conceptions of climate change and their argument practices and associated…

In addressing contemporary socio-ecological challenges it is imperative to engage individuals with the moral dilemmas in the human-nature context. A socioscientific-issues (SSI) approach to secondary biology education can contribute to engaging students in moral dilemmas and reflecting on their values. Following a design research methodology, we…

The threat of climate change makes it increasingly important for biologists and the public to understand how organisms respond to temperature. The Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE) predicts that temperature should affect organism performance, with implications for species interactions and ecosystems that span disciplines including mathematics,…

We present a drawing discovery lab that crosscuts multiple disciplines in biology and links concepts in genetics and evolutionary thinking to enhance understanding of the genotype-to-phenotype transformation. These combined concepts are also linked to ecological frameworks in nature through the model of biological plasticity. Students and teachers…

Plant identification is a skill that takes years to hone and develop, yet it is important in understanding diversity in biology while in school. This is highlighted when studying ecological succession in A-level biology where students are often unable to notice the different species, which leads to the production of poor-quality data, potentially…

Student understanding of climate change is an active and growing area of research, but little research has documented undergraduate students' knowledge about the biotic impacts of climate change. Here, we address this literature gap by presenting the Inventory of Biotic Climate Literacy (IBCL), a concept inventory developed to assess undergraduate…

Students in environmental sciences, ecology, or wildlife management are often reluctant to acquire training in basic laboratory techniques. To advocate the importance of this training, we reviewed literature in the fields of biological and environmental science for one frequently used technique--centrifugation--and evaluated whether centrifugation…

Considering both the ecological niches of fungi and the different benefits they provide to humans, it is expected that students have a high level of scientific knowledge about living things in this kingdom. In the study, it was aimed to examine the learning of secondary school students about living things in the fungi kingdom. The research, which…

The strategy of outdoor learning can be combined with various models and methods. The discovery learning model is one approach that can be integrated with outdoor learning and can be utilized in biology education. The purpose of this study is to ascertain how the outdoor-based Discovery Learning methodology affects Class X pupils' ability to think…

Postsecondary science faculty face challenges in balancing the engagement of undergraduates and concomitantly ensuring they gain and retain knowledge, either in standard lectures or labs as well as in outdoor activities. Designing on-campus trails with interpretive signs may provide a unique avenue to inform students across majors of local…

This study examined the effects of concept maps on Senior School students' achievement in ecology in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Quasi-experimental design was employed. The population for the study was all SSII Biology students in Ogbomoso South. Four intact classes of 267 students (115 males and 152 females) were sampled. The instrument was Biology…

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) is one of the skills needed for 21st century challenges, especially for students. The aim of this study was to describe HOTS in students, especially the cognitive domain of analyzing and evaluating. This is a descriptive quantitative study employing a Pretest-Posttest One Group research design. The experiment…