The importance of teaching the Luria-Delbrück experiment to biology students is increasingly recognized by educators, and improved pedagogical methods for teaching the classic experiment have been proposed and tested in the classroom. However, there are still obstacles that impede the proper teaching of the classic experiment. This note proposes…

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,…

The study was focused to explore the use of virtual world of computer in Biology experiments to foster the students' problem-solving skills (PSS). The study was made on explanatory sequential mixed method design which included quantitative (true-experimental) approach was followed by qualitative (interview protocol) method. Population of the study…

Owing to the global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), education has shifted to distance online learning, whereas some face-to-face courses have been resumed with the improvement of the outbreak prevention and management situation, including a laboratory course for senior undergraduate students in chemical biology. Here, we present…

Providing hands-on practical education without access to laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic has required creativity and innovation. In this paper, co-authored by academic staff and students, we describe an at-home mobile phone-based 'spectrophotometer' experiment used in an introductory undergraduate biology course. Using colour picker…

A number of scholars have shown the prevalence of multiple metaphors in biological conceptions of the living cell. However, there is little research into unpacking these metaphors to understand their ideological implications for scientific knowledge and science education. In this paper, I perform a critical discourse analysis of the representation…

Scientific inquiry is an inquiry-based learning approach that emphasizes student investigation of research questions and the utilization of scientific methods to address those research questions. One such method is experimentation, which is viewed as an open-ended problem-solving process that is mostly perceived by students as a complex procedure.…

While metabolism is a fundamental process in physiology, the measurement of metabolism by living animals often requires specialized and expensive equipment. In 2016, I developed a novel laboratory exercise for animal physiology students where students were able to observe the effects of temperature and long-term temperature acclimation on the…

We used a novel approach that combined direct PCR of plant tissue and SRAP DNA fingerprinting to seek to identify the crosses made in "Brassica rapa" used in the Wisconsin Fast Plants. Our goal was to develop a rapid method for students to use in a biology, botany, or genetics class to identify the parental types (purple stem, non-purple…

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for practical teaching within the sciences. While many instructors adopted innovative alternatives to conventional practicals, many relied on digital approaches that did not give students hands-on experience. In this study we evaluate the use of 'at home' practical kits used in first year physics…

Most undergraduate students do not have practical experience working with model organisms despite having theoretical knowledge of their importance. This practical was developed to offer students experience working with three species of nematode, including "Caenorhabditis elegans." In the first task, students prepare slides of three…

When teaching STEM courses, it is important to introduce state-of-the-art techniques. Students need to learn how to conduct experiments, analyse data and choose the most effective approaches to address meaningful situations. Here we present the assessment of the implementation of a structured inquiry-based activity aimed at teaching students about…

The contamination of wastewater with metals and the use of biotechnologies to remove them is commonly discussed in theoretical biology, microbiology and biotechnology classes aimed at undergraduate students. This work introduces an easy, economical and safe practical laboratory class related to this topic. The practice consists in performing batch…

This study examines the epistemic disciplinary knowledge that students consider when addressing a real food emergency that requires their engagement in inquiry and argumentation practices. The study comprised two phases: (1) designing an experiment to study the emergency and (2) evaluating the real outcome of the emergency. The participants were…

Active learning pedagogies offer opportunities to increase student engagement and interest in plants. The Mystery Plant Project is a hands-on, semester-long active learning pedagogy I developed for an introductory, undergraduate Plant Biology course. Students investigate various aspects of their mystery plant species using observations, and…