Do people think about genetic inheritance as a deterministic or probabilistic process? Do adults display systematic biases when reasoning about genetic inheritance? Knowing how adults think about genetic inheritance is valuable, both for understanding the developmental endpoint of these concepts and for identifying biases that persist even after…

Although unrecognized for his scientific achievements during his life, Gregor Mendel pioneered our modern understanding of the gene, work that shaped the field of genetics and advances in biology and medicine. The field that he set in motion 200 years ago lies at the center of current ethical debates about the future of humanity, the limits of…

Unlike in other countries, heredity and genetics appear first in Spanish science standards in secondary levels. However, some researchers have suggested the need of progressively introducing some basic genetic ideas already from primary education levels. In this context of no formal instruction in early stages, the objectives of our work were to…

There is an emphasis on survival-based selection in biology education that can allow students to neglect other important evolutionary components, such as sexual selection, reproduction, and inheritance. Student understanding of the role of reproduction in evolution is as important as student understanding of the role of survival. Limiting…

Case studies are valuable tools for instruction but are often limited to a single topic and a single class period. Courses such as evolution that synthesize multiple concepts around a common theme, however, can use a single case study type project that extends over the entire semester to develop and link core concepts. A central theme in…

Physical and life science disciplines emphasize how basic structural units influence function, yet it is challenging for students to understand structure-function relationships, particularly at molecular scales. Undergraduates in our biology capstone course struggled to connect mutations in a gene encoding a key protein in a cell development…

Lewis M. Terman's "Genetic Studies of Genius" stands as one of the landmark studies of the 20th century in the educational and psychological sciences. This longitudinal study of individuals in the top 1% of general cognitive ability has sparked interest and debate among scholars for nearly 100 years. In this study, we examine how…

This paper reviews the rapidly developing field of epigenetics, providing an accessible explanation of the key ideas and some illustrative examples of work in the field. Although very much a biological discipline the implications of the developing knowledge in this area are very significant for educational psychologists and this paper aims to…

This is an account of the three-centuries long journey to the discovery of the link between DNA and the transformation principle of heredity beginning with the discovery of the cell in 1665 and leading up to the 1953 discovery of the genetic code and the structure of DNA. This account also illustrates the way science works and how scientists do…

This collective case study uses a design-based research approach to investigate the role of 3D pens, an emerging technology, in fostering creativity during a lesson on biomes, genetics, and heredity with learners in six classes of 4th and 5th grade students from rural Michigan and Idaho. Data analyzed included video of the classroom lessons,…

Are you interested in using argument-driven inquiry (ADI) for elementary instruction but just aren't sure how to do it? You aren't alone. "Argument-Driven Inquiry in Third-Grade Science" will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to start using this method right away. The book is a one-stop source of…

The concept of intergenerational trauma acknowledges the potential of exposure to adverse events to carry on from trauma survivors to their offspring through biological, psychological, and social pathways. In this article, the authors offer an overview of intergenerational trauma and posttraumatic growth. They offer recommendations for schools…

Based on the responses of our sample (N = 310) of adolescents and young adults from Slovenia (students of secondary and tertiary schools, university students) to a number of tasks covering reproduction, from the molecular to organismal levels, it can be concluded that their knowledge is seriously flawed. Correlations of knowledge between…

Science education strives to increase interest in science and facilitate active citizenship. Thus, the aspects of personal and societal relevance are increasingly emphasised in science curricula. Still, little is known about how teachers choose content for their teaching, although their choices translate curricula to teaching practice. We explored…

After the rediscovery of Mendel's laws of heredity in 1900, the biologists who began studying heredity, variation, and evolution using the new Mendelian methodology--performing controlled hybrid crosses and statistically analyzing progeny to note the factorial basis of characters--made great progress. By 1910, the validity of Mendelism was…