ERIC Number: EJ1459211
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-7685
EISSN: EISSN-1938-4211
Available Date: N/A
The Importance of Sharing Current Scientific Information with Biology Teachers in Weekly Newsletters
Merav Siani; Ohad Levkovich; Roee Ben Nissan; Awni Gabara; Moshera Alatawna; Anat Yarden
American Biology Teacher, v87 n1 p20-25 2025
High-school teachers and students do not usually have access to scientific research advances because original research papers contain many highly specialized words that are specific to the discipline. Scientific newsletters (SNs) summarize current scientific research advances and trends. During the 2022-2023 school year, 21 SNs teaching biology content were written by a team of science-education and biology specialists working at the National Center for High-School Biology Teachers in Israel, according to the following criteria: (a) the SNs were based on primary research papers published in international well-known scientific journals such as "Nature, Cell or Science"; (b) the biological content was related, albeit not necessarily directly, to the Israeli high-school biology curriculum; (c) some of the SNs were related to biological events that occurred during the week in which the SN was distributed, such as World Diabetes Day. The SNs were written in Hebrew, translated to Arabic, and sent weekly via WhatsApp to 901 high-school biology teachers. After sending 10 SNs, an anonymous questionnaire was sent to the teachers to understand their use of the SNs and identify topics to which teachers would like us to relate in the next SNs. Forty-nine teachers answered the questionnaire, revealing that according to their open-ended answers, some of the teachers valued the importance of receiving SNs teaching biology topics as a way to enrich their own biological knowledge, and to engage their students with meaningful scientific research and with the real-world work of scientists. Further research is needed to analyze the impact of the SNs on teachers' professional development.
Descriptors: Biology, Science Teachers, Newsletters, Information Dissemination, High School Teachers, Secondary School Science, Scientific Research, Foreign Countries
University of California Press. 2000 Center Street Suite 303, Berkeley, CA 94704. Tel: 510-643-7154; Fax: 510-642-9917; e-mail: customerservice@ucpressjournals.com; Web site: http://www.ucpressjournals.com/journal.php?j=abt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A