A unit designed to cover the topic of genetic engineering and its ethical considerations is presented. Students are expected to learn the material while using a debate format. A list of objectives for the unit, the debate format, and the results from an opinion questionnaire are described. (KR)

The author developed three instruments which operationally defined certain probability concepts and combinatorial abilities and subsequently used the instruments to classify the 90 subjects of the study according to their conceptual strategies or ability levels. The subjects were high school biology students from one school; all were taught by the…

Presents an overview of a genetics course including explanations of major concepts, principles, and sequencing methods. Describes the typical participating student's background and prior knowledge level. Appendices contain a list of terms and three concept maps. (ML)

The relationship between classroom work and student understanding of genetics content is examined in this descriptive study of an introductory high school biology class. Classroom observations and examnations of student assignments related to a genetics unit were made. Factors affecting the teacher's management of the work system and the apparent…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the achievement of some abstract concepts in "molecular genetics" and prior knowledge, formal reasoning ability, and sex. The major findings of the study were: (1) prior knowledge had a high significant correlation with the achievement of abstract concepts; (2) the…