Understanding student ideas in large-enrollment biology courses can be challenging, because easy-to-administer multiple-choice questions frequently do not fully capture the diversity of student ideas. As part of the Automated Analysis of Constructed Responses (AACR) project, we designed a question prompting students to describe the possible…

Classroom observation protocols can provide an exceedingly rich form of data. However, this is a double-edged sword, as researchers often struggle to take full advantage of the detailed data outputs. In this essay, we introduce a new approach to the analysis of classroom observation data, termed "classroom as genome" (CAG). We illustrate…

The release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys is part of a public health initiative to limit the spread of infectious disease. The local debate over this proposed action provides a current case study of a public, scientific controversy in which citizens and officials disagree about what is best for the community. The case…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2018 Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by the members.…

The present study examined trajectories of adaptive behavior, behavior problems, psychological symptoms, and autism symptoms in adolescents and adults with fragile X syndrome (n = 147) over a three-year period. Adaptive behavior significantly increased over time, particularly for adolescents, and the severity of behavior problems decreased over…

Twin factor mixture modeling was used to identify temperament profiles while simultaneously estimating a latent factor model for each profile with a sample of 787 twin pairs (M[subscript age] = 7.4 years, SD = 0.84; 49% female; 88.3% Caucasian), using mother- and father-reported temperament. A four-profile, one-factor model fit the data well.…

A high Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) score (Baron-Cohen et al. in "J Autism Dev Disord" 31(1):5-17, 2001) is increasingly used as a proxy in empirical studies of perceptual mechanisms in autism. Several investigations have assessed perception in non-autistic people measured for AQ, claiming the same relationship exists between…

In the multidisciplinary field of developmental cognitive neuroscience, statistical associations between levels of description play an increasingly important role. One example of such associations is the observation of correlations between relatively common gene variants and individual differences in behavior. It is perhaps surprising that such…

The revelation of misconceptions contributes to better education, especially when that information is described in a specific field of science. Additionally, genetics is one of very problematic topics, and misconceptions appear there frequently as there are difficult interconnections among them. The main aim of the study was to explore high school…

The neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL's, Batten disease) represent a group of severe neurodegenerative diseases, which mostly present in childhood. The phenotypes are similar and include visual loss, seizures, loss of motor and cognitive function, and early death. At autopsy, there is massive neuronal loss with characteristic storage in…

The debate about the relevance of human genetics knowledge to everyday life has been marked by fluctuations of interest and enthusiasm. The negative impact of eugenics on the public consciousness suppressed dialogue between geneticists and the public for most of the second half of the 20th century (Ridley, 1999). For the most part, nongeneticists…

Spina bifida (SB) refers to a subgroup of congenital defects where the neural tube fails to fuse, often resulting in a protruding spinal cord. This is often due to a defect or absence of vertebral arches resulting from a failure of the mesoderm to organize over the region of the defect. SB occurs during gestation between the third and sixth week…

Individuals with sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs) have an increased risk of language delays and impairments. However, there are only a few data relative to their language development in early childhood. The present study aimed to investigate the preverbal skills shown by a group of 8-month-old children with SCTs to assess the presence of a possible…

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a progressive genetic neuromuscular disease, affects all major muscle groups in the body. Academic functioning is affected by the progressive nature of DMD and physical fatigue. To explore the experiential account of schooling and the barriers in schooling among children with DMD in India and to develop…

The essence of Genetics lies in the understanding of the concepts of Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. Although these ideas are fundamental to the field, they are notoriously difficult to understand and visualize. While simulation-based instructional materials are found to improve the teaching-learning process in science education, little has…