Preliminary results from data on 146 Australian, 284 American, and 70 Norwegian preschool twins indicate reliable genetic influences on phonological awareness and memory and learning. Vocabulary, grammar, and morphology showed significant shared environment and negligible genetic effects. A print knowledge composite showed genetic and shared…

Describes 11 hands-on activities involving genetics; principles of chemical luminescence; a nucleus model; dissection pins; science, technology, and society (STS) courseware; plant dyes; the scientific method; current events; a portable planetarium; solar energy; and burning tests. (YP)

Presents a study to determine differences in effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) compared to traditional instruction of general biology students (n=54) for units on photosynthesis and introductory genetics and to assess students attitudes toward CAI. Results indicate CAI tutorials are no more or less effective in promoting student…

This paper offers a model of the nature and development of talents, which views genetic factors as determining potential strengths and setting limits and views abilities, aptitudes, and intelligences emerging as a result of experiences, motivations, and styles. Specific talents are characterized by precocity, creative insight, a functional…

Studies the perceived effectiveness of four student projects involving videotape production, computer conferencing, microcomputer simulation, and rapid-cycling Brassica breeding for undergraduate plant breeding students in two course offerings in consecutive years. Linking of the computer conferencing and video projects improved the rating of the…

Reports findings of a study which surveyed and interviewed teachers (N=16) of students with Fragile X Syndrome attending special schools in the United Kingdom. Data reported include activities liked and disliked by these pupils, effect of time of day on pupil behavior, classroom environment and organization, prevention of behavior problems, and…

Data from Colorado Adoption Project were used to examine hypothesis that association between parental divorce and children's adjustment is mediated by genetic factors. Findings for psychopathology were consistent with an environmentally mediated explanation for the association. Findings for achievement and social adjustment were consistent with a…

Examined environmental and gene-environment processes linking parenting (affect, control, responsiveness) and preschoolers' behavioral adjustment difficulties (noncompliance, conduct problems). Found that estimates of shared environmental variance and mediation were greatest for observational data, and estimates of child genetic variance and…

Argues that genetics, as popularized in "The Bell Curve" (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994), does not affect educational attainment and personal development, but environmental upheavals do. The environmental changes that effect educational and personal development are highlighted. It cautions that works involving pseudoscience, like "The…

Students' conceptions of three major artificial intelligence concepts used in the modeling of systems in science, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and genetic algorithms were investigated before and after a higher education science course. Students initially explored their prior ideas related to the three concepts through active tasks. Then,…

This paper describes part of a project called Modeling Across the Curriculum which is a large-scale research study in 15 schools across the United States. The specific data presented and discussed here in this paper is based on BioLogica, a hypermodel, interactive environment for learning genetics, which was implemented in multiple classes in…

Over the past decades, genetics has remained a difficult topic in school science. This paper presents an interactive multimedia program, "BioLogica", used to teach Grade 10 (14- and 15-year-olds) Australian students about genetics. Over six weeks, the teacher used different representations in the teaching and engaged students in computer…

One of the hottest areas of science today is the field in which biology, information technology,and computer science are merged into a single discipline called bioinformatics. This field enables the discovery and analysis of biological data, including nucleotide and amino acid sequences that are easily accessed through the use of computers. As…

We review the main findings of the Jyvaskyla of Dyslexia (JLD) which follows the development of children at familial risk for dyslexia (N = 107) and their controls (N = 93). We will illustrate the development of these two groups of children at ages from birth to school entry in the skill domains that have been connected to reading and reading…

In the first of two National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded workshops, 30 professors of biology and computer science from 18 institutions met at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, on June 6-7, 2002, to share ideas on how to incorporate genomics research into undergraduate curricula. The participants included nine pairs or trios of…