Highlights key points from national reports addressing contemporary perspectives on learning theory, K-12 educational technology, educational theory development, and educational research policy, using illustrations from GenScope, an open-ended exploratory software tool that lets students investigate various phenomena in genetics. Illustrations…

Points out the potential of biology for implementing media reports as primary literature and presents an example of this approach using the topic "corn transformed with bacterial genes that encode insecticidal Bt toxins and public concerns over its potential impact on human health and the environment". (Contains 22 references.) (YDS)

This article reviews recent research in the field of learning disabilities and, in particular, dyslexia. It summarizes findings from numerous studies employing widely divergent methodologies that have attempted to establish the neurobiological correlates of learning disabilities and concludes that it is impossible to deny a neurobiological basis…

Outlines how an example from the field of animal husbandry is used in a DNA Technology course to motivate students to take a deeper interest in the material. Focuses on paternity testing in dogs. (DDR)

Describes a process known as parthenogenesis which produces cloned, early-stage embryos and human embryos generated only from eggs. Speculates that this technology puts therapeutic cloning within reach. (DDR)

Interviews with eight preservice elementary teachers regarding benchmarks related to agricultural technology for food and fiber showed that those from rural areas had more complex understanding of the trade-offs in technology use; urban residents were more concerned with ethical dilemmas. Pesticide pollution was most understood, genetic…

A study involving 47 families of individuals (ages 4-34) with autism and severe mental retardation found the familial loading for autism and for the broader phenotype was closely comparable to that in a study of children with higher IQ autism, and different from that for children with Down syndrome. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Examined heritability of reading deficits in dyslexic subtypes. Found reading deficits were heritable in developmental phonological and surface dyslexics, with greater genetic contribution in the former. Findings suggest a partial independence in the development of cognitive processes involved in reading, and affirm accounts of surface dyslexia…

In the current climate of concern about the privacy of medical records, the following topics should be addressed in the education of health professionals: the moral grounding of informed consent, the moral and legal obligations of professionals, the promise and perils of genetics research, and responsible research conduct. (SK)

This study investigates how members of anti-GM campaign groups and environment groups perceive the risks and benefits of genetically modified (GM) technology in food and agriculture. The study targeted these groups as the most risk-averse sector of society when considering GM technology. Survey respondents were asked to rank the current and future…

Dyscalculia, a poor understanding of the number concept and the number system, is a learning problem affecting many individuals. However, less is known about this disability than about the reading disability, dyslexia, because society accepts learning problems in mathematics as quite normal. This article provides a summary of the research on…

Embodiment has become an important construct for those in disciplines and specialty areas concerned with the form and function of the human body. This article suggests that accounts of embodiment have collapsed into an exclusionary framework that locates culture and cognition on oppositional terms. For some scholars, embodiment represents the…

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by extreme floppiness at birth, impaired sexual development, short stature, severe over-eating, characteristic physical features and learning disabilities (LD). Impaired social cognition, literal mindedness and cognitive inflexibility are also present. The syndrome has two main genetic subtypes that…

This paper presents the results of part of an investigation carried out with fourth-level Spanish secondary education students (15 years old), in which we implemented a teaching unit based on problem-solving methodology as an investigation to teach genetics and human inheritance curricular contents. By solving open problems, the students…

This paper examines curriculum differentiation (i.e. streaming or ability-grouping). After placing curriculum differentiation in an international perspective, it outlines the main conclusions from empirical research on differentiation over several decades. Against this empirical background, it describes and considers the three specific…