There are strong classroom ties between mathematics and the sciences of physics and chemistry, but those ties seem weaker between mathematics and biology. Practicing biologists realize both that there are interesting mathematics problems in biology, and that viewing classroom biology in the context of another discipline could support students'…

Among policy makers, there is an ongoing discussion about the need to improve undergraduate education in science and engineering. With many undergraduate students being taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), it is important to explore the development of STEM knowledge for teaching by GTAs. This study follows ten GTAs as they participated…

The presented research hypothesis-driven laboratory exercise teaches advanced undergraduate students state of the art methods and thinking in an integrated molecular physiology context. Students understand the theoretical background of iron acquisition in the model plant "Arabidopsis thaliana." They design a flowchart summarizing the key…

This article explores the "wow-effect" as a phenomenon in science teacher education. Through ethnographic fieldwork at a teachers' college in Denmark, the author encounters a phenomenon enacted in a particular way of teaching that "wows" the students. The students are in the process of becoming natural science/technology and…

This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descriptions of how they solved the problem, and this…

When undergraduate biology students learn to explain biological mechanisms, they face many challenges and may overestimate their understanding of living systems. Previously, we developed the MACH model of four components used by expert biologists to explain mechanisms: Methods, Analogies, Context, and How. This study explores the implementation of…

Research was carried out to identify pre-service biology teachers' views on "structured grid", one of the alternative assessment and evaluation tools available to teachers. A questionnaire form, consisting of four open-ended questions, was used as a data collection tool. Changes were made to the questionnaire to take into account the…

School is the place where the formal education is implemented through well defined curriculum. Curriculum enlists subjects to be taught, practicals to be conducted, as well as co-curriculum & extra-curricular activities. Biology is one of the important subjects in the curriculum in junior college level. Biology subject is a study of living…

This research was conducted during one semester in four different classes that were taught biology by using four different teaching strategies: Problem-based learning (PBL), Jigsaw, PBL integrated with Jigsaw (PBLJigsaw), and direct teaching. This research explored the correlation between metacognition (metacognitive awareness and metacognitive…

In many places in "The Origin of Species", Darwin compares his own theory of Natural Selection favourably with Special Creationism which comes off as a bad second best. He does this using some version of the argument form known as "Inference to the Best Explanation". The first part of this paper is methodological. It considers Whewell's notion of…

This study investigated the implementation of best teaching practices by science graduate teaching assistants [GTAs] (3 chemists and 2 biologists) in five inquiry-based, interdisciplinary chemistry-biology experiments during a six-week professional development (PD) program, Engage PD. Additionally, we examined GTAs' experiences in implementing…

Nature-based tourism experiences have the potential to change the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior of visitors; but such experiences may be beyond the physical and/or financial reach of many people. To influence the conservation behavior of populations world-wide, a more accessible yet equally effective strategy is required. Using…

The aim of the research is to determine teachers' exhaustion levels in Turkey, reasons, related factors, different researches the effects of subject areas have been carried out directly about issues in a systematic manner, gathering the studies that have been done over the last decade and making its meta-synthesis. Totally 35 studies consisting of…

This paper investigates the teaching strategies used by secondary school science teachers in Swazi schools that perform well in national examinations. The performance of learners in science in these examinations is generally low, as indicated by the public examination results published by the Examinations Council of Swaziland. However, a few…

The present study is aimed at analyzing the effects of peer tutoring on the academic achievement of students in the subject of biology at secondary level. The objectives of the study were: (1) To find out the effects of peer tutoring on the academic achievement of students in the subject of biology; and (2) To examine the effects of peer tutoring…