In 2006 in England an innovative suite of science qualifications for 14-16-year-olds called Twenty-First Century Science (21CS) was introduced. These qualifications have a strong focus on developing scientific literacy in all students whilst simultaneously providing preparation for the study of post-compulsory science for a smaller proportion of…

Biology teachers in a UK university expressed a majority view that student learning autonomy increases with progression through university. A minority suggested that pre-existing diversity in learning autonomy was more important and that individuals not cohorts differ in their learning autonomy. They suggested that personal experience prior to…

This paper considers a range of factors that may contribute to an unwillingness or inability of teachers to participate in the teaching of biology through fieldwork. Through a synthesis of the views of both pre-service teachers in training and primary school teachers in practice we explore the relative importance of a wide range of potential…

Decreasing motivation in science classes is often reported in many countries. Georgia, one of the post Soviet countries, has overcome the highly centralised educational system and nowadays implements a new national educational reform. National reforms demand more student-active and inquiry-based learning. Many Georgian teachers aren't ready for…

A primary goal of instruction is to prepare learners to transfer their knowledge and skills to new contexts, but how far this transfer goes is an open question. In the research reported here, we seek to explain a case of transfer through examining the processes by which a conceptual representation used to reason about complex systems was…

The instruction of Natural Science subject in junior high schools, as regulated by 2013 Curriculum, is to be taught in an integrated way, combining Biology, Physics, and Chemistry subjects. The assessment of which is called authentic assessment. This current study described the instructional system especially the assessment system of Natural…

Upper-secondary school students must prepare for adult life, which--among others--entails acquiring relevant skills and discovering their own potential. Efforts at European and national levels have been made to ensure that students gain the competences, the so-called key competences, which facilitate functioning in the modern world. However, in…

This case study reports the instructional development, impact, and lessons learned regarding the use of Facebook as an educational tool within a large enrollment Biology class at Spelman College (Atlanta, GA). We describe the use of this social networking site to (a) engage students in active scientific discussions, (b) build community within the…

Recent science educational policy reform efforts call for a shift toward practice-focused instruction in kindergarten-Grade 12 science education. We argue that this focus on engaging students in epistemic practices of science opens up new possibilities for the design of learning environments that support the stabilization of learners'…

Increasing faculty use of active-learning (AL) pedagogies in college classrooms is a persistent challenge in biology education. A large research-intensive university implemented changes to its biology majors' two-course introductory sequence as outlined by the "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education" final report. One goal…

National calls for improving science education (e.g., "Vision and Change") emphasize the need to learn disciplinary core ideas through scientific practices. To address this need, we engaged small groups of students in developing diagrammatic models within two (one large-enrollment and one medium-enrollment) undergraduate introductory…

Exemplary for social insects, "Temnothorax" ants allow for various hands-on investigations in biology classes. The aim of this study was to provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis of secondary school students' learning achievement after teaching units with ants lasting between one and six weeks. The questionnaires included…

For over a century, genetic arguments for the existence of racial inequality have been used to oppose policies that promote social equality. And, over that same time period, American biology textbooks have repeatedly discussed genetic differences between races. This experiment tests whether racial terminology in the biology curriculum causes…

This study investigated the neurobiological basis of comorbidity between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We compared children with ASD, ADHD or ADHD+ASD and typically developing controls (CTRL) on behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of gaze cue and face processing. We measured effects…

In this survey a presentation of the difficulties of students with mild intellectual disabilities is performed. Intellectual disability is a neurodevelopment diagnosis and it refers to children who have developmental, adaptive behavioural and cognitive difficulties compared to their peers. Intellectual disabilities are categorized by their…