Since students' misconceptions are not completely remedied by means of only one conceptual change method, the authors assume that using different conceptual methods embedded within the 5E model will not only be more effective in enhancing students' conceptual understanding, but also may eliminate all students' misconceptions. The aim of this study…

Enrollments into first-year university biology courses may be very large, and therefore evaluating student learning can represent quite a challenge. In this article, we present our experience in assessing students by means of an assessment instrument called "Understand Before Choosing" (UBC). It has been used for six semesters, and its performance…

To illustrate the basic methodology involved in the quantum mechanics of molecules, a one-dimensional caricature of the hydrogen molecular ion (H[superscript +][subscript 2]) is presented, which is exactly solvable, in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, in terms of elementary functions. The purpose of the exercise is to elucidate in a simple…

Original version of this article was designed as part of a series of school radio broadcasts titled Science Activities -- Outdoors and Indoors." (Editor/MB)

A comprehensive discussion of the free-living worms that inhabit the beaches and subtidal bottoms of the Cape Cod shoreline is presented. Methods for the location, collection, preservation, and identification of sea worms are identified. (BT)

The purpose of this study was to explore the evolution science content used during college students' negotiation of biology-based socioscientific issues (SSI) and examine how it related to students' conceptual understanding and acceptance of biological evolution. Specific research questions were, (1a) what specific evolutionary science content do…

Integrative hierarchical models have sought to account for the extensive comorbidity between various internalizing disorders in terms of broad individual difference factors these disorders share. However, such models have been developed largely on the basis of self-report and diagnostic symptom data. Toward the goal of linking such models to…

The purpose of this study was to compare teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary Biology I teachers whose students' mean scores on the statewide End-of-Instruction (EOI) Biology I test met or exceeded the state academic proficiency level (Proficient Group) to teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary Biology I teachers whose students' mean scores on the…

Microbial fuel cells are a current research area that harvests electricity from bacteria capable of anaerobic respiration. Graphite is an electrically conductive material that bacteria can respire on, thus it can be used to capture electrons from bacteria. When bacteria transfer electrons to graphite, an electrical potential is created that can…

Inquiry is an integral part of the teaching and learning of science. However, many science teachers are unsure of how to promote and support inquiry in the classroom or how to design lessons that engage students in inquiry in a way that improves students' understanding of important concepts and practices in biology. In this article, the authors…

The coastal town of Tuticorin is situated in the southern part of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park on the Southeastern Indian coast. The four islands off the Tuticorin coast are fringed by corals reefs and seagrass beds. Destructive fishing methods including blast fishing, near-shore trawling, coral mining, sedimentation and pollution have,…

Students following a pre-Certificate year in biology (the preliminary year of a 4-year BSc programme) learnt about plant diversity through integrated field and classroom studies carried out in an afforested area of north-east England. The students identified, listed and made interpretive drawings of their own choice of the specimens they had…

It is compulsory for first year biological science students at Queens University Belfast to complete a range of assessed, laboratory-based practicals in various scientific procedures including dissection. This study investigates student performance and attitudes when they have to complete a traditional dissection and a computer based learning…