When using mobile devices in support of learning activities, students gain mobility, but problems arise when group members share information. The small size of the mobile device screen becomes problematic when it is being used by two or more students to share and exchange information. This problem affects interactions among group members. To…

This paper describes how second/third year undergraduates with little prior botanical knowledge, attending a one-week field course in Western Scotland, were enabled to complete within one day an intensive phytosociological exercise. They showed that two stands of heathland vegetation were objectively different through identification of plants,…

How does a tiny seed sprout and grow into a towering tree? Join the kids from M.A.P.L.E as they learn about some of the incredible transformations that a plant goes through during its lifetime. In All About Plant Structure & Growth, uncover the secrets of roots, stems and leaves - structures that are vital to a plant's role as an energy…

Presents three activities using pearl onion bulbs to illustrate plant growth and plant propagation under various conditions. (WRM)

Advocates including plants at several trophic levels when studying food chains. Presents background information on parasitic plants, myco-heterophytes (saprophytes), and carnivorous plants. Contains 20 references. (WRM)

Describes remarkable characteristics of the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) which make it an interesting swamp plant to study in February and March: its warm-blooded nature, unpleasant skunky odor, and peculiar root system. (NEC)

Laments the neglect of discussion of active transport of plant nutrients from soil to root in general biology textbooks. (AL)

Highlights the demand for medicinal plants as pharmaceuticals and the demand for health care treatments worldwide and the issues that arise from this. Discusses new drugs from plants, anticancer drugs, antiviral drugs, antimalarial drugs, herbal remedies, quality, safety, efficacy, and conservation of plants. Contains 30 references. (JRH)

Students love outdoor activities and will love them even more when they build confidence in their tree identification and measurement skills. Through these activities, students will learn to identify the major characteristics of trees and discover how the pace--a nonstandard measuring unit--can be used to estimate not only distances but also the…

Water is very important to plants. Plants need water to produce food and grow. Plants make their own food through a complex, sunlight-powered process called photosynthesis. Simply put, in photosynthesis, water absorbed by a plant's roots and carbon dioxide taken from the air by a plant's leaves combine to make the plant's food. This article…

The following experiment describes an easy experiment for children 11-12 years old, performed during spring in a compulsory school near Karlstad, Sweden. Four different ripe fruits were placed under flowering plants of Impatiens New Guinea (Impatiens hawkeri) for four days on a table and with plastic bags around both plants and fruits. For one of…