Describes the development of a World Wide Web version of a second-year biology class. Discusses features of the course and its organization as well as interaction with the instructor and other class members through e-mail and a Web conference. Course satisfaction was high with a main positive aspect being students' ability to schedule learning…

Describes the use of mussels in measuring the extent of chemical contamination and its variation in different coastal regions. Presents an experiment to introduce students to immune response and the effects of environmental pollution on marine organisms. Contains 14 references. (JRH)

Describes an education-government-community environmental partnership program that set aside permanent environmental study sites where students and teachers can conduct meaningful, service-oriented environmental research. Highlights a project where students prepared a comprehensive plant species inventory of a section of the wilderness area.…

Describes The Flora of North America, the first comprehensive description of all plants growing spontaneously in North America. Discusses online resources, the publication as an educational resource, the published volumes, and scientific and planning applications. (JRH)

Presents an exercise that addresses issues of biodiversity, human ecology, and tropical forest loss which requires students to consider several factors surrounding three fictitious land-use scenarios. Stimulates students to first review and then openly debate situations that require the simultaneous consideration of many factors. (JRH)

Describes a bioassay laboratory exercise designed to introduce students to both acute and chronic bioassay procedures. Reinforces ecological principles and provides opportunities for students to use knowledge learned in the classroom in a realistic and ecologically-relevant situation. Contains 11 references. (JRH)

Presents a strategy to help students grasp the important implications of population growth. Involves an interactive demonstration that allows students to experience exponential and logistic population growth followed by a discussion of the implications of population-growth principles. (JRH)

Presents a lab that investigates the evolution of genetic resistance, the importance of genetic variability in the process of adaptation, and the ecological and economic consequences of pesticide use. Allows students to investigate the relationship between population size, genetic variability, and adaptability. Appendices contain the genetic card…

Describes the use of manipulatives to teach the fundamental concept of limiting factors and presents a series of questions that can be used to test whether students are harboring some of the most common misconceptions about limiting factors. Includes applications to discussions of cultural eutrophication and vegetarianism. (JRH)

Presents an exercise that demonstrates how plants cope with multiple resource limitations in the field. Stimulates students to think about interactions among multiple limited resources and the challenges plants as immobile organisms face when characteristics that increase the capture of one resource negatively impact the availability of another.…

Explores new research about bacteria. Discusses bacterial genomes, archaea, unusual environments, evolution, pathogens, bacterial movement, biofilms, bacteria in the body, and a bacterial obsession. Contains 29 references. (JRH)

Describes a procedure for making slides of microsporogenesis in Tradescantia. Uses photographs to demonstrate that Tradescantia is an ideal organism for studying meiosis in the classroom. Contains 17 references. (JRH)

Explores two strategies for redressing science education inequity: (1) universalism and (2) multiculturalism. Argues that even though at first glance these strategies seem at opposite ends of the spectrum, upon further analysis, they prove to have a great deal in common. Contains 29 references. (JRH)

Describes a Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) package covering biology concepts for an entire school year and evaluates the effect of this CAI on learning. Findings indicate positive effects of CAI on achievement and attitude. Contains 18 references. (JRH)

Presents historical examples of analogies and examines the positive and negative influences of analogies in the field of biology. Draws on current research literature to demonstrate the contentious status that the use of analogies has in biology instruction. Critically analyzes analogies used in textbooks and classrooms and presents a possible…