We aimed to examine the opinions of parents' having a child with ASD, on genetic testing, in a Turkish sample. 951 parents' attitudes towards genetic testing were included. 89.1% of the parents did not take a genetic test during pregnancy. 87.6% of the parents agreed to take a genetic test if it could explain the cause of ASDs. 93% agreed to take…

Individuals with a secondary education should have a knowledge level sufficient to make sense of what they read or hear about genetics, and they should be able to think scientifically in evaluation and decision-making processes. The purpose of this study is to identify the basic understanding of secondary education students about genetic concepts…

Teachers have a crucial role to play in raising future generations of citizens who are aware of issues in genetics literacy such as gene therapy, cloning, and stem cell research. Teachers' teaching practices are influenced by their knowledge in genetics literacy and their attitudes towards different issues. Accordingly, this study explored the…

In this study, Turkish pre-service science teachers' moral reasoning patterns and the factors which influence their decisions while discussing genetics-related socio-scientific issues (SSI) were investigated. A basic qualitative approach was adopted for this purpose. Seven third-grade pre-service science teachers enrolled in the study.…

Within the scope of this study, a cooperative learning method is implemented in a genetics unit, which has an important place in the high school curriculum in the Turkish education system. The Human Genome Project, cloning, genetically modified organisms, preconceptional sex selection, and developments in cancer diagnosis and treatment are some of…

Background: Understanding pre-service science teachers' (PSTs) perceived knowledge on a subject and teaching that subject is important to better prepare these teachers for their future career. Purpose: In this study, PSTs' perceived Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) on genetics and the contribution of the dimensions of perceived…

In recent decades, socioscientific issues (SSI) have been emerging from the interrelationship between science, technology, and society. For example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, related decisions, like whether we need to ask people to use facemasks, is an SSI question being discussed internationally with no right or wrong answer. Controversial…

The aim of this study is to evaluate science teacher candidates based on bioethical values, scientific literacy level and empathy skills and to determine their associations. Therefore, descriptive model was used for the study. The sample of the study consists total of 286 teacher candidates from first, second, third and fourth grade of Faculty of…

This study examines the subjects and concepts in biology perceived to be difficult to learn and teach by 759 pre-service biology teachers registered in the pedagogical formation program at Uludag University Faculty of Education in the academic year of 2005-2016, as well as the associations that word "biology" first calls to their mind.…

Students tend to learn genetics by rote and may not realise the interrelationships in daily life. Because reasoning abilities are necessary to construct relationships between concepts and rote learning impedes the students' sound understanding, it was predicted that having high level of formal reasoning and adopting meaningful learning orientation…

Learning progressions (LPs) gained popularity and importance in the science education field to guide curriculum designers, teachers and researchers as a useful tool to bridge between curriculum, instruction and assessment. Although teachers' professional development can be built through learning progressions these LPs do not describe the ways that…

The purpose of this study is to investigate genetic and environmental influences on computer self-efficacy. A total of 165 Turkish twin-pairs participated in the study. Participants' mean age was 12.45 (SD = 1.82). The results of paired t-test comparisons showed no significant differences in monozygotic, and both same-sex and opposite-sex…

In recent years, countries have focused specifically on improving thinking skills in their science education programs. One of the science lesson methods that can be used to activate the use of thinking processes is scientific scenarios. In this direction, the aim of the study is to investigate the effect of socioscientific subject-based…

Biology that is a branch of science examining organisms in every aspect has a very wide content. Besides this wide content, there are abstract concepts in some subjects. Various alternative conceptions are determined in different education levels especially in abstract and microscopic biology subjects. The aim of this study is to determine the…

This study investigates the effect of a conceptual change approach over traditional instruction on students' understanding of DNA, gene and chromosome concepts. 52 10th grade students belonging two different classes participated the study. One of the classes was assigned randomly to the control group, and the other class was assigned randomly to…