The recent increase in accessibility and scale of genetic data available through next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has transformed biological inquiry. As a direct result, the application and analysis of NGS data has quickly become an important skill for future scientists. However, the steep learning curve for applying NGS technology to…

We investigated emotional intimacy with nature and life, and intellectual interest in life among South Korean pre-service teachers (N = 114) training in biology education, analysing the differences between these two constructs as well as their relationship to environmental behaviour and sensitivity. In addition, differences in the respondents'…

The results of studies of the nature of science (NOS) as a factor that enhances students' understanding of evolution have been inconclusive. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to test the role of NOS instruction in enhancing students' learning about evolution. We used a quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-tests to investigate…

The finding that biodiversity is a concept with different context-specific meanings has implications for its conceptual development when students are required to apply it in a diversity of contexts. An approach that may overcome these implications is that students learn to recontextualise one meaning to another. Since no empirical studies were…

Antibiotic resistance is typically used to justify education about evolution, as evolutionary reasoning improves our understanding of causes of resistance and possible countermeasures. It has also been promoted as a useful context for teaching natural selection, because its potency as a selection factor, in combination with the very short…

Despite efforts to increase teaching of biotechnology worldwide, there are concerns that public literacy of genetic technologies remains insufficient. Improved education strategies are expected to empower individuals to make informed decisions about biotechnology. To evaluate the teaching and learning of this complex topic, qualitative assessment…

Teachers conceptualise inquiry learning in science learning differently. This is particularly evident when teachers are introduced to inquiry pedagogy within a new context. This exploratory study draws on semi-structured interviews conducted with eight pre-service secondary biology teachers following a day visit with university tutors to the Royal…

All living structures, from archaea to human, are open thermodynamic systems analysed through nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Nonequilibrium thermodynamics is a field with important applications to life sciences, which is very often left out of life science courses. A three-step method is suggested to make an easy introduction of nonequilibrium…

Drawing activities are believed to be a useful methodology to gain insight into young children's thoughts and ideas related to a diverse range of research topics. In this respect, the study of drawings has proven to be a valuable procedure with a view to unravelling how the natural world is conceptualised in early childhood. The present study…

Empirical data on learners' conceptual progression is required to design curricula and guide students. In this paper, we present the Reference Map Change Coding (RMCC) method for revealing students' progression at a fine-grained level. The method has been developed and tested through the analysis of successive versions of the productions of eight…

This article reports on data from a large-scale study investigating students' mathematical transitions to higher education. Three hundred and seventy-one undergraduate bioscientists were surveyed in order to investigate their perceptions and experiences of studying post-compulsory mathematics, as preparation for the mathematics elements of their…

The ability to interpret and reason from Tree of Life diagrams is a key component of twenty-first century science literacy. This article reports on the authors' continued development of a multifaceted research-based curriculum--including an instructional booklet, lectures, laboratories and a field activity--to teach such tree thinking to biology…

Citizen science is a rapidly growing emerging field in science and it is gaining importance in education. Therefore, this study was conducted to document the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of biology teachers who participated in a citizen science project involving observation of wild bees and identification of butterflies. In this paper,…

Research into how and what families learn in science museums and other informal science learning settings suggests that parent-child interactions play an important role in shaping children's learning experiences. Our exploratory case study set out to discover and analyse learning happening within family groups during a visit to a traditional…

Textbooks on the history of biology and evolutionary thought do not mention the evolutionary ideas of Muslim scholars before Darwin's time. This is part of a trend in the West to minimise the contributions of non-Western scientists to biology, human anatomy and evolutionary biology. Therefore, this paper focuses on the contributions of…