This paper presents a study of children's ideas of the body's internal structure. Children between four and 13 years (N = 170) individually produced drawings. During each drawing session the children explained their drawings to a facilitator and added written labels either by themselves or, if they were too young to write, with the facilitator's…

Biology education should be relevant to young students so that they can become interested in biology and understand biological topics in their everyday and vocational lives. We conducted interviews and collected mind maps to examine Finnish pre-service biology teachers' (N = 16) views on the relevance of biology education. Furthermore, we analysed…

Understanding plant reproduction is an important goal in biology education. Unfortunately, various studies show that students have difficulties in connecting the stages of plant reproduction. Students' conceptions of the processes of sexual reproduction (e.g. pollination and seed dispersal) remain unclear, although these conceptions appear crucial…

Fieldwork is an important part of biology as well as science and biology education. However, teachers perceive several reasons for the limited use of fieldwork in schools. Further, outdoor education is often organised as a single fieldtrip guided by outdoor educators, and little research has been done on fieldwork as a regular part of formal…

The current study aims at monitoring, measuring and evaluating the 'Safe havens for wild birds' campaign, implemented within the framework of the LIFE programme, in Greece and more specifically in the Ionian Islands. The study detects attitude changes that occurred in three target groups (pupils, local hunters and residents) on three islands where…

This paper reports on findings from an analysis of trait-formation tasks in the genetic sections of high school biology textbooks. Drawing on studies exploring a range of problems in students' explanations of trait formation, we investigated trait-formation tasks and analysed their potential for knowledge integration and multi-level mechanistic…

Background: Recent studies shows lack of knowledge concerning health literacy relatively microorganism/disease and the correct use of antibiotics. These facts lead to the spreading of resistant strains bacteria. Aims: The overarching goals of this study were a) to promote health literacy predominantly in respect to microorganism/disease, diseases…

We studied the initial conceptions of 73 pre-service primary teachers regarding the concept of ecosystem and examined how their understanding evolved as a result of participation in an inquiry-based learning exercise. The inquiry process involved identifying students' initial conceptions, making them aware of these, comparison of their ideas with…

The detailed analysis and scoring of concept maps may not be necessary in order for students to gain from their use in the classroom. A simplified recognition of different types ('species') of map may increase the likelihood of teachers employing maps in their classrooms so that more teachers and students might benefit from concept mapping on a…

The present study compared Portuguese and Spanish children in the 6th year of primary school in terms of their knowledge and live experience of animals from the Iberian Peninsula (IP) and the African savannah. A questionnaire was administered to 420 children from state schools, 215 from Portugal and 205 from Spain. The questionnaire included…

Meaningful learning occurs by relating new information to and revising prior knowledge, making it essential to understand student knowledge before helping them move toward a more scientific understanding. In this study, we characterise prior knowledge about cellular respiration in undergraduate students enrolled in introductory biology by…

In this study, firstly, university biology students' conceptual understanding and potential misconceptions concerning meiosis were studied. Secondly, an easily applicable drawing task was used to foster students' metaconceptual awareness which would help them to reach conceptual change. A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control…

The central dogma of biology is difficult to learn because its microscopic processes cannot be visualized. This study aimed to devise two inquiry activities: 'Button Code' and 'Beaded Bracelet Making,' involving the concepts of DNA replication and protein synthesis based on the Metacognitive Learning Cycle (MLC) for students, and to explore the…

The use of live animals in instruction plays an important role in biological education, with the intention that attitudes and emotions should be positively influenced. To date, studies in this field have given mixed results, and there has certainly been a lack of studies on student attitudes and knowledge of poisonous and venomous animals. This…

To succeed, undergraduate science students need to both acquire knowledge, and learn to apply it effectively. Here a novel 1st year undergraduate module (incorporating blended learning, applied bioinformatic skills and scientific posters) is described and its effectiveness evaluated (quantitatively and qualitatively). The aims were to engage…