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This article presents a modified version of a "cookbook" laboratory activity that uses colored corn kernels to address the fundamental ideas in classical genetics. The purposeful sequencing of concrete experiences with corn plant structures along with teacher questioning promotes mental engagement and scaffolds students to a deeper and more robust understanding of inheritance, zygosity, genotype and phenotype, and calculating probabilities of inherited alleles using the Punnett Square. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tools that teach quantitative skills and foster positive student attitudes toward these skills are important in biology curricula. Math and statistics anxiety is common and can interfere with student learning in biology courses. We describe a new framework for alleviating this anxiety. In our module, students watch a cute internet cat video, which inspires them to ask scientific questions about animal behavior and collect, analyze, and interpret data. We developed two freely available interactive tools to implement our module. We successfully implemented these tools with undergraduate students at two institutions. Based on this experience, we provide ideas for extension along with assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging students in hands-on inquiry helps them develop skills associated with the scientific process. Development of simple experiments using model caterpillars can provide an experiential demonstration of the scientific process and ecological principles for high school students. Caterpillar models are formed from plasticine, a nontoxic, nondrying modeling clay, and are an excellent tool for quantifying relative predation rates by birds, small mammals, and invertebrates. Lifelike surrogate larvae are glued to vegetation for short periods (one week) and retain identifiable marks (beak, teeth, mandible imprints) following predator attack. This technique is simple, inexpensive, and provides rapid and clear results, rendering it a highly effective method of inquiry for high school students. Students can use these methods to ask a variety of research questions, such as comparison of predation in nearby habitats (park vs. backyard), vegetation (tree vs. shrub), season (spring vs. fall), or coloration (aposematic vs. camouflage). For many students, this may be one of few opportunities at the high school level to investigate science "in the field" and integrate scientific practices, such as the scientific method and inquiry, in an authentic research experience. Participants develop their scientific reasoning skills through creation of research questions and interpretation of results. They learn experimental technique, build field skills, and work collaboratively. This experiment aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent reforms in K-16 science education advocate for the integration of science content and practice. However, engaging students in authentic science practices can be particularly challenging for certain subjects such as evolution. We describe Avida-ED, a research-based platform for digital evolution that overcomes many of the challenges associated with using biological model organisms in the classroom. We then report the findings of a nationwide, multiple-case study on classroom implementation of Avida-ED and its influence on student understanding and acceptance of evolution. We found that engagement in lessons with Avida-ED both supported student learning of fundamental evolution concepts and was associated with an increase in student acceptance of evolution as evidence-based science. In addition, we found a significant, positive association between increased understanding and acceptance. We discuss the implications of supporting reform-based pedagogical practices with tools such as Avida-ED that integrate science content with authentic science practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching scientific inquiry in large interdisciplinary classes is a challenge. We describe a creative problem-based learning approach, using a motivational island crisis scenario, to inspire research design. Students were empowered to formulate their individual scientific inquiry and then guided to develop a testable hypothesis, aims, and objectives in designing a research proposal. Personalized data sets matched to the research objectives were provided to individual students for analysis and presentation. This technique helps students to gain critical insights into the global value of interdisciplinary collaboration toward solving complex real-world problems. Students learn the front end of research, how to formulate a line of scientific inquiry and design an innovative research project-- both important skills for them as tomorrow's leaders and entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual selection plays an important role in species evolution and speciation, and is fundamental to understanding of biological evolution. In the last decades, research on sexual selection helped understand its causes and impacts in species evolution, sexual dimorphism, and speciation. It also provided interesting examples that can be used to engage students in learning about evolution. Here we review the latest sexual selection research and propose two activities that model evolution by sexual selection. The engaging nature of these activities makes them useful to promote active learning about evolution, the nature of science, and methods used to construct scientific knowledge. Importantly, we address several performance expectations suggested by the Next Generation Science Standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this activity, students examine nine hominin skulls for specialized features and take measurements that will enable them to determine the relatedness of these species. They will ultimately place each specimen on a basic phylogenetic tree that also reveals the geological timeframe in which each species lived. On the basis of their data, and using similar scientific methods as paleoanthropologists, students will come to evidence-based conclusions about hominin evolution similar to those accepted by the scientific community (e.g., Tattersall & Schwartz, 2001; Sawyer et al, 2007; Palmer, 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to design a teaching method suitable for science high school students using atomic force microscopy. During their scientific inquiry procedure, high school students observed a micro-nanostructure of a biological sample, which is unobservable via an optical microscope. The developed teaching method enhanced students' science-learning motivation and scientific creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]