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Biology as an integral part of science learning continues to be maximized by integrating technology into its learning design. The definite manifestation of this integration process is to achieve meaningfulness, activeness, and effectiveness of the learning carried out. The flipped classroom (FC) is gaining popularity as a pedagogical model that uses the important benefits of technology in its learning environment. FC is proven to be an effective teaching mode that empowers students' 21st-century skills, stimulates students' self-learning, and improves academic performance. The potential of the FC is interesting to explore to what extent biology welcomes the FC. The aimed of this systematic literature review is to review and analyze articles published by Scopus indexed journals. We used the keywords "Flipped classroom and biology" in the search menu in the Scopus database and succeeded in finding 72 articles. There were 21 articles that met the criteria for further analysis. The inclusion and exclusion model used is PRISMA. The findings obtained are the trend of FC publications in biology learning over the last ten years. The approaches used in this research include quantitative, mixed method, case study and qualitative. Key words that are often used by writers are student, human, biology. The biology keyword has a branch, namely active learning. There are 9 countries of origin of authors who publish articles. The United States is a country that is active in publishing. Articles published on each continent are not evenly distributed. The dominant articles are published in collaboration with one country and rarely are articles published by one author. We have succeeded in formulating a picture of the existence of the FC in biology learning over the last ten years. These findings can be a consideration or reference for researchers to explore and study more deeply research related to the FC in biology learning based on their respective urgency.

Ocean literacy (OL) proposes to include ocean and marine environment-related content in school curricula. Such a topic has been deemed effective for citizens to develop actions and attitudes towards the health of marine ecosystems. This study aimed to verify the presence and frequency of OL principles and concepts in the Brazilian high school curriculum at the federal (National Curricular Parameters-PCN) and regional (Rio de Janeiro -- Curricular Reference-RC) levels. Both PCN and RC contained OL-related content. Moreover, Biology and Geography were the subjects with the highest numbers of OL concepts, both in the PCN (26 and 27, respectively) and in the RC-RJ documents (28 and 24, respectively), while OL concepts were very little represented in History subject. A Mann-Whitney U-test did not indicate statistically significant differences in the number of concepts between PCN and RC-RJ (p = 0.54). A principal component analysis discriminated the documents according to subjects, regardless of their origin (federal or regional). These results provide an unbiased assessment of the relationship between the curriculum and OL in a strongly affected area (Rio de Janeiro State coastal zone [CZ]). Therefore, these results provide valuable support for managers seeking to promote effective CZ management practices and public compliance.

By ethnic-racial relations one understands the relations established between ethnic groups whose base is guided by race category, seen on a social perspective. Schools should be an environment propitious to the promotion of Education for Ethnic-racial Relations, the teacher being an indispensable agent in this process. The present study is characterized as documentary research with a qualitative approach that sought to analyze, in a comparative perspective, evidence of a proposal for Education for Ethnic-racial Relations present and/or absent in the Curriculum Guidelines and in the Common National Base for Initial Teacher Training (Resolution 2/2019), as well as the possible implications for the teaching of anti-racist Science and Biology in Brazil. The study leads us to conclude that the new Curricular Guidelines and the Common National Base for the Initial Teacher Training do not bring concrete evidence of an effective proposal for Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations as proposed by Resolution 2/2015, which was hastily revoked by Resolution 2/2019. The absence of these indications tends to result in negative implications for the teaching of anti-racist Science and Biology, since it was previously supported, we had found in the guidelines for teacher training an alternative to insert the study of ethnic-racial relations in undergraduate courses in the area. We hope that this study will collaborate for research in the area of teacher training and ethnic-racial relations in the teaching of science and biology, especially for educational policies aimed at training teachers.

In the last decade different instruments were developed to empirically test the TPACK theoretical framework. The TPACK for Meaningful Learning survey was the first survey to obtain statistical validation for all seven predicted constructs. In the present work we used a version of the TPACK for Meaningful Learning survey adapted and validated in the Portuguese language to investigate the TPACK perceptions of Brazilian biology teachers, their interrelationships and relations with demographic variables. Results indicate a strong positive correlation between the constructs that hold the technology component. Path analysis corroborated the hypothesis that TK influences TPK and TCK, and that these two constructs directly influence TPACK. Evidence showed that the variables "age" and "years of service" influence teachers' perceptions, especially the constructs that hold the technology component. Results obtained in the present study are discussed considering the empirical results obtained in other countries using the TPACK for Meaningful Learning survey. Taken together, our research findings contribute to foster professional development strategies for teachers that aim at the integration of technologies in teaching.

In this article, we present how educational resources for zoology designed by undergraduate students help to propose means of action for teaching diversity and animal evolution in basic education. We realised that activities of creation and analysis of educational resources, in the context of didactic planning, have the potential to approximate epistemic and pedagogical dimensions of evolutionary thinking. These dimensions are relevant to the design of teaching-learning sequences, since they allow pre-teachers to cross the subject-object border and to appropriate cultural tools necessary for their professional activity. We argue about the development of evolutionary thinking, meaning, among other things, tree-thinking as a mediating tool in socio-scientific decision-making and the teaching-learning problems of the coexistence of antagonistic paradigms in biological classification. Our results emphasise that phylogeny is a structuring subject in teaching and preservice teacher education, mediating the debate on the nature of science, such as evolutionary inference, hypothesis elaboration, transience in science, and the social role of science for the conservation of biodiversity.

In this paper, we describe a dynamic-model as a strategy to teach DNA transcription and translation in an active way. This activity aims to provide learning beyond memorisation through the simulation of molecular processes, stimulating the elaboration of questions and hypotheses by students. The dynamic consists of four steps, starting with different problem situations which provide a context and encouragement to start the activity. The next steps connect these problems with DNA transcription and translation, requiring the active participation of students to simulate these processes through a construction of a model based on an iron board and representations of cellular structures, enzymes and genetic sequences fixed in magnets. An implementation experience of this dynamic, applied to 21 undergraduate veterinary students at a public university in the city of Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil, is also described. Data from pre and post-questionnaires suggest knowledge about DNA transcription and translation was improved and some previous mistakes were clarified. Among the positive aspects that were cited by the students, the words visualisation and playful were more frequent, which reflect the didactic aspects of the dynamic. Some points of attention are discussed throughout the paper, as well as educational implications associated with the material and its potential to promote active learning.

This study is a follow-up to the analysis of an inquiry-based learning activity applied to students in a public university in Brazil. We advocate that an effective education in immunology must incorporate elements that are essential to research in the area, such as generating and analysing data. These elements would empower students to apply science reasoning to face professional challenges. Our protocol included two of these elements: experimentation and abstraction. The utmost aim was to examine the production of argument by groups engaged in three different activities: 1) performing experiments and analysing the data generated; 2) reading papers on the subject (activation of complement) prior to the activities in (1), and 3) reading papers on the subject and analysing data generated by others. Our analysis reveals that guided scientific paper presentation was more influential than performing an experiment in terms of production of complex arguments. Additionally, we found that some groups merely described the data rather than relating the obtained data to the original question that led to the experiments. The findings described herein show the importance of engaging students in procedures that actually generate knowledge and thus incorporate scientific reasoning and discourse in higher immunology education.

In an academic semester, living in social isolation and under restrictions of the pandemic, we organized weekly multidisciplinary seminars from a postgraduate course program in Curitiba, Southern Brazil, integrating students from different regions of Brazil and South America. Outstanding researchers from Brazil, Germany, France, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, England, and United States' institutions gave seminars on chronic and infectious diseases with immunological, pharmacological, biochemical, cellular, and molecular biology point of views. The meetings were longer than traditional seminars, containing a part with scientific debate and other with a humanization or deconstruction of the researcher including trajectory, hobbies, scientific, and social thoughts. To facilitate learning and conceptualization, the seminars were available through YouTube and we applied weekly questionnaires to be answered rescuing scientific and motivational topics to give companionship and support to the students in pandemic times. Here, we are defending the creation of permanent platforms for scientific diffusion, with higher accessibility, connecting centers of different levels and giving academic excellence and opportunities for young researchers. Feedback received from participants indicates that this seminar structure can increase confidence and improve their perception of scientific processes and inspire researchers with development trajectories. We have discussed multidisciplinarity, scientific excellence, regional isolation and economic inequality, integration, humanization, and the value of science in society.

Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first recognised in Wuhan City, China, has spread rapidly around the world. As a result, record numbers of students are not attending University due to temporary closures mandated by governments in an attempt to reduce the number of cases. The COVID-19 outbreak has created challenges for academics and students in the process of adapting to online teaching and learning. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of bioscience academics during the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020. Design and methods: Perspectives from academics across eight countries (Brazil, Georgia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, UK and USA) were included giving a global insight into the phenomena. A descriptive multiple case study approach was used with each academic in their context as the case. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data, which enabled themes to emerge. Results and Conclusions: Three major themes emerged from the experiences of the participants: (1) teaching methods, (2) emotions, and (3) support networks. Our results suggest there have been both benefits and challenges to the change in teaching methods and this is reflected in similarities across the case studies. One key finding was that both students and staff need to be better trained to use online platforms, and adequate peer support and technical support must be given to improve program effectiveness. The results of this study have contributed new information on teaching and learning throughout the pandemic and can be used as a platform for further research and also as a reflection for those making high-level decisions in policy in education in these interesting times.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate Brazilian school teacher attitudes and approaches to biodiversity education. We aim to specifically compare the amount of native biodiversity topics as measured by teachers' reports of their teaching emphasis. The study involved 147 teachers from all geographic regions of the country, who answered a questionnaire containing both open- and Likert scale items to compare biodiversity-related contents. Findings reveal that the concepts with the greatest emphasis from teachers are those related to environmental conservation, while the least emphasised concepts are those about Brazilian biodiversity. This seems to lead to a paradox, since conservation-effective actions depend on the place-consciousness of biodiversity. Analysis of responses revealed the following common factors that negatively affect the teaching of native biodiversity: lack of knowledge about local biota; the absence of adequate teaching materials; curriculum geared towards preparing students for national tests; excess of curricular content; and valuation of a macro/general view of biodiversity concepts rather than a native/local view. The implications of our results are important for the training of biology teachers, to improve initial and continued teacher education programmes about native biodiversity.

We present and discuss the results of qualitative research based on a case study with biology undergraduate students from a public University of Bahia state, Brazil. The objective was to identify the influence of practical experiences involving ethnobiology applied to science teaching on intercultural dialogue into their initial training. To collect data, undergraduate students were asked to construct narratives revealing the influences of ethnobiology into their training as future teachers. Data were analyzed according to Bardin (1977) and supported by specific literature from the fields of science education and teaching. The thematic categories generated lead us to conclude that the undergraduates of biology teaching made reflections that allowed them to build opinions with meanings that should influence their pedagogical practices with intercultural dialogue. We recommend further studies involving ethnobiology and the training of biology teachers, with a larger sample of participants and the methodological and theoretical procedures of this science. Improvements could be made in biology teacher education curricula that encourage respect and consideration of cultural diversity. We highlight that it is imperative for teacher education courses to generate opportunities for on-site practical experience, in addition to the theory used in the classroom.

The digestive system is a fundamental topic in biological science teaching. Despite its importance, the level of students' knowledge on the topic appears to differ from recommended levels at several educational grades. Their knowledge also seems to be resistant to change; therefore, this discrepancy may be viewed as an epistemological obstacle to teaching scientifically updated concepts related to the digestive system. Didactic-pedagogical resources are important tools for overcoming such difficulties. The present study was intended to analyse the use of a practical activity as a possible didactic resource to help (re)construct concepts regarding human digestive physiology and to amplify the conceptual profile of undergraduate students. Data collection was performed using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to assess students' knowledge of the digestive system before and after participating in the practical activity. Qualitative data analysis revealed that previous knowledge was partially aligned with that described in the literature, suggesting a possible epistemological obstacle to teaching and learning scientific concepts. Participation in the activity not only contributed to better understanding of general aspects of the digestive system but also appeared to help overcome possible epistemological obstacles, including the role of the intestine.

Natural history museums (NHM) are important for students' learning and motivation. However, the lack or scarcity of NHMs in countries with emerging markets may hamper the learning process. Virtual 3D models represent an important tool to counterbalance the lack of access of students to NHMs. Our study aims to understand if the use of 3D models may help in the motivation and learning of zoology. The study comprised three groups: (1) "control" group, where the participants only received classes of "frontal teaching;" (2) "practice" group, where participants received, in addition to traditional classes, practical classes with biological material; (3) "3D model" group, where participants received the traditional class plus practical classes with 3D models of amphibian species. We used pre-questionnaires and post-questionnaires as an educational assessment method. Then we performed a two-way ANOVA test between the experimental groups. All three groups showed equivalent levels of motivation after the classes. Nevertheless, the "3D model" and "Practice" groups showed a significant (p < 0.001) increase in learning performance when compared to the "control" group, demonstrating the relevance of 3D models in the teaching of zoology especially in institutions distant from large biological collections.

Enzymes are organic molecules known for their catalytic nature because they accelerate metabolic reactions in organisms. The study of enzyme functions and modes of action is essential to understand Biochemistry. This study aimed to analyse the acetylcholinesterase enzymatic activity, as well as the enzymatic inhibition mechanism in practical classes. The enzyme was obtained from the cockroach ("Nauphoeta cinerea") head, an alternative model to the use of vertebrates in practical classes. For this study, practical classes were carried out in two undergraduate courses: Biology and Veterinary Medicine. It was observed the knowledge consolidation through the analysis of the answers given to the questionnaire. The students' enthusiasm to work with animals was evident. This fact led to a better understanding about the subject and more attractive classes.

This article aims to discuss the purpose of ethnobiology in biology teachers' training based on conceptions of biology teachers before and after their participation in a training course for science teachers that involved ethnobiology. The research was developed in 2009 and involved semi-structured interviews with nine biology teachers of public schools in the state of Bahia (Northeastern Brazil). Analyses were conducted inductively, using categories based on the teachers' answers and carefully studying literature on science teaching. Results indicate that teachers expanded their conceptions about ethnobiology after their participation in the training course. They perceived this science as the study of complex relationships between human beings and other living beings. They also perceived the importance of exploring their students' cultural knowledge to the intercultural dialog and having ethnobiology as a tool in this process. It is concluded that ethnobiology contributes to the biology teachers' training guiding his/her practices and giving the opportunity to identify students' cultural knowledge that can be used in an intercultural dialog with the biology taught in schools; hence, it is imperative to offer training courses for teachers as a starting point.

This article investigates the impact of educational contexts on automatic classification of online discussion messages according to cognitive presence, an essential construct of the community of inquiry model. In particular, the work reported in the article analyzed online discussion messages written in Brazilian Portuguese from two different courses that were from different subject areas (biology and technology) and had different teaching presence in the online discussions. The study explored a set of 127 features of online discussion messages and a random forest classifier to automatically recognize the phases of the cognitive presence in online discussion messages. The results showed that the classifier achieved better performance when applied to the entire dataset. It reveals that when a classifier is created for a specific course it is not generic enough to be applied to a course from a different field of knowledge. The results also showed the importance of the features that were predictive of the phases of the cognitive presence in the educational context. Based on the findings of this study, future work should adopt the same feature set as used in the current study, but it should train the classifier of the cognitive presence on datasets in subject areas related to the topic of the discussions.

The purpose of this study is to understand in an exploratory way pupils' perception of science and the image of scientists at primary and secondary school levels. Data was collected by means of a survey questionnaire and a drawing representing pupils' depiction what scientists do during their working hours. A questionnaire anchored on a Likert scale was filled by 204 primary and 229 secondary school children. Pupils from this sample considered science classes enjoyable, helped to understand issues covered by media, that science is a body of knowledge whose goal is to make life more comfortable to people. A total of 433 drawings were collected at 3 urban and 1 rural schools. Drawings illustrated scientists in scientific activity, mainly working alone, wearing lab coat and eyeglasses. Scientific specialization included chemists, biologists and a few technologist and astronomers. Educational implications are discussed.

Teacher training on environmental education (EE) is a key element of promoting the restoration of ecological systems and insuring inclusive and equitable human development. Science and biology teachers play a significant role in favoring EE at Brazilian schools. This study investigates the presence of EE in the curriculum and aims to interpret the meanings of EE expressed in the discourse of students who are training to be biology teachers at a Brazilian public university, considering recent, related education legislation. The theoretical and methodological framework of French Discourse Analysis was adopted to identify social, political, and cultural influences expressed in the students' discourse. The discourse data comprised responses from voluntary undergraduate students to a semi-structured questionnaire. Most of the study participants claimed to have had contact with EE in their tertiary education and revealed multiple perceptions regarding this theme. The majority of the discourses indicated that EE meanings are restricted to conservation or preservation, and some indicated confusion regarding the purposes of both EE and ecology disciplines. There was little data indicating an association between EE and socioeconomic issues, which would be expected in terms of the more encompassing and interdisciplinary approaches recommended by legislation. The curricular matrix of this undergraduate course showed a predominance of hours devoted to courses that discuss the environment from the biological perspective in contrast to a small number of courses that discuss and promote EE from other perspectives. In addition, undergraduate students claimed that they had little contact with recent EE legislation. This scenario, reinforced by the naturalistic foundation discourse of EE in Brazil, probably affects the constitution of the discursive memories of these students, their discourses, and their future pedagogical practice. Recommendations are made in order to foster the development of citizenship at schools and to prevent the silencing of issues such as the conflicts and risks associated with environmental problems.

In comparison to teachers from Argentina and Uruguay, Brazilian teachers face greater difficulties in teaching biological evolution, due to religion. While Argentina has an official religion set in its constitution, Uruguay and Brazil are considered secular countries. Despite being a self-proclaimed secular country, Brazil tolerates and encourages religious teaching in public schools. Acceptance of the natural origin of mankind, of origin of life, and of biological evolution were investigated in all three countries through interviews and a survey of teachers. Barbour's categories of conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration were used in the analysis of responses. Argentinian and Uruguayan teachers' answers pointed to Barbour's category of independence between science and religion, while Brazilian teachers' answers ranged between the categories of conflict and a merging between integration and dialogue, which was reinforced by high religiosity linked to knowledge gaps. The religious beliefs of Brazilian teachers appeared to influence their answers about the origin of the human species. In Brazil, religion was frequently identified as an obstacle to the teaching of biological evolution, while responses varied in Argentina and Uruguay. Conflicts in classrooms were also reported more frequently in Brazil than in Argentina and Uruguay. Combined with poor teacher training, personal internal conflicts towards biological evolution help to explain the answers of the Brazilian teachers. Argentinian and Uruguayan teachers generally reported being able to teach biological evolution as part of the curricula without interference from religion, in contrast to approximately half of the Brazilian teachers reporting the same.

Aim/Purpose: This paper presented the framework for the integration of digital technologies in education, implemented in InTecEdu Program, developed by Remote Experimentation Laboratory (RExLab), Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil. Background: The main objective of the model presented is to arouse interest in science and technology among adolescents. Therefore, it sought to develop STEM competencies (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in children and adolescents. Understanding learning in STAM areas can favor the development of professionals who can supply the demand in related sectors, especially in the scientific-technological scope. To fulfill the main objective, strategies related to students and teachers were developed. With activities aimed at students, it was hoped to promote vocations to scientific-technological careers and encourage entrepreneurship. On the other hand, the activities related to teachers aimed at training them to integrate technology into their lesson plans. Inspired by the Maker Culture, the model sought to make it possible for teachers to become the main agents in the process of integrating technology in their lesson plans, since they were in charge of building and producing their digital content and other resources to support their didactic activities. The maker movement is a technological extension of the "Do It Yourself!" culture, which encourages ordinary people to build, modify, repair, and manufacture their objects, with their own hands. The training actions were preceded by a diagnosis, inspired by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model, as well as the lesson plans prepared and made available by the teachers. Methodology: Methodologically, the framework's work plan was composed of five Work Packages (WP), which include management, resource mapping, strategies related to teachers, strategies related to students, and the dissemination and exploitation of results. In the 2014-2018 period, 367 teachers participated in training activities, intending to integrate technologies into lesson plans. At the end of 2018, 27 Basic Education schools, including an indigenous and a rural school, from the public-school system, in the states of Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, and the Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, using the project's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). In these 70 teachers, 230 classes, and 6,766 students accessed didactic content, produced by teachers, at VLE. Also, 20 laboratories were available in 26 instances, for use in practical activities in disciplines in the STEM areas. Specifically, in the STEM areas, 3,360 students from 98 classes from 9 schools had integrated the Remote Laboratories, in lesson plans in the subjects of Physics and Biology (High School), Science (Elementary School). Contribution: The main results of the application of the framework are related to the training of human resources, knowledge production, and educational innovation. About the training of human resources, we sought to contribute to the training of teachers concerning technology in education and, with that, arouse greater interest on the part of students, as well as obtain improvements in their learning from teaching methodologies supported on the use of digital technologies. On the other hand, the production of knowledge, in the program and the socialization of research, is favored by the model based on open-source resources, both in terms of software and hardware and with open educational resources. This characteristic favor and expands the potential for reapplying research and, consequently, its contribution to educational innovation. Findings: The results, about students, indicated an increase in motivation due to the creation of new teaching and learning opportunities. The fact of extending the classroom and school, through remote laboratories, to support practical activities and the use of VLE, was also pointed out as a very positive factor. On the other hand, the realization of the workshops, inspired by practices of the Maker Culture, provided an approximation of these to the skills of the real world, which will certainly favor their employability. Regarding the teachers, it is noticed the continuity and expansion in the use of technological resources in the classroom; many sought and have participated in new training actions. Recommendations for Practitioners: Provision of a repository of practices for sharing and reuse of lesson plans developed by teachers participating in the research. Technical documents, manuals, and guides for robotics, computer programming, electronics and new technology workshops for students. Recommendations for Researchers: Technical documents, manuals, and guides for remote laboratories. Data collected in the applied questionnaires. Technical documents, manuals, and guides for robotics, computer programming, electronics and new technology workshops for students. Impact on Society: The main results of the framework application are related to human resources formation, knowledge production, and educational innovation. Regarding the formation of human resources, we sought to contribute to the formation of teachers concerning technology in education and, about the students the creation of teaching and learning opportunities, to extend the classroom and also the school, through the remote laboratories, to support the practical activities and the use of the VLE. Future Research: The socialization and reapplication of the framework since it is based on open-source resources, both software and hardware, and with open educational resources.

Children from southern and northern Brazil have a basic knowledge of plants, which they observe during their everyday life. Children ages between 3 to 10 years old (kindergarten & primary school), but the majority of them in the age group of 4-5 (total 145) were asked to draw what they think is a plant (total sample = 332). Afterwards, a equal number of boys and girls randomly chosen were interviewed individually (mix ability) to list plants they said they knew and where they had seen them. Then they were asked to give exemplars of the local plants which they had seen. These data from the exploratory study show that pupils are in touch with their environment and recognize plants that are part of it. The everyday experiences of these children in school and out of school, at home and in leisure activities with family and friends, contribute to their knowledge about plants and such knowledge is complemented in the preschool and primary school classes by appropriate teaching. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Despite scientific evidence suggesting close phylogenetic relationship between chimpanzees and humans, the inclusion of these apes in the genus "Homo" is controversial. Several tools have been used to analyse this issue such as fossils, molecular clock and genome. This work intended to understand the biology teachers' conceptions about the humans' and chimpanzee's position. It was carried out in three countries with contrasting secularism conditions: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Teachers were asked to answer to the BIOHEAD-CITIZEN project question: 'The Chimpanzee should be included in the genus "Homo," notably because 98.5% of its DNA is identical to that of "Homo sapiens'." Results were analysed within the KVP model framework and the Barbour's four categories of relationship between science knowledge and religion. Most questioned teachers (80%) of the three countries rejected the idea of including the chimpanzee in the genus "Homo" (86% of Argentinians, 71% of Brazilians and 71% Uruguayans), suggesting the conception of human beings having a special position in relation to other animal species. This study also indicates that the training of biology teachers needs to be analysed in the three countries to understand how teachers-to-be are being trained and evaluate their knowledge regarding molecular biology, phylogeny and evolution.

The goal of this paper is to propose tables of contextual cognition as a tool for research and a model to facilitate the intercultural dialogue on science education in schools. The proposal arose from a qualitative case study, involving the use of tables of compared cognition in biology classes in a Brazilian public school. The results indicate that these tables helped students to understand relationships of similarities and differences between their previous knowledge and scientific knowledge and, equally, to delimit the original context and applicability of each of these ways of knowing. However, I perceived the need to expand these tables to gain a new meaning for the practical purposes of research and culturally sensitive science teaching. Finally, tables of contextual cognition considering these changes are proposed and I discuss the possible implications for teaching and research in science education.

The integrative role that Evolutionary theory plays within Biology is recognised by most scientific authors, as well as in governmental education policies, including Brazilian policies. However, teaching and learning evolution seems problematic in many countries, and Brazil is among those. Many factors may affect teachers' and students' perceptions towards evolution, and studies can help to reveal those factors. We used a conceptual questionnaire, the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument, and a Knowledge test to assess (1) the level of acceptance and understanding of 23 undergraduate Biology students nearing the end of their course, (2) other factors that could affect these levels, including course structure, and (3) the most difficult topics regarding evolutionary biology. The results of this study showed that the students, on average, had a 'Very High Acceptance' (89.91) and a 'Very Low Knowledge' (59.42%) of Evolutionary theory, and also indicated a moderate positive correlation between the two (r = 0.66, p = 0.001). The most difficult topics were related to the definition of evolution and dating techniques. We believe that the present study provides evidence for policymakers to reformulate current school and university curricula in order to improve the teachers' acceptance and understanding of evolution and other biological concepts, consequently, helping students reduce their misconceptions related to evolutionary biology.

In this paper I report on the sociological and educational particulars of "The Biodiscovery Space" exhibition of the Life Museum of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using Basil Bernstein's framework of pedagogic discourse and recontextualization. Data for analysis was obtained from interviews with the exhibition developers, field observations of museum visitors and analysis of exhibition documents. Using the ideas of power, classification and framework, among others, I analyzed the recontextualization process of the production of expositive discourse. Thus, working with Bernstein's idea of classification, I explain the relationship between the discourses of the science of biology, history of science, museology, education, and communication in order to produce an expositive discourse. I also make explicit how agents of the Official Recontextualization Field of the Museum and the Pedagogic Recontextualization Field "....of the Museum determine partly the final expositive discourse of an exhibition". Using the idea of a pedagogic discourse framework, I discuss how the constraints imposed by objects and texts in exhibitions help to create a specific manner of visitor interaction with these elements, "even if they have some autonomy". Considerations about the audience and the intended process of acquisition are presented, when I discuss the control strategies of the exhibition. I propose that the Biodiscovery Space exhibit has a visible pedagogy. Finally, using the collected data I discuss the power tensions created in the production of expositive discourse showing how distributive, recontextualization and evaluation rules work in the context of exhibitions. The study of the dynamics in forming the expositive discourse using Bernstein's framework reveals the individuals and institutions, the selection criteria, the negotiations and the power relations involved. It has the potential to assist both educators and researchers in the museum education field, as well as designers to understand the teaching and learning processes that occur during a visit and to establish relevant criteria to evaluate quality to best produce exhibitions in science museums.

Biology is a science that involves study of the diversity of living organisms. This diversity has always generated questions and has motivated cultures to seek plausible explanations for the differences and similarities between types of organisms. In biology teaching, these issues are addressed by adopting an evolutionary approach. The aim of this study was to compare the extent to which the beliefs of 20 public high school biology teachers in the Bauru region of São Paulo in Brazil exemplified the most significant historical concepts regarding evolution. Data from open-ended interviews with teachers were analysed and coded. The analysis of the interviews revealed how participating biology teachers understood and explained biological evolution. The assessment of teachers' conceptions about evolution indicated that many responses expressed current scientifically accepted concepts, such as transformism, natural selection, gradualism and common descent. However, some teachers also provided responses that combined scientific concepts with non-scientific notions, such as finalism, verticality and adaptation to the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate biology teachers' understanding of evolutionary processes.

The article describes the development of a new approach to teach molecular biology to undergraduate biology students. The 34 students who participated in this research belonged to the first period of the Biological Sciences teaching course of the Instituto Federal Goiano at Urutaí Campus, Brazil. They were registered in Cell Biology in the first semester of 2013. They received four 55 min-long expository/dialogued lectures that covered the content of "structure and functions of nucleic acids". Later the students were invited to attend four meetings (in a computer laboratory) in which some concepts of Bioinformatics were presented and some problems of the Rosalind platform were solved. The observations we report here are very useful as a broad groundwork to development new research. An interesting possibility is research into the effects of bioinformatics interventions that improve molecular biology learning.

To address a common problem of teaching the sliding filament theory (that is, students have difficulty in visualizing how the component proteins of the sarcomere differ, how they organize themselves into a single working unit, and how they function in relation to each other), we have devised a simple model, with inexpensive materials, to be built by students in the fourth year of an undergraduate biology course. This model can be quickly built by the students themselves and is functional enough to allow visualization of the filaments and their properties. The model uses cheap, simple materials, mostly party and craft supplies, to simulate the component proteins of the sarcomere, and the proposed materials can be readily replaced by more available ones.

Teachers' professional development is a key factor in improving science education, but it shows limited impact when only a small number of teachers is reached, or when it focuses on only one aspect of teachers' development, such as learning science content, and is disconnected from teachers' practice. In order to increase the impact of our work on teachers' professional development, we implemented in 2007 ComPratica, an online network intended to establish a virtual community of practice involving biology teachers and biological education researchers. We present here the results of the first 2 years of this project, obtained through an analysis of the number and distribution of actions performed by the participants in the community, the kinds of activities in which they are engaged, and the themes addressed in their messages. From these data, we conclude that ComPratica is effectively functioning as a community of practice and is leading to changes related to both teachers' and researchers' professional development, which seem capable of reducing the research-practice gap in science education.

This work discusses the use of Darwin's "Tree of Life" as a didactic analogy and metaphor in teaching evolution. It investigates whether biology teachers of pupils from 17 to 18 years old know Darwin's text "Tree of Life". In addition, it examines whether those teachers systematically employ either the analogies present in that text or other analogies between the tree and evolution, and whether they adopt a specific methodology for teaching with analogies and metaphors (A&M). The academic training of teachers regarding use of A&M is review briefly. A diagnostic study was carried out with biology teachers in a public school in the town of Contagem in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The data were obtained through direct observation, questionnaires and a focus group. The teachers pointed out in the questionnaires that some details of Darwin's analogy are utilized as a resource. However, analysis of the data indicates that the "Tree of Life" text is not known or utilized in class. At the same time, the teachers state that they use aspects of the tree as a didactic resource to teach evolution and that its use facilitates the learning of content. The teachers have little knowledge of specific methodologies of teaching with analogies and metaphors, revealing that their training is incomplete in this area.

Teaching collections are of great importance for science instruction at any level. There are several problems linked to the handling and curatorial management of this kind of collection. Among these is the relatively short life-span of specimens, due to the damage from continuous handling by students. Often the specimens used to replenish the teaching collection come from sampling in field. This is at odds with the ethics of conservation and the use of and experimentation on animals in biology. The technique proposed in the present work is an effective and low-cost way to build a macroinvertebrate wet teaching collection and store invertebrate animals for pedagogical purposes, preserving the specimens, and allowing the use of rare or fragile specimens in school and university teaching settings as well as in training courses programmes. A collection preserved in alcoholic gel has been used to test a handbook for identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and in theoretical-practical lessons for training students in the water quality research programme in the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/Ministry of Health, Brazil. (Contains 6 figures.)

In this paper we discuss the results of an investigation aiming at mapping the conceptions of nature of protestant biology preservice teachers in a Brazilian university, State University of Feira de Santana, and elucidating their strategies to manage the coexistence of scientific and religious knowledge. We employ naturalistic semi-structured interviews about conceptualizations of nature to build first person interpretive narratives, which allow us to build a general characterization of the students' conceptualizations of nature and science, as well as strategies to deal with the coexistence of religious and scientific knowledge. We use students' personal statements to construct a general description of their religious and scientific upbringing. They are divided in two groups: (a) those with more scientifically compatible worldviews, who often make use of scientific ideas in their narratives about nature and build syntheses between scientific explanatory models and their religious worldviews; and (b) those who do not show evidence of meaningful learning of scientific ideas and are largely inclined to deliberately repudiate scientific knowledge. Our results show the complexity of the relationships between religious and scientific education in the trajectories of these preservice biology teachers.

This paper reports results obtained in pedagogical interventions in a Brazilian public high school which aimed at promoting a dialogue between scientific and traditional knowledge in the context of biology teaching. The interventions were based on the use of a didactic material and teaching sequence elaborated on the grounds of school knowledge about botany, as presented in biology textbooks, and interviews with students who were also farmers, so as to gather data about their ethnobiological knowledge. Our goal was to develop and test resources that can offer support for teachers who wish to build a dialogue between different ways of knowing in multicultural settings. Our results indicate that the use of the didactic material and teaching sequence indeed created possibilities for a dialogue between the students' ethnobiological knowledge and biology school knowledge. We observed some shortcomings in classroom practice, partly reflecting our very choice of subject matter to develop the teaching sequence. But the interventions also revealed important limitations that we regard as representative of problems that may generally make multicultural science teaching a hard goal to achieve. It was clear that important shortcomings were related to teachers' difficulties to conduct a dialogue between ways of knowing in a science classroom, and, thus, called attention to the importance of introducing a multicultural dimension into teacher education. We also observed that the fact that students did not show much sensitivity towards dealing with cultural diversity was a factor constraining the success of the interventions. These results highlight the importance of proposing and testing teacher education initiatives aiming at preparing them to teach science in a culturally sensitive manner, and also managing classroom tensions and conflicts so as to make it possible an effective dialogue between different ways of knowing in a multicultural setting.

Gaia theory proposes that a cybernetic system including the biota and the physicochemical environment regulates environmental variables at a global scale, keeping them within a range that makes Earth inhabitable by living beings. One can argue that this theory can play an important role in school science, since it bears upon current environmental problems, contributes to cross-disciplinary learning, and may help students understand the nature of science. Nevertheless, discourses about Gaia include both scientific and non-scientific ideas, and, consequently, this theory has been seen as pseudoscience, or even antiscience, as an unwarranted view, entangled with mysticism. But an informed view about the contributions and risks associated with Gaia as part of science education depends on a general analysis about the treatment of this theory in school knowledge. Here, we offer the first analysis of this sort, critically evaluating how Gaia is addressed in a representative sample of Brazilian textbooks (n = 18). We present data about the presence or not of Gaia theory among the contents covered by the textbooks, the presence of the claim that Earth is living, whether and how they use analogies to justify this claim, the discussion of evidence for and against Gaia, and the treatment of its relevance to current issues. Gaia theory is explicitly addressed in ca. 39% of the analyzed textbooks. There is a general script that the textbooks that explicitly name the theory follow when discussing Gaia. First, they argue that life affects the environment, and support this argument by means of examples, then, explain what the Gaia theory proposes, discuss evidence in favor either of the idea that Earth is living or Gaia theory in general, introduce one or more analogies to justify the claim of a living Earth, and, finally, offer remarks on the current importance of Gaia. Three analogies used by Lovelock himself were found in the analyzed textbooks, Gaia as a superorganism, the analogy between Gaia and a redwood tree, and between Gaia and the Greek goddess of Earth. The most frequent was the superorganism analogy. The idea of a control system including the biota and the physicochemical environment and any discussion about theoretical and empirical advances resulting from Gaia theory were absent from most analyzed textbooks, which focused mainly on the claim of a living Earth. Although Gaia can contribute to the understanding of environmental issues, the treatment found in most of the analyzed schoolbooks puts so much emphasis on the idea that Earth is living and is so close to an animistic understanding of the Earth system that it is likely that it will bring no true contribution to the development of adequate conceptions about that system and the connections between human activities and the environmental crisis.

In the present work, I investigated the origin of the misconception that glucose is the sole metabolic fuel previously described among Brazilian high school students. The results of a multiple-choice test composed of 24 questions about a broad range of biology subjects were analyzed. The test was part of a contest and was answered by a sample composed of undergraduate students as well as biologists and practicing biology teachers. The majority of the responders had difficulties in recognizing the existence of gluconeogenesis and the possibility of ATP production using other fuels other than carbohydrates. Biology teachers and biologists seemed to either lack the knowledge or present the misconception regarding energy-yielding metabolism found among students. I argue that in both cases, biology teachers are likely to teach metabolism-related subjects in a manner that may contribute to the appearance of the misconception among high school students. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Early morning school schedules are in the opposite direction to the sleep-wake cycle in adolescence and early adulthood. This conflict leads to sleep deprivation and irregular patterns whose consequences are scarcely explored. This article discusses the effects of three educational experiences with high school students, parents, teachers, and medical students. The first experience was developed with high school students in Natal, Brazil, to determine whether sleep habits would improve with increased awareness. Positive effects were observed in some aspects of sleep knowledge and practices. In the second experience in Atlanta, GA, sleep education activities were presented to middle and high school teachers, parents, and students to emphasize the importance of sleep. In the third program in Murcia, Spain, undergraduate medical students were introduced to chronobiology of sleep by a practical exercise that pointed out to what extent they shared most of adolescent sleep characteristics. Educational chronobiological experiences about sleep are essential to develop healthy sleep habits in the general population, particularly in students.

The authors evaluated the environmental education program of the Golden Lion Tamarin Association in Brazil by comparing results of a 2001 survey with baseline data from 1986. Responses of 666 residents and results from 4 focus groups revealed an increase in public support for the tamarin and its habitat and an increase in general environmental knowledge. The evaluation identified gaps in knowledge about the biology and conservation status of the tamarin and gaps in women's participation in the education program. (Contains 4 tables.)

The advent of genomics, proteomics, and microarray technology has brought much excitement to science, both in teaching and in learning. The public is eager to know about the processes of life. In the present context of the explosive growth of scientific information, a major challenge of modern cell biology is to popularize basic concepts of structures and functions of living cells, to introduce people to the scientific method, to stimulate inquiry, and to analyze and synthesize concepts and paradigms. In this essay we present our experience in mixing science and education in Brazil. For two decades we have developed activities for the science education of teachers and undergraduate students, using microscopy images generated by our work as cell biologists. We describe open-air outreach education activities, games, cell modeling, and other practical and innovative activities presented in public squares and "favelas". Especially in developing countries, science education is important, since it may lead to an improvement in quality of life while advancing understanding of traditional scientific ideas. We show that teaching and research can be mutually beneficial rather than competing pursuits in advancing these goals.

Photographs are a major aspect of high school science textbooks, which dominate classroom approaches to teaching and learning. It is thus surprising that the function of photographs and their relation to captions and texts have not been the topic of analysis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence, function, and structure of photographs in high school science. Our motivating research question was, "What can students learn from textbooks when they study photographs?" To answer this and several subordinate questions, we selected and analyzed four Brazilian biology textbooks. We focus on the use of photographs and the relation among them, various types of texts, and the subject matter presented. Our analysis reveals that the structural elements of text, caption, and photographs and the relations among them differ across the textbooks and at times even within the same book. This, of course, will influence readers' interpretations of the photographs changing their role in the text. The results of our study have implications for textbook authors and textbook readers. We suggest that future studies may focus on students' and teachers' interpretation of photographs in real time. (Contains 17 figures, 1 table and 6 notes.)

Investigates young peoples' knowledge and the culture influence using a cross-sectional approach. Involves n=586 pupils from 11 different countries and analyzes resultant drawings using a seven point scale where the criterion was anatomical accuracy. (Contains 24 references.) (Author/YDS)

Evaluates the participation of high school students in the activities of an international conference on experimental biology. Students develop criteria to overcome difficulties with vocabulary and content and acquire updated scientific information. (Author/DDR)

Describes the implementation and evaluation of a constructivist course for science teachers in which teachers are inducted into "critical constructivism" through their own action-research projects. Illustrates the induction process and professional development of one biology teacher of 13- to 15-year olds in Brazil. Contains 23 references. (Author/WRM)

Reviews recent changes that Brazil has undergone in the teaching of biology. Notes that most changes during the past 15 years have been restricted to content. Suggestions are made for curriculum reform. (CS)

Reproductive strategies are one of the more fascinating aspects of Anuran biology and are likely affected by species habitat use and availability of reproductive sites. The Cerrado endemic Pithecopus oreades is a habitat specialist that reproduces in seasonal high-altitude rocky streams in Central Brazil. Herein, we describe its reproductive behavior based on observations made during two consecutive reproductive seasons in a high-altitude stream located in an open field area in Central Brazil. The reproductive activity of P. oreades occurs during the rainy season, from the very first rains, and lasts about 3 months. The species is nocturnal, showing a vocalization peak between 20:00 h and 21:00 h. Its vocalization activity was related to total precipitation. The nests, composed by only one folded leaf, are placed on shrubs along streams. The nests, which hang over the stream pools, contain approximately 30 eggs that last about 13 days of incubation, producing about 25 tadpoles per spawning. Males are territorial, remaining in the same places for more than 60 days, defending them through vocalizations and eventual physical combats. Males with a higher body condition usually stay longer in the same territory. We also recorded males displaying satellite behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Axiidea housed in the collection of the Museu de Oceanografia Prof. Petrônio Alves Coelho, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (MOUFPE) were studied. This collection contains 66% of the total diversity of axiideans recorded from the continental shelf of the Brazilian coast. The species are listed by family and genus as follows: Axiidea: Axiidae (Axiopsis, Axiorygma, Calaxius, Coralaxius, Manaxius, Paraxiopsis), Callianassidae (Cheramoides), Callichiridae (Callichirus, Corallianassa, Lepidophthalmus, Neocallichirus), Ctenochelidae (Ctenocheles, Ctenocheloides, Dawsonius, Gourretia), Micheleidae (Marcusiaxius, Meticonaxius). Details on the biology and taxonomy of some of these species are given. In addition, certain poorly documented species are now better understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Dyckia (Bromeliaceae) is endemic to South America, and its species show important ecological roles in xeric environments. The flowering phenology as well as floral and reproductive biology were monitored monthly in Dyckia dissitiflora at two sites (Bela Vista: 11°42′03.4″ S 39°05′21.7″ W and Barra do Vento: 11°37′58.1″ S 39°03′33.7″ W) in the municipality of Serrinha, Bahia, Brazil. Flowering occurs in the early austral summer with a peculiar time of beginning of anthesis (10:00–11:00), offering resources 18 h after the first petal movements. Pollen viability was 98%, with a high production of pollen grains. Stigma receptivity is continuous from flower opening to senescence, and nectar production initiates at 04:00 and extends until 18:00. The species is self‐compatible and autogamous, but not agamospermic. Pollen tubes developed and reached the micropyle within 24 h in all of the reproductive tests. The hummingbird Chlorostilbon lucidus was the only floral visitor and pollinator (frequency = 0.82 ± 0.02). Fruiting occurs 3 days after anthesis, and the seeds are wind‐dispersed. Self‐compatibility and autogamy are essential strategies for the reproductive success of D. dissitiflora in light of the low number and visit frequency of its pollinators, and it is favored by slow floral movements and the position of the stigmas in relation to stamens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]