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Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an inseparable part of schoolwork and a goal of education to prepare scientifically literate and digitally competent citizens. Yet the introduction of computers into school work has been much slower than its introduction in other spheres of life. Teachers' lack of knowledge/skills and difficulty in integrating ICT into instruction affect the realization of computer-related goals in schools. Another hidden obstacle that can affect the introduction of computers into the Biology laboratory can be discomfort with the interpretation of graphs obtained by data-loggers. We can group these difficulties with graph outcomes into 4 areas: (1) Explanations of the curves that lie beyond the domain of Biology, in Physics, Chemistry or some other discipline; (2) Hardware properties; (3) Unknown properties of experimental components; (4) Occasional equipment breakdowns or crashes. (Contains 5 figures.)

Syllabi in the science subjects, biology, chemistry and physics at lower and general upper secondary school are compared in the light of their underlying philosophies, goals, objectives and recognized importance in science teaching. Even though all syllabi were prepared within the same framework, great differences among syllabi concerning practical work are evident. More importance is given to practical work in the syllabi of chemistry and physics, where it is recognized as a basic method, while in the biology syllabus the construction of concepts is valued much higher. (Contains 3 tables.)

About two-thirds of Slovene secondary schools received computers equipped with data-loggers and sensors to be used in teaching Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Later it was recognized that only a couple of Biology teachers were using the donated equipment in their classrooms or laboratories. The questionnaire, intended to investigate the situation, was posted to schools which had received a donation. Based on the answers, it was possible to assign computer applications from one of the three groups. In the first group were these applications (word processing, e-mail and internet use) towards which teachers have positive attitudes and that they do use for school work. The common element is that teachers can work at home and then use the materials in the classroom. In the second group were applications (presentations, use of data loggers, computer programmes and virtual laboratory) towards which attitudes are positive, but which teachers do not use because of the overloaded curriculum, lack of equipment, and inappropriate training. In the third group are applications (computer games and programming), about which attitudes are negative and which teachers do not use. The Introduction of such applications into teaching is at the moment far from realistic. (Contains 7 tables.)

Developing the connection between biology and mathematics is one of the most important ways to shift the paradigms of both established science disciplines. However, adding some mathematic content to biology or biology content to mathematics is not enough but must be accompanied by development of suitable pedagogical models. I propose a model of pedagogical mathematical biological content knowledge as a feasible starting point for connecting biology and mathematics in schools and universities. The process of connecting these disciplines should start as early as possible in the educational process, in order to produce prepared minds that will be able to combine both disciplines at graduate and postgraduate levels of study. Because teachers are a crucial factor in introducing innovations in education, the first step toward such a goal should be the education of prospective and practicing elementary and secondary school teachers. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

The objective of this study was to investigate knowledge, opinions, and attitudes toward, as well as readiness to accept genetically modified organisms (GMOs) among prospective primary and secondary Slovene teachers. Our findings are that prospective teachers want to take an active role in rejecting or supporting individual GMOs and are aware of the importance of education about genetically modified organism (GMO) items and their potential significance for society. Through cluster analysis, we recognized four clusters of GMOs, separated by degree of genetically modified acceptability. GM plants and microorganisms which are recognized as useful are accepted. They are undecided about organisms used in research or medicine and reject organisms used for food consumption and for fun. There are only weak correlations between knowledge and attitudes and knowledge and acceptance of GMOs, and a strong correlation between attitudes and acceptance. The appropriate strategies and actions for improving university courses in biotechnology are discussed. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

The big question which has arisen with the growth of ICT is how to incorporate this new technology into existing curriculum. The authors relate how they established a viable cooperation and transfer of knowledge between subjects biology and ICT in their school in Slovenia. The result was that their students produced more than 150 biological Web pages, covering topics like evolution, genetics, human anatomy, birds and mammals. During the implementation of this program, the authors relate that they can achieve desirable outcomes only through cooperation between the teachers of IT and biology. The first underlying reason is that the IT teacher can not be an expert in every discipline, so she cannot recognize if web pages produced by the students contains data from corrupted sources, is trivial, or even wrong. Without cooperation, students would produce technically correct Web pages but with questionable content. As such, the authors suggest that work must be carefully balanced between teachers, so students are taught things about computer and they get to put their knowledge into practice in other subjects.

We tried to enrich teaching human anatomy in high school biology lessons. Students construct dichotomous identification keys to the cells, tissues, organs, or body parts. By doing this, students have achieved higher-order cognitive levels of knowledge because construction of such keys is based on analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Students found the method useful but not easy to perform. As an educator, it was easy to recognize the positive value of using identification keys in a new context. (Contains 2 figures.)

The author observed the searching strategies of students preparing biological web pages at a Slovene secondary school. Students who do not understand English encounter difficulties while looking for information on the Internet. For them, the Internet is not a global village where everyone can communicate with everyone else. A more appropriate analogy is that the Internet is a great continent, surrounded with an archipelago of small islands. Key words: computer-mediated communication, improving classroom teaching, teaching/learning strategies, media in education, secondary education, 'All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. George Orwell, Animal Farm. INTRODUCTION Over the last few years, computers have become a useful tool in everyday [...]

The purpose of this study was to explore the inter-relationships among students’ self-esteem, bullying victimization/perpetration behaviours, and perceived parental support, with a focus on how self-esteem mediates the association of parental support and bullying behaviours and how bullying mediates the association of parental support and self-esteem. We employed structural equation modelling to analyse the secondary data collected in “Young Minds Matter: The Second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing” funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. Analyses were performed on 431 adolescent students selected from 2967 adolescents aged 11-17 years. Our fi ndings revealed that parental support has a direct positive association with self-esteem and a direct negative association with bullying behaviours. This study highlights the importance of parental support in both lowering bullying perpetration/victimization and enhancing student’s self-esteem. Findings of this study could improve anti-bullying programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching high school students about the digestive system can be a challenge for a teacher when s/he wants to overcome rote learning of facts without a deeper understanding of the physiological processes inside the alimentary tract. A series of model experiments illustrating the journey of a sandwich was introduced into teaching high school biology. Using a computer equipped with a commercially available data-acquisition system and a couple of sensors, it was possible to illustrate the basic underlying physical and chemical principles of digestion to the students. Students were able to investigate, through hands-on activities, the chewing force of the jaws, importance of the mechanical breakdown of food, enzymatic activity of pepsin and amylase, antibacterial activity of hydrochloric acid, and importance of the villi for absorption. Students found the experiments interesting and helpful for understanding the digestive process. Furthermore, the results from testing indicated that the students had a deeper understanding of the physiological processes.