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This paper is based on an oral presentation delivered at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists in Fairbanks, Alaska on 25 June 2009, where I was honored to receive the Society's Joseph Grinnell Award for excellence in education in mammalogy. The motivation for the topic of my presentation was the many "bad" talks all of us have endured at scientific meetings and in other situations. As I do for undergraduate and graduate classes, rather than providing a list of seminar "dos" and "don'ts," I presented a practical demonstration of many of the "don'ts" I have observed and then attempted to present the same information incorporating as many of the "do's" as I could. In other words, I delivered a bad and then a good version of the same presentation. My goal was to provide the audience with advice that would be useful when presenting information about mammals to scientific colleagues and the general public (e.g., service clubs or school groups). Given that it is impossible to recreate aspects of my performance using the written word, my purpose here is to summarize my opinions about the key elements of good talks. The goal of a talk should be to maximize the likelihood that it will be perceived as interesting, thoughtful, and purposeful and that the key take-home message(s) will be understood and remembered. It is my strongly held belief, especially with the now essentially universal use of computer slideware (e.g., PowerPoint), that an opportunity exists to enhance the usefulness of oral presentations but a real risk of muddling them to the point where the intended message is lost. I also make some recommendations about how to avoid common pitfalls of using this software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the activities that happened in 2006 for the American Society of Naturalists. The executive meeting held June 23, 2006 emphasized on the success of the three-editor system and electronic papers of the society's publication. The business meeting of the society focused on the presentation of the anti-wedge document to the Joint Council, which establishes medium-term and long-term goals to defend and promote the teaching of evolutionary biology. The next meeting of the joint committee pointed on the support of the Joint Council to the anti-wedge document.

The understanding of core concepts and processes of science in solving problems is important to successful learning in biology. We have designed and developed a Web-based, self-directed tutorial program, SOLVEIT, that provides various scaffolds (e.g., prompts, expert models, visual guidance) to help college students enhance their skills and abilities in solving problems in science. An initial version of SOLVEIT was used in this study. This paper details the features of SOLVEIT that are contextualized within the biological domains of evolution and ecology. A qualitative case study was conducted to evaluate the usability of the program. Selected students were recruited from an introductory biology course at a large public university in the south-eastern United States. Data for this study were collected through the SOLVEIT database and semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential of the program for improving students' problem solving in biology. Suggestions for the use of SOLVEIT and its further improvement and development are discussed, along with suggestions for future research. This study also provides more general guidance for researchers and practitioners who are interested in the design, development and evaluation of Web-based tutorial programs in science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student interest, industry growth, and medical advances highlight a growing need for baccalaureate trained bioengineers. However, undergraduate bioengineering curricula have not kept pace with the recent rapid growth of biotechnology, bioinformatics, and cellular level bioengineering. It is the premise of this paper that a new baccalaureate core curriculum in cell and tissue engineering is needed to foster the full development of bioengineering as a core engineering discipline. Employment opportunities for baccalaureate Bioengineering graduates in the emerging biologically-based engineering industry (e.g. bioinformatics, cell and tissue engineering, neural engineering) are increasing. We describe a new undergraduate B.S. bioengineering curriculum in cell and tissue engineering with an emphasis in interfacial molecular approaches. This curriculum is integrated with traditional bioengineering topics and has its technical emphasis in molecular biology, nanotechnology, and computational modeling. Thus, the future bioengineer can be expected to design, model, fabricate, and control living systems and their fundamental constituents at the same level of detail as an electrical engineer uses SPICE and CAD tools to develop a microelectronic or micro-electro-mechanical device. Such engineers would be expected to take their place in industry, graduate school, or medicine with a clear mastery of cell and tissue-based bioengineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the result of the study on the possibility of teaching students how to distinguished between teleological and causal explanations in a biology class in the U.S. Based on the study, special treatment is needed and consequently should be given in order to develop the ability of discrimination between causal explanations and teleological and anthropomorphic explanations. Examination papers in biology for an evaluation of the students' achievements of this instruction objective, items of Test On Causal and Teleological Relationships and similar test questions should be included.

Active learning in STEM education is essential for engaging the diverse pool of scholars needed to address pressing environmental and social challenges. However, active learning formats are difficult to scale and their incorporation into STEM teaching at U.S. universities varies widely. Here, we argue that urban agriculture as a theme can significantly increase active learning in undergraduate biology education by facilitating outdoor fieldwork and community‐engaged education. We begin by reviewing benefits of field courses and community engagement activities for undergraduate biology and discuss constraints to their broader implementation. We then describe how urban agriculture can connect biology concepts to pressing global changes, provide field research opportunities, and connect students to communities. Next, we assess the extent to which urban agriculture and related themes have already been incorporated into biology‐related programs in the United States using a review of major programs, reports on how campus gardens are used, and case studies from five higher education institutions (HEIs) engaging with this issue. We found that while field experiences are fairly common in major biology programs, community engagement opportunities are rare, and urban agriculture is almost nonexistent in course descriptions. We also found that many U.S. HEIs have campus gardens, but evidence suggests that they are rarely used in biology courses. Finally, case studies of five HEIs highlight innovative programming but also significant opportunities for further implementation. Together, our results suggest that urban agriculture is rarely incorporated into undergraduate biology in the United States, but there are significant prospects for doing so. We end with recommendations for integrating urban agriculture into undergraduate biology, including the development of campus gardens, research programs, community engagement partnerships, and collaborative networks. If done with care, this integration could help students make community contributions within required coursework, and help instructors feel a greater sense of accomplishment in an era of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student-originated projects are increasingly utilized in the biology laboratory as a means of engaging students and revitalizing the laboratory experience by allowing them one to two weeks to collect data on a manipulated variable of their choice by use of an introduced technique. Such experiments fail as good models of investigative learning when they place more emphasis on novel ideas than on hypothesis testing, experimental design, statistical rigor, or use of the primary literature. In addition, students get used to the routine and rend to design the same type of simplistic experiments in each course unless challenged. Laboratories in a Comparative Anatomy and Physiology course at the University of St. Thomas were reorganized to encourage the development of investigative skills in a stepwise fashion throughout the semester. Initial labs concentrated on experimental design and statistical analysis, then use of the primary literature in interpretation of the data was emphasized, and finally, students were asked to design their experiments and analyze their data on the basis of models from the primary literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the implementation of technology-rich science products in real classrooms and the "Biology: Exploring Life" project in the U.S. Participants in the project; Data collection method of the study; Results of the study; Recommendations in implementing technology-rich science products.

Discusses writing as a tool for learning biology in the United States. Effect of in the publication of a scientific research; Teaching of writing in schools; Incorporation of writing into courses; Effective teaching instead of correct writing. INSET: Brown's and Smith's essays, by Rhetoric comparison..

The article presents a study on the relationships among level of intellectual development, cognitive style and grades in a college biology course in the U.S. The study, which is participated by eight males and 45 females enrolled in two sections of Biological Science for the Elementary Teacher, was characterized by a series of test items in isolation and control of variables, proportions, probability, combinatorials, conservation and correlations as well. Piagetian demonstration test was employed to measure formal reasoning, while Gottschaldt Figure test is for field-dependence and field-independence. As the results are taken into great consideration, it is concluded that the three factors are directly in line with one another.

The article investigates the results of grade placement of biology in the high school curriculum in science education in the U.S. This article speculates that the conflicting results or earlier investigations were due to the fact that the subjects were specially selected. This study indicates that schools can effectively offer biology in the ninth grade. In addition, this paper points out that it was advantageous for students because it will allow them to take more courses of their own choosing.

The article reports on the survey conducted by the Office of Biological Education (OBE) regarding biology education in the U.S. Data gathered by the Digest of Educational Statistics indicates that for every ten pupils in the fifth grade in 1959-1960 wherein 7.2 graduated from high school in 1967, 4.0 entered college in the fall of 1967 and 2.0 are likely to earn four-year degrees in 1971. According to the Registry of the National Science Teachers Association, in 1967, there were 33,639 biologists among the 185,000 teachers of junior and senior high school science. Discussed are the details of the issue.

The article presents a study which examines the performance of students who are taking up the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study in the U.S. The curriculum was established in 1959 for the purpose of upgrading the teaching methods in biology and enhances the student's understanding of the theories and its application for practical purposes. The actual examination performances in the laboratory revealed significant information regarding the technical skills and problem solving abilities of the students. Some students revealed high standards of work.

The article examines the curriculum for the talented student in biology in the U.S. A curriculum for the talented student in biology is one that provides a variety of environments and learning experiences through which the student may explore his interests and be stimulated to capitalize on his native abilities. Talented students in biology require guidance and inspiration from well-trained, enthusiastic, dedicated biology teachers. The total curriculum for the talented biology student is one that is well-balanced in the humanities. The curriculum includes at least one year each of chemistry and physics, a minimum of three years of mathematics, some shop experience to acquire skills in the use of tools and machines, and training in mechanical drafting.

The article presents the result of a project aimed at producing a syllabus in biology for general education, based upon previous investigations and current judgments from various leaders in the area of general education and in the biological sciences. The syllabus contains forty-two principles of biology. For each principle there is a list of several criteria of general education. Specific readings were suggested for each principle in order that students may obtain a better understanding of biology.

The article presents information about the special uses of biology in elementary school curricula in the U.S. Science motivates and clarifies mathematical ideas for the small child. At the same time, mathematics quantitates the science subject matter. The use of biology in sorting into sets includes the selection of appropriate organisms and the setting up of appropriate criteria used in classification. Studies show that children develop enough manual skills in second grade to measure accurately, write measurements in a table and draw graphs. Unfrotunately, the use of living materials in schools is limited since many modern classrooms are not designed to accommodate living things.

Implementation of reform curricula requires teachers to adopt new approaches to teaching. Research has provided promising results about the influence of educative curriculum on teachers' learning and instruction. However, this approach generally focuses on teachers as isolated learners. Using a design-based research approach, the authors developed a web-based tool, iPlan, which provides access to educative curriculum materials in an online interactive learning platform. iPlan encourages social interaction among teachers, in particular their modifications and reflections on teaching with the curriculum materials. The authors describe design principles, assessing successful and unsuccessful aspects of the resulting platform through semi-structured interviews with teachers within the context of implementation of a high school biology curriculum. Analysis of the interviews revealed which structures of this online platform were used by the teachers, as well as why and how they were used. The study provides implications for designing educative and online systems for teacher learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science teachers are being called on to incorporate engineering practices into their classrooms. This study explores whether the Engineering-Infused Lesson Rubric, a new rubric designed to target best practices in engineering education, could be used to evaluate the extent to which engineering is infused into online science lessons. Eighty lessons were selected at random from three online repositories, and coded with the rubric. Overall results documented the strengths of existing lessons, as well as many components that teachers might strengthen. In addition, a subset of characteristics was found to distinguish lessons with the highest level of engineering infusion. Findings are discussed in relation to the potential of the rubric to help teachers use research evidence-informed practice generally, and in relation to the new content demands of the U.S.Next Generation Science Standards, in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Students in the United States struggle with literacy skills, a problem that extends into their undergraduate education and beyond. Particularly in the sciences, reading assignments are usually singularly academic in nature and do not impart the importance of creativity and innovation. We propose a curriculum strategy and lesson plan that employs a "reading across the curriculum" approach to enhance literacy skills in biology students while simultaneously encouraging scientific discourse and creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the paper "The Acquisition of Biological Knowledge During Childhood: Cognitive Conflict or Tabula Rasa?" by A.E. Lawson in the U.S. It argues that the article provides a sharp challenge to many who have devoted considerably energy to the study of alternative conceptions in the life sciences. It also contends that Lawson has focused on spontaneously acquired misconceptions in young children and therefore, ignores alternative conceptions which emerge in the course of formal instruction and those that are acquired informally in later life.

The article cites the paper presented at the Commission on Undergraduate Education in the Biological Sciences in the U.S. The author stresses that there are outstanding researchers who are regarded outstanding lecturers in introductory biology courses, which suggests that good teaching follows good research. It is also elucidated that researchers are provided with salary for conducting research, publishing his findings, and bringing honor to himself and the institution. The author likewise emphasizes that teachers should be committed and responsible in making science relevant to students.

Many Chinese graduate students are teaching assistants (TAs) in mathematics, science and engineering departments in the U.S. universities. TAs' English proficiency has been a subject of concern or even criticism for years in the U.S. However, only one research has been found around international TAs' English proficiency per discipline. No research has been found about Chinese TAs' English proficiency. None has been done on Chinese TA's perception of their English proficiency in biology. With this gap noticed, I deployed interviews to explore what the three biology TAs perceived as to their English proficiency. The study found that their perception was more relevant to their content-knowledge preparation for teaching and their previous English-learning experience than cultural influence. These findings suggest that content knowledge and language competence are both important thus should be combined in TA training programs, in order to improve TAs' overall English proficiency in teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated gender differences in science learning between two pedagogical approaches: traditional lecture and narrative case studies using personal response systems (‘clickers’). Thirteen instructors of introductory biology classes at 12 different institutions across the USA and Canada used two types of pedagogy (Clicker Cases and traditional lecture) to teach eight topic areas. Three different sets of multiple regression analysis were conducted for three separate dependent variables: posttest score, change in score from posttest to final, and transfer score. Interactions between gender and pedagogical approach were found across the three analyses. Women either performed better with Clicker Cases, or about the same with either instructional method, but men performed markedly better with lectures in most topic areas. Our results suggest that men and women experience two pedagogical approaches—Clicker Cases and lectures—differently, and that Clicker Cases are more favorable for women than for men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost half of the US public rejects the idea that humans originated via evolution rather than by supernatural design. Moreover, studies demonstrate that even biology teachers have difficulty teaching their students about evolution, often including creationist explanations as well. A typical response to such findings is the argument that greater exposure to evolutionary theory would eliminate these unscientific alternatives. However, creationist ideas are not easily extinguished. Even after repeated exposure to evolutionary concepts, creationist ideas are more likely to be incorporated into hybrid frameworks along with evolutionary ideas, rather than completely rejected. Thus, members of the public often find these ideas complementary rather than contradictory. In this review, we apply dual-process theory to examine individuals' understandings of the origins of species. We describe cognitive biases that operate at the intuitive-autonomous level (system 1), some of which, we argue, anchor belief in supernatural design, and others of which potentially anchor evolutionary ideas. At the other end of the continuum, reflective and abstract reasoning (system 2) processes are apparent in both scientific and theological explanations of origins. We conclude that presenting supernatural and natural explanations of biological origins as contradictory belies the way they function in everyday reasoning. By understanding the theological and the scientific arguments as well as the way most people intuitively reason about such existential questions, teachers might be better prepared to deal with these issues in the classroom. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive research study was to examine high school students' written scientific explanations during biology laboratory investigations. Specifically, we characterized the types of epistemologies and forms of reasoning involved in students' scientific explanations and students' perceptions of scientific explanations. Sixteen students from a rural high school in the Southeastern United States were the participants of this research study. The data consisted of students' laboratory reports and individual interviews. The results indicated that students' explanations were primarily based on first-hand knowledge gained in the science laboratories and mostly representing procedural recounts. Most students did not give explanations based on a theory or a principle and did not use deductive reasoning in their explanations. The students had difficulties explaining phenomena that involved intricate cause-effect relationships. Students perceived scientific explanation as the final step of a scientific inquiry and as an account of what happened in the inquiry process, and held a constructivist-empiricist view of scientific explanations. Our results imply the need for more explicit guidance to help students construct better scientific explanations and explicit teaching of the explanatory genre with particular focus on theoretical and causal explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a few international comparisons of the evolutionary beliefs of the general public, comparatively less research has focused on science teachers. Cross-cultural studies offer profitable opportunities for exploring the interactions among knowledge and belief variables in regard to evolution in different socio-cultural contexts. We investigated the evolutionary worldviews of pre-service science teachers from Asia (specifically South Korea), a region often excluded from international comparisons. We compared Korean and American science teachers': (1) understandings of evolution and the nature of science, and (2) acceptance of evolution in order to elucidate how knowledge and belief relationships are manifested in different cultural contexts. We found that Korean science teachers exhibited 'moderate' evolutionary acceptance levels comparable to or lower than American science teacher samples. Gender was significantly related to Korean teachers' evolution content knowledge and acceptance of evolution, with female Christian biology teachers displaying the lowest values on all measures. Korean science teachers' understandings of nature of science were significantly related to their acceptance and understanding of evolution; this relationship appears to transcend cultural boundaries. Our new data on Korean teachers, combined with studies from more than 20 other nations, expose the global nature of science teacher ambivalence or antipathy toward evolutionary knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents several news briefs related to biological researches in the U.S. Systematic delivery of therapeutic viral vectors using hitchhiking on antigen-specific T cells; In Vitro engineering of an orthogonal RNA-small molecule-protein complex; Construction of an active enzyme from a nine-amino-acid alphabet.

The virtual laboratories developed by a life sciences department at a public university in the US were designed for use by college students enrolled in an introductory biology course. The results analyses conducted to examine their effectiveness indicated that self-selected users of the virtual laboratories outperformed non-users on laboratory practical exams and on items relevant to the laboratories included on the final practical exam but not on the final exam or other tests. A second comparison of two groups of users and non-users, matched by their results on the first hourly exam confirmed the findings. The finding that the users were more successful than the non-users could not be supported by a conclusion that the students had initial differences in quality. The results were replicated in a second semester, virtual laboratories-relevant final exam items, but not on the final exam or other tests. Users expressed positive attitudes toward the virtual laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal benefit depends on the general public’s understandings of biotechnology (Betsch in World J Microbiol Biotechnol 12:439–443, ; Dawson and Cowan in Int J Sci Educ 25(1):57–69, ; Schiller in Business Review: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (Fourth Quarter), ; Smith and Emmeluth in Am Biol Teach 64(2):93–99, ). A National Science Foundation funded survey of high school biology teachers reported that hands-on biotechnology education exists in advanced high school biology in the United States, but is non-existent in mainstream biology coursework (Micklos et al. in Biotechnology labs in American high schools, ). The majority of pre-service teacher content preparation courses do not teach students appropriate content knowledge through the process of inquiry. A broad continuum exists when discussing inquiry-oriented student investigations (Hanegan et al. in School Sci Math J 109(2):110–134, ). Depending on the amount of structure in teacher lessons, inquiries can often be categorized as guided or open. The lesson can be further categorized as simple or authentic (Chinn and Malhotra in Sci Educ 86(2):175–218, ). Although authentic inquiries provide the best opportunities for cognitive development and scientific reasoning, guided and simple inquiries are more often employed in the classroom (Crawford in J Res Sci Teach 37(9):916–937, ; NRC in Inquiry and the national science education standards: a guide for teaching and learning, ). For the purposes of this study we defined inquiry as “authentic” if original research problems were resolved (Hanegan et al. in School Sci Math J 109(2):110–134, ; Chinn and Malhotra in Sci Educ 86(2):175–218, ; Roth in Authentic school science: knowing and learning in open-inquiry science laboratories, ). The research question to guide this study through naturalistic inquiry research methods was: How will participants express whether or not an authentic inquiry experience enhanced their understanding of biotechnology? As respondents explored numerous ideas in order to develop a workable research question, struggled to create a viable protocol, executed their experiment, and then evaluated their results, they commented on unexpected topics regarding the nature of science as well as specific content knowledge relating to their experiments. Four out of five participants reported they learned the most during authentic inquiry laboratory experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the effectiveness of peer-interactive course instruction which known as Biology 100 in the U.S. M. David Merrill, an advisor of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Outreach (CITO) at the Brigham Young University-Hawaii, stated that the instructional strategies are very useful tool especially to the freshmen students to know more about biological topics. David Bybee, course instructor of the university, added that the instructional method would enhance the abilities of the students to interact in solving problems, socialization and peer group stabilization. Several charts are presented depicting the student's behavior in the new class activities and the traditional classes.

The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the marine environment is a growing concern, but the degree to which marine mammals, seabirds and fish harbor these organisms is not well documented. This project sought to identify the occurrence and patterns of antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from vertebrates of coastal waters in the northeastern United States. Four hundred and seventy-two isolates of clinical interest were tested for resistance to a suite of 16 antibiotics. Fifty-eight percent were resistant to at least one antibiotic, while 43% were resistant to multiple antibiotics. A multiple antibiotic resistance index value ≥0.2 was observed in 38% of the resistant pathogens, suggesting exposure of the animals to bacteria from significantly contaminated sites. Groups of antibiotics were identified for which bacterial resistance commonly co-occurred. Antibiotic resistance was more widespread in bacteria isolated from seabirds than marine mammals, and was more widespread in stranded or bycaught marine mammals than live marine mammals. Structuring of resistance patterns based on sample type (live/stranded/bycaught) but not animal group (mammal/bird/fish) was observed. These data indicate that antibiotic resistance is widespread in marine vertebrates, and they may be important reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of an exploratory study at three universities (two in the UK and one in the USA) of how first-year students in three disciplines (biology, electrical engineering and history) learn to argue, we conducted interviews (individual and group) with university faculty and students about the place of argument in their teaching and learning. Here we reflect on the complexity of researching a term that refers both to an abstract concept and process and to diverse actual practices that often appear to be in excess of, or only partially covered by, such abstraction. We found stable, definitive data about argument hard to abstract convincingly from the interviews. The analysis instead drew our attention to how faculty and students inflected the term 'argument' in diverse, nuanced ways; constructed their accounts of 'argument' and of themselves as students or teachers interactively in the interview; and introduced various related terms (e.g. 'analysis', 'interpretation', 'critique'). Reflecting on ways in which the interview can foreclose as well as open up opportunities for sense making around 'argument', we concluded that an approach that anchors talk in detailed accounts of practice is most fruitful in developing our understanding. In this way, interviewing can be a valuable research tool in developing understanding of how 'argument' is used in discourse and manifested in actual practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last two years we have developed a precalculus course customized around biology by using the scientific method as a framework to engage and motivate biology students. Historically, the precalculus and calculus courses required for the Suffolk County Community College biology curriculum were designed using examples from the physical sciences with little direct relation to biology. The biology-related mathematics in the curriculum was limited to that presented in biology courses. Favorable results from the biology department spreadsheet and web page LICIL project to increase math awareness led us to our current NSF CCLI project to develop an alternative approach to teaching mathematics to biology students. We selected the scientific method because it is taught at the beginning of every introductory biology course and is also the first fundamental level at which mathematics and biology are connected. In this article, we describe the scientific method approach to introducing precalculus, the sequence of topics covered in precalculus and the introductory biology course, and the challenges and successes of implementing this new course where mathematics topics are presented from the standpoint of a scientific experiment. Examples of the computer lab component of the course where Excel is used for data organization and analysis are provided along with how the scientific method can be used in precalculus to make predictive models that have direct relevance to the biology curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five high school biology textbooks were examined to determine the inclusion of four aspects of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) science and its interactions with technology and society. The textbooks analyzed were BSCS Biology - A Human Approach (Kendall/Hunt), BSCS Biology - An Ecological Approach (Kendall/Hunt), Biology - The Dynamics of Life (Glencoe), Modern Biology (Holt), and Prentice Hall Biology (Prentice Hall). The same six chapters or sections were analyzed in each textbook, which were the methods of science, cells, heredity, DNA, evolution, and ecology. A scoring procedure was used that resulted, for the most part, in good intercoder agreement with Cohen's kappa values ranging from 0.36-1.00. The five recently published biology textbooks in the United States have a better balance of presenting biology with respect to the four themes of science literacy used in this research than those analyzed 15 years ago, especially with regard to devoting more text to engaging students in finding out answers, gathering information, and learning how scientists go about their work. Therefore, these biology textbooks are incorporating national science education reform guides that recommend a more authentic view of the scientific enterprise than similar textbooks used 15 years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We surveyed faculty in the biology departments of US institutions of higher education to compare the experience and training valued by faculty at hiring institutions with the experience and training most graduate students receive. Our data show that associate, baccalaureate, and master's institutions value teaching experience and skills more highly than research skills. In contrast, doctoral institutions place a higher value on the ability to publish research and obtain outside funding. These findings provide quantitative and qualitative insight into discrepancies between the values of those who train graduate students in biology and the expectations of the institutions likely to hire these individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiry Into Life Science is a content biology course expressly for the fulfillment of the General Education life science laboratory course requirement of elementary education majors at this university. The course is modeled on the Teaching Standards and Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards [National Research Council. (1996). The national science education standards. Washington. DC: National Academy Press]. The change in intentions of 61 Fall 2002 enrollees were studied using triangulated quantitative and qualitative techniques to seek specific changes regarding self-perceived effectiveness as a biology teacher, self-perceived subject matter command, curriculum development competence, and pedagogical skills, all linked to developing intentions. Significant growth in all four domains was observed. These findings contribute to the research-based call for inquiry-oriented college science coursework for preservice teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the legitimizing of official knowledge in United States' biology textbooks. Its second purpose is to apply the wide-angle lens of queer theory to examine how the topic of sexuality is presented in biology textbooks. The textbooks examined offer deafening silences, antiseptic factoids, socially sanitized concepts, and politically correct binary-gendered illustrations. Queer theory challenges the reproduction of sameness, status quo, or indifference and heightens the visibility of the silenced. To construct new ways of knowing and understanding, queer theory asks educators to denaturalize and broaden their perspective on basic notions of sexuality and gender. It offers perspectives from which science educators can question assumptions about sexuality embedded in textbooks and classrooms that operate under the rubric of what is natural, essential and biological. Queer theory portrays science education as a complex array of social codes, forces, and institutional powers that interact to shape the ideas of what is normative and deviant at any particular moment. In other words, science and science education are not only social and political entities but are tools of social and political institutions.

Focuses on the contribution of science teacher Paul F-Brandwein to the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study in the U.S. Perception on gifted students; Organization of materials that could be used to encourage the work of highly talented students by the Gifted Student Committee; Publication of the book "Biological Investigations for Secondary School Students".

This study describes the trends in students' explanations of biological change in organisms. A total of 96 student volunteers (8 students from each of 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 12th grades from 3 localities) were interviewed individually and each student was presented a series of graphics depicting natural phenomena. Students' explanations to questions of how something occurred were assigned to one of three categories (responses addressing how something occurred, why something occurred, and 'I don't know'). While the number of responses in each category was roughly equivalent in prominence across grade levels, the majority of students were unable to offer a causal explanation of how a phenomena occurred. An unexpected phenomenon was the students' predilection to redirect the interview question so they could answer them. If asked a how question, as they were in every interview instance, 32% the students answered with a 'why' response. The way biology is taught, the structure of biology or/and how we learn it could shed some light into this phenomenon and has implications for science educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the dynamic profile of educational task in a biology course for prospective elementary teachers in the United States. Shift of task from planned or intended to transitional or technical task; Development of a biology course; Changes in the science and education courses designed for prospective elementary teachers.

Highlights an experiment which compares the impact of a cooperative learning format with a traditional lecture-oriented format in the teaching of introductory biology. Differences that were found in favor of the cooperative learning format in measures of student satisfaction; How the result of the study affected the viability of using a cooperative learning approach over a traditional lecture format.

Presents a plan for a new format for teaching biology to college students developed at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Eliminated opportunities for students to be passive; Laboratory techniques for creative investigation; Plans for Biology I and Biology II; Other objectives; Assessment of the plan. INSET: Sample questions on waste..

Considers the use of bioparks, zoos, natural history museums, aquariums, and botanic gardens to inspire and educate future biologists. View that as people become increasingly urbanized and alienated from nature, they must seek out places to inspire them to become fascinated with biology; Opinion that most aquariums could become more realistically biological by increasing their displays of marine and freshwater plants, invertebrates, and phytoplankton; Creation of a zoo of live insects at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.; Observation that the topic of animal behavior is rarely addressed by zoos.

Focuses on the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), which was formed to promote research and education in tropical biology. Observation that because tropical moist forests contain more than half the world's biota but only cover seven percent of the earth's surface, OTS is adding more conservation activities to its agenda; Direction of OTS by Donald E. Stone at Duke University and by Charles E. Schnell in Costa Rica; A biological field station which is located in La Selva, Costa Rica, where numbers of tropical biologists are trained; The problem of deforestation of tropical rain forests. INSET: Forest conservation: joining highs and lows..

The article offers news briefs related to the life sciences in the U.S. Howard A. Schneiderman has been appointed as the senior vice president for research & development of the Monsanto Co. The Hayden Memorial Award for 1979 goes to Daniel Axelrod, professor emeritus of the University of California, Davis California. The course "Tropical Biology: An Ecological Approach" is being offered by the Organization for Tropical Studies from January 2008 to March 2008.

The article presents information on various recent developments including personnel changes, educational courses, and research grants and awards in the U.S. Douglas Grahn has been appointed as the director of the Division of Biological and Medical Research at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. Research fellowships for the study of forest resources are available at Harvard University through the Charles Bullard Fund. The Organization for Tropical Studies is offering an eight-week course in tropical biology.

The article focuses on the study that measures the readability of college general biology textbooks in the U.S. In order to get the desired result, the study included the eight most widely read biology book in the colleges and divided each of them into twelfths, then a 100-word sample was taken from each of the 12 divider pages. Considering the result which stated that no significant difference was found between the grade-level readability of the 1960 and 1978 textbooks, it was concluded that there had been no adjustment made on the reading level of college general biology textbooks in order to meet the reading level of the students. Moreover, the human interest level on general biology textbooks had not increased through time.

The article presents a comparison between the effects of detailed and nondetailed assignments on the achievement of first year biology students in the U.S. The findings of the study suggest that students with detailed assignments achieved significantly higher than students without detailed assignments. The significantly higher achievement was only true of detailed students in the middle thirds of the deviation intelligence quotient range. The study concludes that students with higher achievement apparently benefit from flow and block diagrams, inductions, field independence and high structure compared to those students who may not have these.

The article examines the difficulty of teaching students to understand the advantages and disadvantages of teleological and anthropomorphic statements in biology in the U.S. The aim of this study was to distinguish between teleological or anthropomorphic formulations and factual ones is developed in secondary school students, and whether this ability can be improved by an instructional treatment designed for this purpose. The subjects used were 600 10th-grade students from five secondary schools in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The results indicate that the ability to distinguish between teleological or anthropomorphic explanations and causal ones is different and independent from the ability to distinguish between teleological or anthropomorphic formulations and factual ones.

The article investigates the correlations of junior high school students' age, gender, and intelligence with ability in construct classification in biology in the U.S. One of the purpose of this study is to develop an instrument which requires several activities of classification of animals and plants according to morphological structures. The subjects used in this study were 365 high school students from religious and secular schools in the Haifa area. The results clarifies several issues with regards to the correlation between ability in construct classification in biology and the various intelligence tests of 7th- and 9th-grade students.