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The complexity of modern biology poses challenges in fostering interdisciplinary understanding, particularly between practicing scientists and the public. Furthermore, scientists often lack formal training in science communication, despite various motivations to engage the public. The science literacy of the public in the biological sciences can also vary across socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Leveraging popular culture and informal learning practices to promote active learning offers promising avenues to enhance public understanding of biological systems. Organized sports hold collective recognition across various communities and cultures, serving as a means to bring people together. Notably, the NCAA March Madness event holds widespread national and international popularity, presenting an opportunity to laterally apply this concept to promote science communication within STEM and biology education. An educational social media and web-based contest tool was developed integrating NCAA-inspired brackets with animal biological systems concepts. The tool featured tournament-style matchups based on animal biological systems, interesting animal facts, and a voting system, all housed within a user-friendly interface. To encourage regular user access to the tool, graphic designs were developed for all social media posts to aid in visual recruitment to the voting website. Based on online metrics, the use of social media garnered repeat users across both the public and educators. The latter noted the tool's simplicity and informative content. Application of this social media and web-based bracket contest tool, which leverages informal settings for active learning for use in biology education, can foster science communication to engage audiences, improve comprehension, and promote interdisciplinary biology education.

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of prospective teachers about biology and nature-related activities for mentally disabled students. The survey method was used in this quantitative study. Attitude scale towards biology and nature-related activities for mentally disabled students was used as a data collection tool. The scale was applied to a total of 258 (183 females, 75 males) prospective teachers studying at the education faculty of a state university and taking special education courses. According to the findings, prospective teachers expressed their positive opinions about all the activities specified in the scale. However, a few prospective teachers stated that some of the activities, especially interaction with animals, were not applicable for their mentally disabled students. However, when the findings are evaluated in general, it is concluded that biology and nature-related activities are very valuable for mentally disabled students.

Higher education students need help and support to enable them to cope with the challenges of their studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the perspectives of first-year undergraduate students on predictors of psychosocial support in challenging situations. A creative art-based descriptive research design was employed utilising an individual One-Page Profile form to gather data from 240 first-year students from two different universities in Slovakia. Data was collected and analysed using a content-thematic and visual approach. Four significant individual predictors of psychosocial support were identified: emotional, instrumental, informational and appraisal. Emotional support consists of desirable mental health, defined by the students as experiencing happiness, self-satisfaction, self-development, relationships which are satisfying, loving and safe, trust, empathic acceptance, and care from others. Instrumental support varies from personnel up to material resources e.g., people, animals, and assistance such as financial services. The preferred informational support is peer-to-peer counselling, followed by professional counselling. When students describe appraisal support their needs are primarily in the areas of well-being and self-efficacy. The study makes various suggestions on how University staff can provide first-year students with support and counselling in their everyday challenges.

This study approaches the issue of autism in a case study. Specifically, it investigates how three key points in the daily life of a child on the autism spectrum change in the presence of a pet: social behavior, empathy and irritability. The aim is to study how the pet affects the child's daily life in the above points. The questions that are asked concern the close environment of the child, in order to be able to compare the situation before and after the presence of the pet. Teachers from the child's school and family environment participate in the survey. Questionnaires and personal interviews are used to collect information. The interviews are based on Goodman's S.D.Q (2005). The bibliography will refer to the method of Animal Assisted therapy- pet therapy, which concerns the treatment of syndromes, diseases, anxiety, disorders, through animals. The research questions that arise refer to improving the socialization of people with autism, increasing their social interaction and creating relationships and expressing their emotions. Then the data collected is analyzed and the conclusions of the research are drawn.

Video is a common tool for engaging audiences in Extension topics, yet evaluation of the different video production approaches is lacking. We compared learning and emotional outcomes after boaters in the Great Lakes watched either a narrative or didactic video focused on how to prevent the spread of an aquatic invasive species. There were differences in how each approach affected viewers, indicating that there can be utility in both approaches to video production. Extension staff that are creating videos should have these outcomes in mind to promote desired behaviors.

This comparative study looks into the image of the wolf in Genghis Aitmatov's "Plakha" and Jack London's "White Fang." For this purpose, first, the concept of the wolf in fiction is discussed, and the representation of wolves in these two texts is analyzed. This study explores the relationship between wolves and human beings as expressed in the texts in a way that helps understand the image of the wolf with specific cultural beliefs and practices that find aspirations in the text mentioned. The study concludes that Aitmatov associates Kazakh people with the wolf, unlike London's wolf, whose existence does not center around issues of freedom and independence.

Regular physical activity and balanced nutrition are important in maintaining a healthy weight. Nonetheless, minority populations, like Hispanics, face challenges (e.g., language barriers and transportation unavailability) that limit their participation in intervention programs to receive benefits. Furthermore, dog companionship has been shown to relate to adolescents' behavioral and socio-emotional development positively, and it has been shown to have the potential to increase physical activity in adolescence. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the feasibility, i.e., program adaptation, limited efficacy, and acceptability, of the two exercise and nutrition education interventions to improve body composition, motivation, and well-being in overweight and obese Hispanic adolescents. This pilot study was a quasi-experimental trial with eight pediatrician-referred participants (M[subscript age] =11.75±1.48) assigned to two parallel arms: (1) BRAVO! and (2) BRAVO!+. Both share identical exercise (24 hours) and nutrition (12 hours) programs centered on the self-determination theory for 12 weeks. The results suggested, first, acceptable attendance (BRAVO! = 56.25%; BRAVO!+ = 64.58%) but poor retention (BRAVO! = 33.33%; BRAVO!+ = 63.63%). Second, the findings suggested promising limited efficacy in BRAVO!+ group, with small but statistically non-significant reductions in participants' BMI (M[subscript baseline] = 33.08±6.13; M[subscript post] = 32.23±6.88; t[3] = 1.633, p = 0.201) and weight (M[subscript baseline] = 78.13±16.22; M[subscript post] = 77.62±17.64; t[3] = 0.485, p = 0.661). In addition, the results suggested high satisfaction and acceptable suitability for both programs and providing important suggestions for the future. In conclusion, our pilot study findings only partially supported the feasibility of the pet-dog-enhanced lifestyle intervention. Although this study found evidence that pet-dog companionship can improve program satisfaction and acceptability of pediatric lifestyle interventions, including a pet-dog in the intervention may contribute to high dropout evidenced in this study.

In this industrial revolution era, university-level education emphasises higher-order thinking skills. This research aims to analyse the effect of implementing the PjB-HOTS learning model on cognitive learning, creative thinking skills, analytical thinking skills, and metacognitive skills of the students studying osmoregulation concepts in Animal Physiology courses. The sample consisted of 61 fifth-semester students divided into two classes. An open-ended test was used to measure students' cognitive learning levels, creative thinking skills, analytical thinking skills, creative thinking skills, and metacognitive skills. The research data were analysed using the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results of this research show that the learning model had a significant effect on the cognitive learning gains (0.000< [alpha]= 0.05), creative thinking skill (0.001< [alpha]= 0.05), analytical thinking skill (0.000< [alpha]= 0.05), and metacognitive skill (0.000< [alpha]= 0.05). These results indicate that the combined syntax of PjBL and HOTS can foster students' higher-order thinking skills and improve their cognitive learning gains. We recommend the PjB-HOTS learning model be used for other biological concepts at the university-level.

Background: Although the reading of science texts has been reported for high school learners, there is not much research on how younger learners engage with expository texts and how they develop academic language skills. In the instance of this study, the topic came from the curriculum content about animal reproduction. Aim: The study from which this article emanated aimed to explore how a sample of learners engaged with a short text, which required cohesive reading and some background knowledge and vocabulary. Setting: This study was conducted in a suburban school where the learners use English as a second language. Methods: A sample (n = 25) was randomly selected from five Grade 4 classes. Their reading comprehension of a custom-designed test was assessed, along with their writing competence in their responses to content questions as well as their drawings. The data were analysed in a typical content analysis modality. Results: This study showed that the learners do not apply inferencing skills and do not read cohesively across sentences and paragraphs and that their vocabulary and prior knowledge of animal reproduction is limited. Conclusion: The urgent need for the development of academic language skills in the early grades is foregrounded in this article, arguing that it can be infused in subjects across the curriculum of the early grades. Contribution: The task can be used by teachers and by researchers who may wish to replicate the study.

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a wide range of behavioral alterations, including impaired social interaction and repetitive behaviors. Numerous pharmacological interventions have been developed for autism spectrum disorder, often proving ineffective and accompanied by a multitude of side effects. The gut microbial alterations observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, including elevated levels of "Bacteroidetes," "Firmicutes," and "Proteobacteria," as well as reduced levels of "Bifidobacterium," provide a basis for further investigation. Recent preclinical studies have shown favorable outcomes with probiotic therapy, including improvements in oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory effects, regulation of neurotransmitters, and restoration of microbial balance. The aim of this review is to explore the potential of probiotics for the management and treatment of autism spectrum disorder, by investigating insights from recent studies in animals.

Sociology plays a key role in empathy development, which is central to addressing complex social problems. However, little is known about what types of courses work best to enhance empathy. In parallel, sociological animal studies (SAS) has evolved as a relatively new subfield focused on assessing human and animal relationships. SAS research suggests that our interactions with animals enhance empathy development. Combining these literatures, we assess if SAS compared to non-SAS courses impact affective and cognitive empathy for humans and animals differently. Findings reveal that students who take SAS courses demonstrate greater postcourse human and animal empathy even when controlling for precourse levels of empathy and other factors that drive empathy development. Although SAS remains on the periphery of the discipline, this study suggests that it should be a central component of the sociological curriculum.

The current body of scholarly literature highlights the increasing importance of Mixed Reality (MR) in the field of education since it provides an alternative way through visual stimuli inside an immersive environment. In recent years, the possibility for educators to use Mixed Reality as an additional pedagogical instrument has witnessed notable growth. Furthermore, the implementation of MR technology enhances the perceived benefits of employing it as a solution to the challenges encountered in educating and acquiring sign language skills among children who have hearing impairments or are deaf. The development and testing of deaf-friendly techniques for teaching sign language to Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) pupils utilizing modern MR technology is the key endeavor of our research. In light of the specific aspects of the pilot study and the suggestions and preferences expressed by the participants, as outlined in previous attempts, we have endeavored to develop a series of instructional modules on the topic of animals. These modules employ various methods of sign demonstration and incorporate visual representations and concise encyclopedic descriptions. To achieve our research objectives, a total of 21 deaf students, ranging in age from 9 to 14 years, were selected for this study. These students study in a mainstream school that have inclusive educational programs. The participants have been offered two options for evaluation: a laptop and the application specifically designed for the HoloLens 2.

Evolution is the integrative framework of the life sciences. Even though the topic is often not formally introduced before high school, young children already have various ideas about evolutionary principles (variation, inheritance, and selection) and their underlying key concepts (e.g., differential fitness, reproduction, and speciation). Describing and refining those ideas has increasingly received attention over the last two decades. However, we see two scopes of improvement in the field: (1) There is a need to examine children's ideas about evolutionary concepts holistically rather than focusing at specific aspects. (2) Although research has shown that older students have different ideas about animal and plant evolution, there is little data on children's ideas about plant evolution to compare with their ideas about animal evolution. All of this results in an incomplete record of children's pre-existing ideas that would help to design assessments or interventions. Consequently, we developed a set of questions, about the evolutionary principles and interviewed 24 kindergarten children. Most children had basic ideas about individual variation in animals and plants but experienced a lack of knowledge about the origin of variation. Most children seemed to acknowledge plants as living beings and reasoned equally about animals and plants for most concepts. However, many children failed to reason about reproduction and inheritance in plants because they believed plants would not reproduce sexually. Confronted with a selection scenario, most children struggled applying concepts previously shown on an individual level to a population level. Considering our findings, we propose ideas about how to measure and foster children's pre-existing ideas about evolution.

Many K-16 educators agree that active learning is a key component for student success in life sciences. At the same time, some instructors are frustrated by inconsistent student participation in these activities and may revert to traditional teaching strategies. Horse caregivers face a similar frustration when they lead a horse to water and it will not drink. However, they do not stop offering water. Instead, horse caregivers consider two possibilities: the horse is not thirsty or the water is not good. In this article, we apply horse sense to student engagement. We start by framing common challenges within two larger categories: student mindset ("Are the student's thirsty?") and activity design ("Is the water good?"). For each challenge, we subsequently provide strategies to intentionally increase student learning while also empowering instructors to keep perspective.

The rationale of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Dog-assisted Therapy (DAT) in children and adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). We conducted a randomized controlled trial in a cohort of 71 children and adolescents with FASD. Participants were randomly assigned either to DAT group (n = 38) or Relaxation Group (control group) (n = 33). Results revealed that participants who were assigned to the DAT group experienced significantly reduced externalizing symptoms (CBCL Externalizing Inattention: t (69) = 2.81, p = 0.007; d = 0.7); CBCL Opposition: t (69) = 2.54, p = 0.013; d = 0.6), reduced internalizing symptoms (CBCL Social problems: t (69) = 3.21, p = 0.002; d = 0.8) as well as improvements on social skills (SSIS-P Problem behavior: t (68) = 2.55, p = 0.013; d = 0.6), and quality of life (KidScreen Autonomy and Parents: t (51) = - 2.03, p = 0.047; d = 0.5) compared to the relaxation control group. The relaxation control group obtained significant differences between the pre- and post-treatment evaluation, diminishing withdraw symptoms (t (32) = 3.03, p = 0.005; d = 0.2). Results suggest that DAT and relaxation may be promising adjunctive treatments for children and adolescents with FASD.

It can be tough to talk about disabilities. However, when we avoid talking about it, we ignore a huge piece of someone's personal identity. This identity is complex, multifaceted, and requires a unique set of needs. It is important that students with disabilities are heard. When living with a disability, society can often have lower expectations of what we can do in comparison to our non-disabled counterparts. In this article, the author describes a few of the stories and assumptions people with disabilities experience every day on college campuses due to their unique characteristics. In telling these stories, the author demonstrates how students with disabilities are constantly trying to prove that they are more than just their disability.

An understanding of how sensemaking unfolds when elementary students engage in engineering design tasks is crucial to advancing engineering teaching and learning at K-12 levels. Sensemaking has been widely studied in the context of science as a discipline. In this paper, we seek to contribute to the more nascent efforts to build theory about the characteristics of sensemaking in elementary school engineering. We report on an interpretive case study of a 3rd grade student team who worked with minimal adult intervention to design a solution to an engineering challenge. Considering the entire trajectory of their design process, from the given problem to the solution, we observed that they navigated through multiple epistemic conflicts while making decisions that informed their final solution. We found that these conflicts served as "opportunities for sensemaking" and that exploring how the students resolved conflicts shed light on their sensemaking processes. Analysis of the team's navigation through epistemic conflicts to come to a design decision helped identify two distinct kinds of engineering sensemaking: student engagement in functional reasoning as they suggested design ideas, and student engagement in mechanistic reasoning as they interpreted test results. Both processes facilitated knowledge building, which in turn supported students' engineering design decisions.

Animal behaviour and welfare research are part of a wider endeavour to optimize the health and wellbeing of humans, animals and ecosystems. As such, it is part of the One Health research agenda. This article applies ethical principles described by the One Health High Level Expert Panel to animal behaviour and welfare research. These principles entail that animal behaviour and welfare research should be valued equitably alongside other research in transdisciplinary and multisectoral collaboration. It should include and promote a multiplicity of marginalized voices, including those of animals, and it should apply and describe a harmonious balance between human--animal-environment interactions. Lastly, it should describe how humans need to change behaviour, adopt sustainable solutions and recognize the importance of animal welfare and the integrity of the whole ecosystem.

Alcohol consumption has profound effects on behavior, such as impaired judgment, addiction or even death. It is estimated that alcohol contributes to around three million deaths worldwide, 13.5% of them in young people with ages between 20 and 39 years. Consequently, it is necessary to raise awareness among college and high school students of the risk related to alcohol drinking. The small nematode "Caenorhabditis elegans" is an animal widely used as a model organism to study nearly all aspects of Biochemistry. It is a powerful tool to test the potential bioactivity and molecular mechanisms of natural compounds and drugs "in vivo." Therefore, it is an interesting topic to include in an undergraduate course of Biotechnology, Biochemistry or Biology students among other scientific vocations. "C. elegans" is also used as a neurobiological model to evaluate substances' neurotoxicity and behavioral effects. The proposed experiment introduces students to the handling of this preclinical model and to the evaluation of behavioral alterations induced by chemicals in scientific research. The effects of different doses of ethanol on "C. elegans" behavior are studied using a versatile chemotaxis assay. This laboratory experiment is suitable for an undergraduate course. The practical session can be used in the global strategies of information and awareness of educational centres to mitigate the impact of alcohol abuse among students, both in formal courses or in Science fairs or exhibitions.

Several studies report on lower quality of life for autistic people when compared to non-autistic people. However, there are ongoing discussions about the conceptualization of quality of life for the autistic population. This qualitative study investigated self-perceived quality of life in the context of autistic young adults' everyday lives. Participants (age range 21-29 years) were recruited from a 10-year follow-up study, Lillehammer Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Study, all diagnosed in childhood and adolescence. Fourteen individual in-depth interviews were conducted. When asked about what was important for having a good quality of life, our autistic participants described relationships to people and pets as important, as well as having meaningful activities. Specific interests had guided many to their choice of both academic and work career. Many also described obstacles in their environment that had influenced their quality of life negatively, such as being misunderstood by teachers and other professionals, being bullied, and sensory and emotional overload. Our findings indicate that those in supportive roles should provide help with establishing connections to activities and people/animals, as this seems to be essential for creating a good quality of life. Taking advantage of passions and interests can create opportunities for autistic people. Findings suggest that future research should address the communication barriers between autistic people and professionals that can lead to misunderstandings.

This paper explores children's understandings of Acknowledgement to Country practices and Aboriginal knowledges. Guided by the relational lenses of respect, responsibility and reciprocity, we conducted focus groups with children across five Australian early education centres. We found that Acknowledgement practices were evident through recitation of their Acknowledgement to Country, engaging with artefacts, and/or discussion of artworks. Secondly, children demonstrated emerging understandings about place names, the symbolic use of flags for places and people, and Australian plants and animals. Thirdly, Aboriginal cultures as living cultures were evident in temporal discussions about people and culture. Finally, imaginative play implied efforts to make sense of Aboriginal concepts and language. Across the study, children were active in experimenting with ideas in their own meaning making. Acknowledgement to Country was not a moment in the day; rather, it was embedded throughout the day through routines, storytelling, play and creative activities, all designed to foster learning.

Over the years, Nigerian society has the belief that given the potency of kánàkò (collision of time and space) and egbé (teleportation), it can only be applied by men while neglecting the role of women in its application for national safety. The study examines egbé and kánako and implications for community policing and women's involvement in socio-economic sustainability in South West Nigeria. Three research questions were raised and answered to guide this study. The study adopts the qualitative research approach anchored on ethnographic research design. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 36 participants from six (6) communities in Ógun, Oyó, and Osun states. Recordings, observations, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were used to gather qualitative data. Findings from the study revealed that egbé and kánàkò could be useful for military and paramilitary agencies if appropriately implemented to ensure community policing and national safety, amongst others. The study recommends, amongst others, that the hunters' association and government should properly sensitize women in the hunting profession on their role to enhance the preservation of these traditional means of fortifications and not become weapons that will render these fortifications irrelevant.

Despite the growing influence of the "material" turn within childhood studies and education, scholarship related to teaching and learning within the early childhood classroom remains a largely humanistic endeavour. By applying relational and multispecies onto-epistomologies to both children's classroom relations "and" our own teacher subjectivities, this work aims to highlight what other possibilities emerge when the dominant hierarchies of teacher-researcher-child-non-human are destabilised. Taking the idea of destabilisation literally, we diffractively map our own experiences as teacher-researchers within early years educational contexts, utilising diffractive methods to narrow-in on the mutually constituted conditions of "movement." These more-than-human movements emerged during improvised classroom encounters between young children, animals and plants and varied in intensity and duration, as these constructed cuts and data (re)presentations continue to "move" us years later. Building upon research that explores the relationalities of children and non-human others, as well as "how movement does relationships'' in early childhood educational contexts (Riley & Proctor, 2023, p. 663), we argue that a complex meta/physics of more-than-human movement affords literal and conceptual turning, enmeshing, decentering, connecting and rupturing, producing a less certain but more attuned early years teacher.

We are the living. We find ourselves in a mess that is sometimes called the 'Anthropocene'. This is a mess that has been hidden, ignored, neglected through a narrative of progress, consumption, linearity, categorisation, control, prosperity, rationality. To respond to this narrative, we employ 'mess-making' as a force for resistance. We rethink our more-than-human relations by concepting with mess to invigorate, agitate and provoke. Employing Haraway's (2008) 'messmates', we conceptualise how 'we' as ecosystems of thriving life forms are constantly living, learning and dying together and need to find new ways to co-research with/in/for more-than-human methodologies. These, we suggest, are inherently messy. The paper is organised in a nonconventional way in that it is mostly created by more-than-human narratives gathered from two doctoral post-qualitative inquiries exploring play in an urban forest school in London and animal-child relations in a wall-less school in Bali. We explore how mess-making is both generative and challenging as data emerge in dynamic and exciting ways. With this messy turn, we illuminate potential for educational futures that support multispecies flourishing.

Based on an ethnographic study in a Finnish primary school, we explored lingering as both a pedagogical approach and a methodological concept for multispecies education research and practice. Through this conceptual thinking, we "re-turned" to the multiplicities that unfolded from noticing rhythms, enterings and different lifeworlds to show how children's lingering encounters developed into speculative inquiries about how invertebrates and amphibians generate polyphonous affects and temporalities. In our study, children's "attuning-with" clay, waste materials, photographs, and stop-motion animation opened up the unfamiliar worlds and temporalities of invertebrates and amphibians, involving active silences, slow rhythms, and awkward becomings. Overall, the study highlights that children's attuning-with the uncertainties of today's socioecological world create new avenues for thinking about multispecies relationalities.

In this article, we experiment with a form of dark pedagogy, a pedagogy that confronts haunting pasts-presents-futures in environmental education. We offer a conceptualisation of ghosts that enables us to creatively explore the duration of things and consider the relationality of time. We examine this through two situated contexts, engaging with entangled, yet differentiated, socioecological issues. The first issue involves the cascading impacts of climate change on the Australian Alps, including intensifying bushfires and threats to the iconic snow gum. The second issue involves the reordering of human/animal relations through processes of settler colonialism that continue to transform land into a commodity, with a significant cultural and material consequence of such colonial harm resulting in the extermination of free-ranging bison herds in the Canadian prairies. Both are unique issues, but both involve impacts of colonisation, loss and natural-cultural hegemony. The dark elements of these Place-specific stories involve noticing and confronting loss and related injustices. In our case, we diffract such confrontations by thinking through these challenging issues and working towards ethical ways of living and learning. In this article, we (re)member ghosts and ponder practices for fostering anticolonial response-abilities and affirmative human/Earth futures.

How well do we know how non-humans experience environmental stressors and how do we communicate that knowledge as educators? This paper addresses these questions by way of an auto-ethnographic account of the author's experience of attempting to listen to the Great Barrier Reef, off the Queensland coast. Through a series of methodological failures and roadblocks, this paper discusses the difficulties in understanding non-human sensory worlds. Following the auto-ethnographic account, the paper explores how anthropological pedagogies can contribute to environmental education of non-human experiences more broadly. The paper uses anthropological pedagogy to draw an analogy between ethnocentrism/cultural relativism and anthropocentrism/ecocentrism. Utilising practices of "third place" then demonstrates how the latter terms of these relationships are correctives to the former terms rather than oppositions. This paper concludes by suggesting ways in which the lessons learned can be applied to environmental education. It recommends creating a third space environmental curriculum which defamiliarises human experience and creates a zone of contact between humans and non-humans. The use of mediating technologies and artistic practice in conjunction with scientific education is recommended to maintain a critical perspective of human knowledge and biological limitations in creating experiential relationships with the environment.

In this article, we adopt assemblage as "methodology" and as a way to foreground the vitality and relational agency of other species as they encounter humans. Research as assemblage is a process of becoming with others, and we experienced that ontological process during three environmental excursions as we became entangled in multispecies assemblages with children, the Crow, the Sea Eagle and the Bee. The production of the three assemblages and the rhizomic networks that formed materially and discursively across time occurred within an affective milieu characterised by sensory attentiveness and attunement to the affective power of coincidence. Analysing the formation and reformation of the assemblages enabled us to identify the phenomenon of "ontological flickering" where the ontological foundation of experience shifted moment by moment and remained playfully unresolved. We also consider how multispecies encounters relate to wildness, understood in Thoreau's terms as unsettling encounters with otherness. In concluding, we recognise our incomplete becoming with others as co-authors and acknowledge the Crow the Sea Eagle and the Bee as powerful teachers.

The Australian Outdoor Health (OH) sector provides diverse practices that support an interconnected human and ecological approach to health and wellbeing. There is an urgent need for the OH sector to develop a comprehensive ethical practice framework, to enable professional recognition and other initiatives to progress. This would bring the sector in line with similar health and wellbeing occupations including social work, psychology, and counselling that have established professional recognition. A key feature of professional recognition is the acceptance of a Code of Ethics or Ethical Framework to guide practice and enhance standing in the field. This scoping review of the literature is undertaken to aid in developing an OH ethical practice framework. Findings suggest the framework should incorporate two overarching themes of beneficence and nonmaleficence, and contain six guiding principles: diversity, equity, advocacy, justice, accountability, and competence. We discuss these findings, situate them within broader OH community and health sector discourses, and make recommendations for establishing an Australian ethical practice framework to assist the move towards professional recognition and drive ethical OH practice.

The sounds of birds form the outdoor playlist of our lives. Birds appeal to the public, in part because of the wide variety of interesting sounds they make. This popularity has led to a long history of amateur participation in ornithology, which has recently produced rapid increases in freely available online databases with hundreds of thousands of bird sounds recorded by birdwatchers. These databases provide unique opportunities for teachers to guide students through processes to learn to identify bird species by their sounds. The techniques we summarize here include combining the auditory components of recognizing different types of sounds birds make with visual components of reading sonograms, widely available visual representations of sounds.

Objective: We offer an overview of ADHD research using mouse models of nicotine exposure. Method: Nicotine exposure of C57BL/6 or Swiss Webster mice occurred during prenatal period only or during the prenatal and the preweaning periods. Behavioral, neuroanatomical and neurotransmitter assays were used to investigate neurobiological mechanisms of ADHD and discover candidate ADHD medications. Results: Our studies show that norbinaltorphimine, a selective kappa opioid receptor antagonist is a candidate novel non-stimulant ADHD treatment and that a combination of methylphenidate and naltrexone has abuse deterrent potential with therapeutic benefits for ADHD. Other studies showed transgenerational transmission of ADHD-associated behavioral traits and demonstrated that interactions between untreated ADHD and repeated mild traumatic brain injury produced behavioral traits not associated with either condition alone. Conclusion: Preclinical models contribute to novel insights into ADHD neurobiology and are valuable tools for drug discovery and translation to benefit humans with ADHD.

In word learning, learners need to identify the referent of words by leveraging the fact that the same word may co-occur with different sets of objects. This raises the question, what do children remember from "in the moment" that they can use for cross-situational learning? Furthermore, do children represent pictures of familiar animals versus drawings of non-existent novel objects as potential referents differently? This study examined these questions by creating learning scenarios with only two potential referents, requiring the least amount of memory to represent all co-present objects. Across three experiments (n > 250) with 4- and 6-year-old children, children reliably selected the intended referent from learning at test, though the learning of novel objects was better than familiar objects. When asked for a co-present object, children of all ages in the study performed at chance in all of the conditions. We discuss the developmental differences in cross-situational word learning capabilities with regard to representing different stimuli as potential referents. Importantly, all children used a propose-but-verify procedure for learning novel words even in the simplest of the learning scenarios given repeated exposure.

In the author's experience, students are often coming to the school library to explore new ideas and concepts that they may not be able to explore in the traditional classroom because of curricular demands or time constraints. And the library is always open to that exploration. According to the author, they build the high-interest collections for this purpose. The author ensures they have books that capitalize on students' curiosity and allow them to learn new things about themselves -- to be brave and see where they can go. Then there are those who come to learn in less traditional ways in the library. The author states they are notorious for always saying "Yes!" to trying something new in the library if students make a case for it. This is how they have gotten a bearded dragon, a sewing club, a recording studio, coding workshops, a Dungeons & Dragons club, and a forthcoming e-sports team. Saying "Yes" comes from a wish to respect students' courage to explore. But having a pet also gives the students a moment to show a different kind of bravery: feeling vulnerable but doing something anyway. In New York City, the Department of Education has an initiative called "Respect for All." The author's campus serves a primarily Afro-Caribbean population. This means students who are queer are feeling a tremendous amount of societal pressure. Books on relationships, sexuality, abuse, dealing with being arrested -- resources on topics that students are dealing with but are too nervous to check out. All of this seeking of this important and sensitive information takes bravery, even if young people choose not to interface with me to acquire it. Most of the time, it's an admission to themselves that they need guidance. It takes bravery to organize your peers, to take charge, and to build a community. It takes courage to work together and to make decisions on your own. Because the school library is a center of self-guided learning, it harnesses this brand of bravery. The school library is a proving ground for leadership, collaboration, and finding oneself. Students demonstrate this every day in school libraries across the country. Students see the school library as somewhere worth fighting for, and their bravery is the truly sustaining power in our space.

In January 2021 the author read "Hey, Kiddo" by Jarrett Krosoczka. The author connected on so many levels with this graphic novel memoir, and knew that it would speak to their students, as well. Krosoczka not only wrote "Hey, Kiddo," but he illustrated it, as well. The author states they knew the healing impact a book could have when a reader connected with characters, events, or themes. The author's high school houses the district's arts magnet school, and since the Inspire Grant proposal had an art focus, they reached out to the director of the magnet program. The author shared their ideas for working with the magnet classes to connect with students to participate in what would eventually become a multilayered event. The program was voluntary, and they ended up with approximately eighty students choosing to participate. The premise behind the grant was for students to know they weren't alone and to provide them with outlets for healing. The graphic novel format removed a literacy barrier and made the book accessible to students at many reading levels throughout the school. Once the books were delivered to students, small-group sessions with counselors were scheduled to take place two weeks out, allowing students time to read the book. Copies of the book were supplied to the school counselors, as well. The goal of the small groups was to provide students a safe place to discuss the emotional story and to process feelings and personal connections that arose from their reading. The grant also included a school visit with goats. Students of all grade levels, social groups, and ability levels sat side by side with staff to pet and groom the different animals. According to the author, they were one community healing together.

Hands-on dissections of animals are traditionally regarded as an essential part of biology education. Nowadays, regardless of the reported educational benefits, there is a gradual change in the concept and acceptance of hands-on dissection, leading in many cases to its abandonment in schools and its replacement with alternatives such as 3D models, figurines, plastination and computer-based alternatives. However, the position of hands-on dissection has recently been challenged, mostly by computer-supported alternatives. The aim of the study was to explore whether teacher self-efficacy can be recognized as a predictor of the application of the different kinds of animals in hands-on and virtual dissections in Biology lessons. Based on responses from 405 Czech Biology teachers there are differences in the acceptability and implementation of organisms for hands-on and virtual dissection. It was established, that self-efficacy is not a predictor of either the acceptability of organisms or actual behaviour in both variants of dissection.

Plant awareness disparity (PAD), formerly known as plant blindness, refers to the fact of overlooking or failing to perceive plants, perhaps due to poor 'species literacy'. Despite numerous efforts made by scientists and educators over the years, PAD is still present in students at all educational levels. An assessment was carried out on 259 students from primary school to university in the Spanish education system to evaluate their species literacy, especially regarding local flora and fauna, its possible improvement across educational levels, and to assess whether PAD was a reality among students. A biased perception towards animals was confirmed with strong statistical support. Animals were recognized and identified more than plants at all educational levels. Even if a positive correlation for animal-plant literacy was found, the values were weak. Although the curricula set out content and learning outcomes related to local environment and flora, their teaching has been proven to be unsatisfactory. The recently implemented curricula have the mission to reverse this trend, which can be done by improving students' interest in plants through specific educational programs and activities, as well as comprehensive training in the field of botany and the effective implementation of activities for current and future educators.

This article poses the question 'How do we look at animals?', suggesting a link to inherent problems of documentary film-making. However, the question further suggests that there may be ways of relating to animals other than 'looking at'; other than 'observing'. Drawing from the research project De-Doc-Donkeywork: Decolonising Documentary Art Practices and the Global Crisis for Donkeys, the article offers a reflection upon how specific art-practice-led research is brought into education. The interrelatedness of art practice, research, theory and pedagogy allows for connections to be identified between the decaying borders of disciplines, documental knowledges, and possibilities of decolonising our relation to animals. At the core is a problem of 'coloniality' related to film education: the domination of documentary concerns and valances through film discourse. The "documental" is identified as an epistemic practice that can reorganise extra-disciplinary resources into collaborating collectives in research and education, allowing for new ways of knowing 'donkey'.

Animal companionship has been found to have a positive influence on human well-being, and the presence of pets can have a subtle yet significant impact on the healthy development of students. Pet companionship takes various forms across different fields in China and other regions worldwide, and the impact of such companionship remains uncertain. Hence, it is imperative to investigate the impact of diverse forms of companionship and animals on multiple facets of student growth and development. This study employed meta-analysis methodologies to examine 47 effect sizes derived from 12 domestic and international studies on pet companionship. The aim was to investigate the overall trends of the influence of pet companionship on student development as well as the effects of diverse types of companionship and pets on different aspects of student development, including physical and mental health, social-emotional abilities, and academic performance. The objective was to enhance the exploration of approaches for maximizing the utilization of various forms of pet companionship. Furthermore, this research suggests a systematic and incremental approach to enhancing the function of pets within households, educational institutions, and medical facilities. Adequate content and organization are essential for scientific advancement and the development of students. In this particular context, it is possible to optimize the impact of pet companionship on the development of students.

One of the learning outcomes of learning Animal Embryology and Reproduction is that students can explain concepts about reproduction or embryology theory. Since concept map-based learning can improve students' critical thinking skills and analysis, and support their interest in learning, this study analysed the ability of students enrolled in the 2019/2020 Animal Embryology and Reproduction course to construct concept maps and students' cognitive learning outcomes through assignments and tests. This descriptive study involved 127 students in semester VI enrolled in the Embryology and Animal Reproduction programme at the Department of Biology Education, FTTE at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang. The sampling technique was saturated sampling and the data were collected through the task of compiling concept maps and learning outcomes with tests. The drafting of concept maps was assessed by the concepts and ideas, relationships between concepts, hierarchies, propositions, and spelling, with cognitive learning assessed by tests. The results showed that most students had sufficient ability to compose a concept map and very good learning outcomes, indicating that concept maps can be used to learn biology in Animal Embryology and Reproduction courses.

The goal of the research was to find out the effect of using living animal in teaching on remembering and understanding acquired knowledge in students with special educational needs (SEN). In our experiment, students with SEN (n=24) were compared with students without SEN (n=56). The design of the research was experimental. The research tool consisted of a test which was made by the authors, and which served both as a pre- and a post-test. For the assessment, the methods of descriptive statistics (the average) and inductive statistics (t-test for dependent and independent samples) were used. Students in experimental groups which encountered living animals in teaching, acquired more information about animals, which were used during teaching process and because of that, their results were better than the results of students in control groups.

The Fly-CURE is a genetics-focused multi-institutional Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that provides undergraduate students with hands-on research experiences within a course. Through the Fly-CURE, undergraduate students at diverse types of higher education institutions across the United States map and characterize novel mutants isolated from a genetic screen in "Drosophila melanogaster." To date, more than 20 mutants have been studied across 20 institutions, and our scientific data have led to eleven publications with more than 500 students as authors. To evaluate the impact of the Fly-CURE experience on students, we developed and validated assessment tools to identify students' perceived research self-efficacy, sense of belonging in science, and intent to pursue additional research opportunities. Our data, collected over three academic years and involving 14 institutions and 480 students, show gains in these metrics after completion of the Fly-CURE across all student subgroups analyzed, including comparisons of gender, academic status, racial and ethnic groups, and parents' educational background. Importantly, our data also show differential gains in the areas of self-efficacy and interest in seeking additional research opportunities between Fly-CURE students with and without prior research experience, illustrating the positive impact of research exposure (dosage) on student outcomes. Altogether, our data indicate that the Fly-CURE experience has a significant impact on students' efficacy with research methods, sense of belonging to the scientific research community, and interest in pursuing additional research experiences.

This study aimed to determine the utilization of research results of the selection of marine fungi for milkfish ("Chanos chanos") feed. The study was conducted in stages, starting with identifying the issues in the learning activities of biotechnology concepts, followed by experiments to identify research methods and products, selecting an adaptation of research findings as the learning source content, and application and development of research findings as learning. The data and information were gathered through an interview grid and a questionnaire, and the findings of the surveys were then analyzed qualitatively. The results of a selection study of marine fungi from Dua Island, Banten, Indonesia as feed for milkfish related to basic competency (KD) 3.10 and 4.10 can be used as learning resources as digital magazines for class XII high school students. Thus, media can help student in learning process.

Therapy dogs positively impact students mental and emotional well-being, which can improve the student's academic performance. Therapy dogs can reduce stress and anxiety levels, which leads to better concentration and improved learning outcomes. Canines can also help improve social skills and behavior, which fosters a more productive classroom environment. School accountability becomes more critical each year. Student performance on state assessments determines accountability ratings. This study investigated therapy dogs' impact on academic achievement in a rural middle school math classroom. By addressing this issue through learning motivational theory, the quantitative research sheds light on how incorporating canine animal-assisted interventions into the daily classroom routine can increase student achievement.

The world is changing: both a conventional and a vaccine passport are now needed to travel internationally. Mask mandates, and social distancing are the new norm in a rapidly changing society. These measures were put in place to control the spread of the highly infectious and often fatal COVID-19, caused by a viral agent, a microorganism, a zoonosis, and the cause of death for over 6 million people around the world. Considering this, maintaining biosecurity is important around the world to ensure public health. Biosecurity in New Zealand supposes that people including young people understand different pests and diseases that can harm public health. This qualitative study was conducted to gauge the biosecurity knowledge of 171 young people (14-15-year-olds). Young people were tested on their knowledge about biosecurity related plants, animals, and microorganisms. This paper reports specifically on the results of knowledge of microorganisms of young people. Results show that negative anthropocentric views dominate adolescents understanding of microorganisms and anthropomorphism is widely used to explain microorganism activity. An educational programme, targeted at developing a conceptual understanding about microorganisms starting at primary education may help develop a more educated global citizen, one versed in understanding the biology of microorganisms.

Although the empowerment of critical thinking (CT) has become an international concern that needs to be developed in the biology learning process for high school students, there still needs to be more relevant research literature. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of implementing reading, questioning, and answering strategies integrated with creative problem solving (RQA-CPS) with RQA, CPS, and discussion strategies. This method used the pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design for one semester using four classes. We designed that the experimental group was taught with RQA-CPS, the control-I group was taught with RQA, the control-II group was taught with CPS, and the control-III group was taught with DP. This research involved 129 high school students in four classes with the topics Plantae, Animalia, Ecology and Environmental Change. These four topics are classified as complex material that requires CT to be able to understand in depth. The results showed that high school students' CT increased in all four classes, but the RQA-CPS group experienced the most significant increase and was significantly different compared to the other three control groups. Thus, the RQA-CPS strategy should be used in learning to improve students' CT.

Governance and regulation of the use of live animals in research and teaching is examined in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, China, Japan and India. A comparison of the systems in different countries will enable the determination of best practice and fit-forpurpose regulation. The most comprehensive government regulation of animal welfare in institutions covers a broad range of animals and institutions are required to have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, whose membership is specified in guidelines or regulations. The work of the Committees is rigorously overseen by government and facilities that use live animals are audited externally. All countries examined have legislation governing the use of live animals in research, although only Australia and Malaysia have a fully equivalent mandated oversight of teaching. Teaching that uses live animals is partly covered in the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and Thailand This paper thus aims to review the regulation of animal use in different Asian jurisdictions in order to determine best practices that are appropriate to those settings. The most comprehensive oversight is provided in Australia and Malaysia that essentially use the same regulatory framework.