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This study took place in a biotechnology laboratory course series that provided students with authentic research experiences. We documented student identities after the experience and explored how these identities related to future career aspirations.

Research related to the teaching and learning of 21st century biotechnology in additional science in Malaysia is seldom conducted. This study was carried out to find out the problems teachers and students face in biotechnology teaching and learning, and the appropriateness of the inclusion of 21st century skills, namely digital-era literacy skill, inventive skill, and spiritual values. A survey was conducted in Malaysian secondary schools aimed at students aged between 16 and 17, and teachers. Results showed that the inclusion of 21st century skills in biotechnology was relevant, and recommendations were given by the participants to improve the teaching and learning of biotechnology that could further cultivate their scientific literacy, especially in biotechnology.

The pedagogical principle "learning by research" guides the current curriculum in agricultural high schools in Brazil. A problematization of the principle shows how (1) it feeds into current neoliberal and corporate agendas in the education sector, and (2) it associates mathematical formalism and abstraction as necessary conditions for the production and use of biotechnology. Data consists of official national and institutional policy documents, as well as interviews conducted with nine former students, along with their school notebooks and tests. The theoretical and methodological framework draws on the work of Michel Foucault. It is argued that neoliberal market values are embedded in the mathematics education, through the articulation of abstract and formal reasoning with techno-scientific knowledge, for the purpose of competitive production. The "learning by research" principle shapes students' subjectivities to desire becoming techno-scientificized individuals. The ethical question of the subordination of the value of mathematics education to a neoliberal, predominantly marketized logic is raised as a challenge to the role of mathematics in contemporary cultures.

Approximately 1 billion metric tons of food are lost each year due to mycotoxins (FAO 2013), secondary metabolites produced by fungi (Marin et al. 2013) that contaminate crops (Placinta, D'Mello, and MacDonald 1999) and threaten the health of domestic animals and humans (Sobrova et al. 2010). The fungus "Fusarium graminearum" produces the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), which can be found in wheat, barley, and corn worldwide (Tanaka et al. 1988). In domestic animals, DON causes feed refusal, skin disorder, diarrhea, and reduced growth; in humans it can cause nausea, fever, headaches, and vomiting (Pestka 2010). The authors developed this unit to provide an interactive, interdisciplinary exercise for advanced secondary school students to detect DON in common food products, and to examine ways that mycotoxins affect crops, individual consumers, large groups of people, and domestic animals. Introducing students to the dangers of mycotoxins while encouraging them to think critically about issues important to agriculture, food safety, and biotechnology aligns the activity with the "Next Generation Science Standards." After completing the unit, students should be able to: (1) understand the potential for feed and food contamination; (2) discuss different methods for detecting mycotoxins; (3) consider principles of experimental design when sampling feed and food for mycotoxins, including potential pitfalls and limitations; (4) conduct an experiment to detect the mycotoxin DON in common grocery store products and samples of wheat, barley, and corn naturally contaminated with DON; and (5) discuss ways to detect and control mycotoxins in commercial settings.

To inspire upper-division undergraduate students to gain a deeper understanding of biorefinery, an experiment related to biofuels and lignin-based sunscreen products from corncob was performed in multiple offerings of a summer-semester class. Specifically, corncobs were pretreated with 1% H[subscript 2]SO[subscript 4] to obtain hemicellulose hydrolysates, which were detoxified, and followed with oleaginous yeast fermentation to yield microbial lipids. The microbial lipids were chemically transesterified into biodiesel in situ by an alkali catalyst. Subsequently, dilute acid-pretreated corncob residue was enzymatically saccharified to release glucose for ethanol production by separation hydrolysis and fermentation. Finally, the resultant lignin from the cellulosic ethanol production was valorized to make sunscreen. The main objectives of this work are to introduce students to integrated biorefinery concepts and techniques so that they can learn how to obtain added-value products from waste materials and to evoke students' awareness of environmental issues.

For various, largely unknown reasons, decision makers do not have equal interest in all Extension and outreach topics pertinent to a particular concept. This situation hampers Extension's ability to effectively deliver information and efficiently allocate limited resources. Using survey data, we identified heterogeneous preference for various topics related to the concept of woody bioenergy, our case study subject, and built profiles of forestland owners who expressed interest in topics that received above-average and below-average preference rates. Given our results, we argue for using this approach in objectively ranking audiences' educational interests in various forest and nonforest products and services and subsequently allocating time, space, and other Extension resources to the topics of interest.

A large-scale cross-sectional study (N = 4002) was set up to determine Flemish secondary school students' willingness to eat genetically modified food (WTE) and to link students' WTE to previously identified key variables from research on the acceptance of genetic modification (GM). These variables include subjective and objective knowledge about genetics and biotechnology, perceived risks and benefits of GM food crops, trust in information from different sources about GM, and food neophobia. Differences between WTE-related variables based on students' grade level, educational track, and gender were analyzed. The students displayed a rather indecisive position toward GM food and scored weakly on a genetics and biotechnology knowledge test. WTE correlated most strongly with perceived benefits and subjective and objective knowledge. The results have clear implications for education, as they reiterate the need to strengthen students' scientific knowledge base and to introduce a GM-related debate at a much earlier stage in their school career.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful technology used to knock down genes in basic research and medicine. In 2006 RNAi technology using "Caenorhabditis elegans" ("C. elegans") was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine and thus students graduating in the biological sciences should have experience with this technology. However, students struggle conceptually with the molecular biology behind the RNAi technology and find the technology difficult to grasp. To this end, we have provided a simple, streamlined and inexpensive RNAi procedure using "C. elegans" that can be adopted in upper level biology classes. By using an unknown RNAi-producing bacteria, students perform novel techniques, observe and determine which mystery gene was knocked down based on phenotype and experience a new research organism. By bringing this technology to the undergraduate lab bench, the gap between blackboard concept and proof of concept can be bridged.

The Professional Science Master's Biotechnology program at the University of Maryland University College developed and implemented a novel online mentoring program to increase synergy with the biotechnology industry. In this program, Master's students are paired with mentors from the biotechnology industry. A mentor assistant, who is a graduate of the degree program, assists each pair. Utilizing an open source platform and web-based technologies, each pair interacts on a regular basis to formulate and/or revise the students' professional goals and action plans. Each pair continues their interaction until the student graduates. The impact of the mentoring program is assessed through several measures including feedback on surveys and academic performance. The program grew from 19 mentor-mentee pairs in fall 2009 to 46 pairs in fall 2011. This trend and the current student retention rate of 79% suggest increasing student interest. Among the students who joined the mentoring program, those who continued participating had completed more courses/credit hours at the time of joining than the students who dropped from the program. The end-of-semester questionnaires showed generally positive student satisfaction and provided specific examples of gains in the students' ability to identify and pursue their career goals. The number of courses completed by the mentees was significantly higher than the number of courses completed by a comparison group of non-participants, indicating a possible effect of their participation in the mentoring program. So far, more mentees graduated than the comparison group of non-participants, and in less overall time. As the program progresses, possible effects on students' academic achievement and time-to-graduation will be reevaluated. The effectiveness of the mentoring program on improving the participants' career prospects after graduation will also be examined. The benefit of such a novel program is the ease with which it bridges the gap between industry and academia, providing a remarkable career development opportunity for students while building a strong community of professionals. (Contains 5 figures and 2 tables.)

The increasingly interdisciplinary nature of today's scientific research is leading to the transformation of undergraduate education. In addressing these needs, the University of Houston's College of Technology has developed a new interdisciplinary research-based biotechnology laboratory curriculum. Using the pesticide degrading bacterium, "Brevundimonas diminuta," as an anchor organism, the curriculum follows a logical progression starting with isolation and identification of pesticide degrading soil microbes, gene cloning, gene expression, bioprocessing of the gene product and commercial applications, thus demonstrating the life cycle of a typical biotechnology product. These series of laboratory protocols use a guided inquiry method to teach appropriate techniques and skills and help students build a bridge between materials presented in courses and applications in real life. Students then apply these concepts and techniques in independently designed investigations. The modular nature of this curriculum makes it flexible for integration into a variety of courses and could serve as a model for interdisciplinary education.

The purpose of the study was to compare two teaching methodologies for an integrated agricultural biotechnology course at the postsecondary level. The two teaching methods tested were the explanation of the scientific basis for content (comparison treatment) versus the application of content to a real-world agricultural context (experimental treatment). The study was implemented with two different classes over two semesters. The comparison treatment was administered to 22 students during the spring semester of 2009, and the experimental treatment was administered to 16 students during the fall semester of 2009. The research design used was a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control-group design with an identical pre/posttest given to each group as a means of assessing content achievement. The experimental treatment, based on the principles of contextual teaching and learning, was not statistically significant (p greater than 0.05), so the study's null hypothesis was not rejected. Based on these results, compared with traditional methods, a curriculum of contextualized teaching and learning can be implemented while maintaining a comparable level of student mastery of scientific concepts related to agricultural biotechnology. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study examined elementary education pre-service teachers' attitudes towards biotechnology processes. A sample comprised 88 elementary education pre-service teachers at a mid-sized university in the Midwest of the USA. Sixty and 28 of these pre-service teachers were enrolled in Introductory Science Methods course and Advance Science Methods Course, respectively. Data were collected using a questionnaire which had 15 statements on a 3 Likert-scale and required students to indicate whether each statement is acceptable or unacceptable. The results indicated that elementary education pre-service teachers from both courses generally held a wide range of attitudes towards biotechnology. Notably, majority of the pre-service teachers approved the genetic modification of microorganisms and plants, but disapproved the processes that involved the insertion or removal of genes in humans and animals. Implications for science teacher education, curriculum as well as recommendations for further research are discussed. (Contains 6 tables.)

University technology transfer is a collaborative effort between academia and industry involving knowledge sharing and learning. Working closely with their university partners affords biotechnology firms the opportunity to successfully develop licensed inventions and gain access to novel scientific and technological discoveries. These factors may enhance a firm's entrepreneurial orientation by supporting innovative, proactive, and risk-taking behaviors. This study investigates whether university technology transfer characteristics such as the transfer process, transfer modes (formal and informal), and transfer terms influence entrepreneurial orientation. Using survey data from biotechnology firms that develop human health therapies, the findings suggest that the transfer process and informal technology transfer promote a firm's ability to act entrepreneurially. Exclusive licensing terms, on the other hand, have a negative influence, and formal technology transfer does not significantly contribute to a firm's entrepreneurial disposition.

The undergraduate Bioengineering Program at Lehigh University was established as part of the university's Bioscience and Biotechnology Initiative with support from the National Science Foundation through a grant from its Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC). The objective here is to describe the program development and implementation, as well as the challenges encountered. Bioengineering at Lehigh was designed as an interdisciplinary program, with an emphasis on experiential learning, entrepreneurship, and innovation. In this light, the goals established for the program implementation were focused on recruiting students, developing a rigorous curriculum, equipping laboratories, and fostering industrial partnerships. The curriculum initially had three key components: a core of basic requirements, three tracks allowing students to specialize within a field of bioengineering, and experiential learning. The key challenges faced are balancing breadth and depth of a curriculum in a diverse field, improving experiential learning opportunities, implementing changes while maintaining stability, and handling operations as a new program rather than as an established department. The effectiveness of these strategies has been assessed on an ongoing basis. For example, an integrated recruitment strategy was used to encourage student enrollment, the results of which were measured through surveys and admissions data. Requiring students to select one of the three tracks, which are Biopharmaceutical Engineering, Cell and Tissue Engineering, and Bioelectronics and Biophotonics, each with an advanced laboratory course, added depth to the curriculum. Based on several sources of feedback, numerous changes have been made to the curriculum, including the addition of more bioengineering courses, especially advanced electives. The incorporation of Integrated Product Development (IPD), which was already an established hallmark program at Lehigh, into bioengineering, was a major program change that enhanced the hands-on learning and innovation opportunities. Implementing such changes, and managing them effectively, have been necessary to maintain program stability.

The state of education in the United States, particularly in the areas of science, mathematics and technology, has been a consistent source of concern since at least the early 1980s when student performance on the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that science proficiency was lower than comparable measures from the 1970's (Alvarado, 1994). For many students, science education continues to be presented primarily through didactic lectures and rote memorization of information. These outdated modes of teaching create un-motivating learning contexts that can significantly impede learner development of deep conceptual understandings (Barab, Sadler, Heiselt, Hickey & Zuiker, 2007). Researchers, teachers and parents are looking for strategies and technologies that create opportunities for students to not just learn the basic principles of science but understand the relationships that govern these principles and their applications. Science is based on inquisitive, collaborative and disciplined investigation in which individuals, and the groups they form, critically analyze the nature of how and why things work. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that supports this perspective on science education. PBL facilitates learner development of collaborative, problem solving skills and promotes scientific reasoning (Barrows, 1996). In this article, we extend the links between science education and PBL to consider computer-based gaming. We examine the use of gaming as a delivery method for PBL opportunities and suggest biotechnology applications as one area of content for game-based PBL. In the final section we introduce Mission Biotech, a game that we have recently developed, as an example of using gaming as a context for PBL.

Individuals' thoughts and attitudes towards biotechnology have been investigated in many countries. A Likert-type scale is the most commonly used scale to measure attitude. However, the weak side of a likert-type scale is that different responses may produce the same score. The Rough set method has been regarded to address this shortcoming. A likert type attitude scale was evaluated using the rough set method. Randomly selected 60 participants were given a biotechnology attitude scale and their responses to the scale items were examined using the method mentioned above. Participants belonging to a specific group were examined if they might also belong to another group in light of this method. Mathematical values of each sub-dimension and the extent to which a specific group accounts for the total variance in the overall dimension were calculated. Finally, the accuracy of approximation for the high, moderate, low and very low sets are calculated as [alpha][subscript R](Y)=1, [alpha][subscript R](O)=0,8, [alpha][subscript R](D)=0,778, [alpha][subscript R](CD)=1 It means that the moderate and low sets are rough sets. Through reduction of attributes, "Public awareness of GMO, Ethics of genetic modifications, Ecological impact of genetic engineering and Use of genetic engineering in human medicine" sub-dimensions were found to be the indispensable sub-dimensions.

No doubt career and technical education (CTE) is integral in preparing a skilled workforce for today's jobs. Hands-on training is an important element of the CTE classroom, and when that occurs in an actual workplace setting, it may be called internship, apprenticeship or cooperative education. Whatever term is applied, it is another way in which CTE is preparing the new workforce. In this article, four programs are profiled highlighting the success of CTE in Maryland, Florida, Utah, and Oregon, in the fields, respectively, of automotive, health care, biotechnology and sustainability. (Contains 9 online resources.)

This study explored the effectiveness of an inquiry-based cellulase laboratory unit in promoting inquiry in undergraduate students in biotechnology. The following tools were used to assess the students' achievements and attitude: conceptual understanding test, concept mapping, students' documents, CLES questionnaire, students' self reflection, and interviews. Judging from their conceptual understanding test results and concept mapping, students gained significantly more content knowledge on enzyme-substrate interaction and its application. In addition, students' reports on their projects revealed that they have developed their critical thinking, scientific process skills and abilities to apply knowledge on enzyme cellulase to industrial application. The students reacted positively to this teaching strategy as demonstrated by results from questionnaire responses, students' self reflection and interviews. The success of this inquiry-based laboratory unit might be due to both the context which was of interest to students, and the instruction method which ranged from a guided to a more open inquiry. Most importantly, the teacher in this study had mastery of both content and pedagogical techniques. This inquiry-based cellulase laboratory unit provided significant benefits for teaching and learning science for biotechnology students. It promoted acquisition of content knowledge and skills such as asking good questions, predicting, problem solving, drawing conclusion, and communication. This inquiry-based laboratory unit may serve as a guideline or framework for implementing a dynamic instruction with a range of inquiry level for the undergraduates. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

A broad continuum exists to describe the structure of inquiry lessons (Hanegan, Friden, & Nelson, 2009). Most teachers have heard inquiry described from a range of simple questioning to completely student-designed scientific studies (Chinn & Malhotra, 2002). Biotechnology education often uses a variety of inquiries from cookbook laboratory investigations to authentic inquiries. We examined how authentic inquiry, in the form of student-designed original scientific research projects, impacted learning. In this paper we also describe how students expressed that authentic inquiry in biotechnology education enhanced their understanding. (This paper is a summary of Hanegan & Bigler, 2009)

The use of biotechnology in food and agricultural applications has increased greatly during the past decade and is considered by many to be a controversial topic. Drawing upon a previous national study, a new survey was conducted of U.S. and international college students at a large, land-grant, Research University to determine factors that may affect opinions about genetically modified (GM) food products. Factors examined included nationality, discipline area of study, perceptions of safety, and awareness and levels of acceptance regarding GM food. Results indicated students born outside the United States had more negative opinions about genetically modified foods than did American-born students. Students who were studying a physical science-based curriculum had a more positive opinion of GM food than did students studying a curriculum that was not based in the physical science. In addition, students who reported a higher level of acceptance of genetically modified foods felt more positively about the safety of the technology. (Contains 1 figure and 6 tables.)

Hairy root transformation has been widely adapted in plant laboratories to rapidly generate transgenic roots for biochemical and molecular analysis. We present hairy root transformations as a versatile and adaptable model system for a wide variety of undergraduate laboratory courses and research. This technique is easy, efficient, and fast making it an ideal tool for undergraduate teaching. Students in a biotechnology course successfully transformed soybean cotyledons with "Agrobacterium rhizogenes" strain K599 during laboratory sessions. The students introduced the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene into soybean and observed hairy roots regeneration. After two weeks, 45% of the cotyledons developed roots. Of the roots that appeared after transformation, 55% expressed the GFP protein. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

The purpose of this study was to investigate high school students' knowledge and attitudes regarding biotechnology and its various applications. In addition, whether students' knowledge and attitudes differed according to age and gender were also explored. The Biotechnology Knowledge Questionnaire (BKQ) with 16 items and the Biotechnology Attitude Questionnaire (BAQ) with 37 items which were adapted into Turkish were administrated to 352 high school students. The data were analyzed by making use of both inferential and descriptive statistics. The results showed that students attained poor knowledge regarding biotechnology and its various applications. We found no statistically significant difference between male and female high school students with regard to biotechnology knowledge. On the other hand, we found significant impact of age on biotechnology knowledge. The effects of gender and age were found significant on attitudes. Furthermore, a significant difference was observed between male and female students with regard to attitudes toward biotechnology and its applications in favor of males. The older the students were the more positive attitudes they had. (Contains 1 table.)

The increased public awareness of the significance and necessity of biotechnology has encouraged educators to implement biotechnology instruction in various educational settings. One example is the great effort made by educational researchers and practitioners internationally to integrate biotechnology in technology education. Despite the gains in the popularity of biotechnology in education, the actual implementation of biotechnology instruction is not prevalent. Previous studies suggest that technology teachers' beliefs are a significant predictor of the implementation of biotechnology instruction for technology education. Thus, there is a need for further studies on this topic, however, this study investigates Korean technology teachers' beliefs related to the implementation of biotechnology instruction. It also includes several issues that are implied by the findings. A piloted self-reported online survey developed by the authors was administered to 114 Korean middle school technology teachers. This survey collected demographic information and measured these teachers' intent to implement biotechnology instruction into their classes ("intent"). The teachers' beliefs were measured in three domains: "value" (technology teachers' perceived beliefs about biotechnology teaching as valuable); "expectancy" (technology teachers' perceived beliefs about biotechnology teaching as expectancy); and "innovation" (technology teachers' perceived beliefs about biotechnology teaching as a need regarding innovation). Results indicate that Korean technology teachers' beliefs measured by value, expectancy, and innovation were significantly associated with teacher intent to teach biotechnology content in their classes. This study recommends that biotechnology content should be delivered systematically to technology teachers through professional development (i.e., in-service and pre-service training). (Contains 5 tables.)

Understanding life on a molecular level is greatly enhanced when students are given the opportunity to visualize the molecules. Especially understanding DNA structure and function is essential for understanding key concepts of molecular biology such as DNA, central dogma and the manipulation of DNA. Researches have shown that undergraduate students typically lack a coherent view of concepts and their relationships when studying molecular biology within instruction-based lecture with no other pedagogical applications. In this study, we have designed an experimental to investigate the effect of a hands on paper models exercise within group work (Jigsaw Cooperative learning) on student biology teachers' academic achievement and attitudes to biotechnologies. Our goal was to develop a manipulative activity using inexpensive but graphic materials. The sample for this study consisted of 42 student teachers in the department of Biology Education during the 2005-2006 academic year. We have divided the students in two different classes. One of the classes was randomly assigned as the non-paper model (control, n=21) and the other as the paper model group (n=21). In experimental group cut and paste paper models exercise within cooperative groups, in control group traditional instructional design has been applied in teaching DNA structure, Central Dogma and Recombinant DNA. The posttests of the groups in achievement and attitudes to biotechnologies show significant differences. The results indicated that the paper model group was more successful than the non-paper group. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)

Background: Engineering programs must equip students to solve open-ended workplace problems. However, the literature points to actual or potential difficulties faced by students in solving open-ended or complex problems. During Fall 2014, the authors' students experienced difficulties in solving open-ended bio-signals laboratory problems of designing input signals to analyze unknown systems via MATLAB programming. These difficulties resulted in low performance. Intended Outcomes: To support, or scaffold, problem-solving in subsequent semesters, a strategy of frequent and timely monitoring and feedback was used. The hypotheses were that these scaffolding strategies would be associated with enhanced performance on open-ended projects, and would support students in similar future work once removed. Application Design: Based upon strategies from the scaffolding literature, assignments that guided problem decomposition were used. Flipped instruction challenged students to prepare for the laboratory by reviewing worked programming examples and completing online assessments. The laboratory sessions were reserved for collaborative, hands-on programming, with instructor oversight, as in a problem-based learning environment. Students submitted frequent progress reports for self-monitoring and feedback throughout each project. Findings: A statistical comparison of project scores across semesters revealed performance improvements with scaffolding. Post-scaffolding assessment in a follow-up course determined scaffolding to be helpful and applicable by these students for similar projects. These preliminary results are important for STEM students and instructors encountering challenges with open-ended problem-solving of this nature, and they provide quantitative evidence recently called for by the STEM scaffolding literature.

This article presents an investigation on the educational value of virtual worlds intended for the acquisition of procedural knowledge. This investigation takes as a case of study a virtual laboratory on biotechnology. A remarkable feature in this virtual laboratory is an automatic tutor that supervises student's actions and provides tutoring feedback when it is appropriate. The study presented in this article covers two different aspects of the system. First, it analyzes the impact of this virtual world in learning some concepts related to a biotechnology practice; and second, it surveys the students' opinion on the virtual world by means of three open questions (positive, negative, and general impressions). Results demonstrated that the virtual world had a positive influence in the students' knowledge, and it was well received by them.

Recombinant protein expression and site-directed mutagenesis of target genes have demonstrated an increasing importance in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, and medicine. By using the flavodoxin of the model cyanobacterium "Anabaena" sp. PCC 7120 as a laboratory tool, we designed a comprehensive laboratory practice encompassing several well-established molecular biology techniques and procedures in order to fulfill two main objectives: (1) overexpression and immunodetection of "Anabaena" flavodoxin in recombinant "Escherichia coli" cell extracts, and (2) site-directed mutagenesis of the "Anabaena" flavodoxin gene "isiB." This lab practice provides undergraduate students the possibility to perform by themselves several essential techniques in the field. With the aid of professors, students are stimulated to think, to interpret, and to discuss the results based on what they had learned in previous theoretical courses.

Background: We present an analysis of students' responses to application-based questions on the topic of growth and control of microorganisms, from a questionnaire administered to 348 second and third year students of an Indian university who were enrolled in its undergraduate programs in Biotechnology or Microbiology. We examined aspects of the laboratory practice as reported by teachers and of the university assessment patterns that may explain our findings. Reports by teachers also included their views on the impact of the laboratory curriculum on building student capabilities. Studies such as this play an important role in informing the ongoing discourse in the country about much-needed reforms in undergraduate education. Results: Our analysis revealed several lacunae in students' understanding. Students' performance on the questionnaire was also found to be poorly correlated with their academic achievement in the university examinations. Teachers' reports revealed that there was a minimal student involvement in planning and designing of the experiments in their laboratory course; rather, cookbook protocols were commonly used by the students. There was a striking disparity between students' stated career aspirations and their preparedness for them. Conclusions: Our analysis points to underlying issues in the teaching-learning and assessment process; we discuss these issues and possible alternatives to the current practices. This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first in the country that has explored students' conceptions for an elementary topic in biology education at the tertiary level. We believe that the results of the study will be useful in shaping the ongoing educational reforms in higher education and will also be useful in developing a concept inventory on this topic.

Conceptual understanding and reasoning of nonscience major students enrolled in a course on biotechnology were evaluated before and after instruction. The instrument for analysis of student understanding was the Biotechnology Instrument for Knowledge Elicitation (BIKE). The BIKE targets 11 key concepts, as determined by experts in the field. A statistically significant score improvement was observed in each of the 11 concept areas after completion of the course, Biotechnology in Society (N = 117). Student responses to both the pretest and posttest were highly informative and revealed several common misconceptions that could have been overlooked in a closed form testing scenario. These alternative conceptions and recommended clarifications have been presented here. Our goal in documenting and distributing these is to better equip educators in biology and biochemistry to anticipate student preconceptions, design targeted interventions, and improve student conceptual reasoning in topics pertaining to biology and biotechnology.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are a revolutionary tool based on a bacterial acquired immune response system. CRISPR has gained widespread use for gene editing in a variety of organisms and is an increasingly valuable tool for basic genetic research, with far-reaching implications for medicine, agriculture, and industry. This lab is based on the premise that upper division undergraduate students enrolled in a Life Sciences curriculum must become familiar with cutting edge advances in biotechnology that have significant impact on society. Toward this goal, we developed a new hands-on laboratory exercise incorporating the use of CRISPR-Cas9 and homology directed repair (HDR) to edit two well-characterized genes in the budding yeast, "Saccharomyces cerevisiae". The two genes edited in this exercise, Adenine2 (ADE2) and Sterile12 (STE12) affect metabolic and developmental processes, respectively. Editing the premature stop codons in these genes results in clearly identifiable phenotypes that can be assessed by students in a standard laboratory course setting. Making use of this basic eukaryotic model organism facilitates a laboratory exercise that is inexpensive, simple to organize, set up, and present to students. This exercise enables undergraduate students to initiate and follow-up on all stages of the CRISPR gene editing process, from identification of guide RNAs, amplification of an appropriate HDR fragment, and analysis of mutant phenotypes. The organization of this protocol also allows for easy modification, providing additional options for editing any expressed genes within the yeast genome to produce new mutations, or recovery of existing mutants to wild type.

In complex interfirm exchange relationships like alliances, firms that invest in relation-specific assets are likely to devise governance mechanisms, most prominently hierarchical control, to safeguard against various exchange hazards. However, if investing in relation-specific assets leads the focal alliance firm to discover new opportunities outside of the exchange relationship that can be exploited independent of its partner firm, then instead of seeking more control over the alliance, we may see such firms' incentives for seeking control over the alliance to be weakened. These different conditions are contrasted and explored empirically in the biotechnology alliance setting. Understanding the role of outside opportunities as an important driver of alliance governance can help to integrate the governance literature and the capabilities literature.

Teaching students about human reproduction is becoming increasingly daunting as assisted reproduction technologies challenge scientific, social and legal perceptions of parenthood. Mitochondrial replacement in particular forces us to re-examine established paradigms not only in the context of human reproduction but also with regard to the way in which we teach students about genetic modification, the nature of the eukaryotic cell, and eukaryote evolution.

Our paper analyses the genetics and gene technology contents of German (Bavarian) and Portuguese biology textbooks, as fields common in science-technology-society-environment (STSE) issues. Our aim was to determine the extent to which textbooks from both countries contribute to students' understanding of the STSE issues and therefore to students' scientific literacy (SL), as well as to detect indicators of the Decontextualized and Socially Neutral View of Science and Technology (DSNVST), as a barrier for achieving that goal. We qualitatively and quantitatively inspected eight textbooks according to previously proposed criteria and sub-criteria: four Portuguese textbooks (two each for the 9th and 12th grade) and four German textbooks (two each for the 9th and the 11th grade). Based on compliance with our set of criteria and sub-criteria, we identified 2390 STSE statements attempting to approach STSE issues, but we also found important lacks in all textbooks and detected DSNVST indicators. Finally, we discuss possible linkages between these indicators and the socio-cultural background underlying textbooks, in terms of both educational policies determining curricula, and prevailing public attitudes towards science. Some similarities within each nationality, as well as some divergences between them endorse our hypothesis that the socio-cultural context from which textbooks emerged determined the choice of STSE content, the discussions employed, and the conception of science and technology displayed by the textbooks.

Course-integrated Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) involve large numbers of students in real research. We describe a late-year microbiology CURE in which students use yeast to address a research question around beer brewing or synthesizing biofuel; the interdisciplinary student-designed project incorporates genetics, bioinformatics, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and microbiology. Students perceived significant learning gains around multiple technical and "becoming a scientist" aspects of the project. The project is demanding for both the students and the academic implementers. We examine the rich landscape of support and interaction that this CURE both encourages and requires while also considering how we can support the exercise better and more sustainably. The findings from this study provide a picture of a CURE implementation that has begun to reach the limits of both the students' and the academics' capacities to complete it.

Cross-disciplinary fields such as biotechnology require chemical engineers and non-engineers to routinely work together, thus creating a need for non-engineers to learn chemical engineering. But limited knowledge on non-engineers' learning preferences and the lack of pedagogical methods to teach non-engineers restricts the opportunities available for them to learn chemical engineering. Presented here is a fluid mechanics and mass transfer course developed specifically to meet the learning needs of non-engineers. Pedagogical methods such as active learning, low threshold high ceiling approach, and the newly developed four-tier method for progressive independence in quantitative problem solving were used in this course. Course assessment based on student performance in graduate level courses and future initiatives based on student feedback are discussed.

In this research article, Ross J. Benbow and Matthew T. Hora explore the employability narrative, a view that focuses on whether colleges and universities provide students with the skills they need to be productively employed after graduation. Using sociocultural theory to problematize this narrative and qualitative methods to foreground the experiences of postsecondary educators and employers, the authors investigate conceptions of essential workplace skills in biotechnology and manufacturing fields. Their results show that though work ethic, technical knowledge, and technical ability represent core competencies valued across these communities, considerable variation exists in how members of different disciplinary and occupational subgroups value and conceptualize important skills. They found that respondents' conceptions of skills were also strongly tied to geography and organizational culture, among other contextual factors. With these results in mind, the authors conclude that skills are best viewed as multifaceted and situated assemblages of knowledge, skill, and disposition--or cultural models--and urge the adoption of more nuanced views among educators, employers, and policy makers that take into account the cultural and contextual forces that shape student success in the workplace.

Sensor technologies are increasingly part of everyday life, embedded in buildings (movement, sound, temperature) and worn on persons (heart rate, electro-dermal activity, eye tracking). This paper presents a theoretical framework for research on computational sensor data. My approach moves away from theories of agent-centered perceptual synthesis (on behalf of a perceiving organism) and towards a more expansive understanding of the biosocial learning environment. The focus is on sensor technologies that track sensation below the bandwidth of human consciousness. I argue that there is an urgent need to reclaim this kind of biodata as part of an unequally distributed worldly sensibility, and to thereby undermine more narrow reductive readings of such data. The paper explores the biopolitical implications of recasting biodata in terms of trans-individual inhuman forces, while continuing to track the distinctive power of humans.

This article offers a philosophical-empirical account of embodied skilful performance in the practice of plant biotechnology. Drawing on the work of Merleau-Ponty and others, we elaborate how skilful performance emerges from and through reciprocal relations encompassing the body-in-the-world and the world-in-the-body. The contribution of this article lies in offering an account of skilful performance that is attentive to a perceiving, motile, feeling body entwined with world. In genetically modifying plants, scientists direct their senses of touch and vision to manipulating plant materials and matter, "reading" subtle changes in tissue cultures, plantlets and so on. In rhythmic movements, they extend their bodies through skilful use of complex equipment, while calling on "intuition" to guide their work. Skilful performance, then, relies on our lived body that is not merely a physical object among other objects, nor a passive instrument for the mind, but dynamic and inescapably entwined with people and things in a world in flux. Bringing to the fore how perceiving, motile, feeling bodies are implicated in skilful performance has significant implications for education and workplace training.

This study was conducted to examine the statistical relationship between problem solving and critical thinking to guide future teaching and research for agricultural educators using the problem-solving approach. Students enrolled in an undergraduate genetics course in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida were prompted to use their critical-thinking skills while answering a problem in the context of biotechnology. Students' critical-thinking skills were assessed through content analysis of a think-aloud protocol. Other cognitive factors assessed included problem-solving style, problem-solving level, and critical-thinking disposition. A path analysis was used to examine how these trait-based variables and use of critical-thinking skills contribute to solving a problem. Of these cognitive factors, only problem-solving level, critical-thinking disposition, and use of critical-thinking skills were included in the revised model. The authors argue that although correlations were significant, they were low and indicated that critical thinking and problem-solving may be more independent than previously thought. Limitations of this study require more research to better understand how these cognitive factors are employed by the learner to solve problems.

Some researchers have argued that science classrooms must move away from rote and passive applications of memorized concepts to the use of critical thinking skills as a primary component in facilitating learning. Yet few studies have examined the effect of overtly teaching for critical thinking on subsequent skill development. The purpose of this study was to assess if overtly teaching for critical thinking, as a teaching method, contributed to explaining increases in critical thinking skill scores of undergraduate students enrolled in agricultural biotechnology. One group of students were taught components of critical thinking and then asked to use the newly learned skills in class. A nonequivalent control group was instructed using the inquiry-based teaching method. The data exhibited significance between groups giving evidence that overtly teaching for critical thinking improves students' critical thinking skills as opposed to using the inquiry-based teaching method. Adding gender to the model did not significantly increase the explanation of variance in critical thinking skills. Also, a weak positive correlation was found between the total critical thinking skill score and the total critical thinking disposition score. (Contains 6 tables.)

The health industry is an important and growing economic engine. Advances are being made in pharmaceutical and biotechnology discoveries and their applications (including manufacturing), as well as in health care services. As a result, there is an increasing sophistication of the products and services available and being developed, with an ever-widening scale of applications and marketing, producing an ever-expanding need for college graduates who have knowledge of life science-based products and processes. There have been numerous reports of current and projected shortages of human resources possessing the required knowledge in the growing industry. The objectives of this paper are to describe the implementation of a biotechnology program that crosses discipline boundaries, integrates science and technology, and attracts a diverse group of students. The curriculum addresses critical workforce needs and teaches students the content knowledge and skills of emerging biotechnology industries. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

In this paper, I have positioned myself with Kean Birch and explored some of the political-economic actors/actants of policy suites implicated in the biotechnologies and bioeconomy. In particular, I have considered Australia's recent National Innovation and Science Agenda and allied documents and entities (that is, Innovation and Science Australia, the National Science Statement and the 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap) as one of the National Innovation Strategies in place now in OECD countries and beyond. In overview, these policy suites utilise the same high knowledge creation/low translation and commericalisation arguments as elsewhere to press for particular ideologically based "improvements" to public science. Mapping the terrain of these entities has revealed the innovation, biotechnology and bioeconomy policy space to be inordinately complex and challenging to navigate. Reviewing Australia's position enables the type of comparative work that contributes to a closer understanding of the largely neoliberal global economic imperatives shaping contemporaneity. Moreover, while these policy suites attempt to constitute and circulate particular visions of science education, their complex nature mitigates against science teachers/educators grappling with their implications. [For Kean Birch's paper, "The Problem of Bio-Concepts: Biopolitics, Bio-Economy and the Political Economy of Nothing," see EJ1161780.]

Nanobiotechnology, which resulted from the convergence of biotechnology and nanotechnology, is a new field of research, and it has an increasing impact on peoples' everyday lives. Thus, it is important to measure peoples' attitudes towards nanobiotechnology, in particular, those who are specifically involved in biology and science education. However, despite the existence of an adequate number of instruments on biotechnology or nanotechnology, for nanobiotechnology, there is no instrument that has been rigorously validated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a nanobiotechnology scale for assessing the undergraduate students' attitudes. The data were gathered from 236 student teachers enrolled in the departments of biology education and elementary science education. The findings from exploratory factor analysis (EFA) provided evidence for the validity and reliability of the final form of the scale. A total of 36 items were identified and contained within the following four factors, nanobiotechnology awareness, interest in nanobiotechnology, nanobiotechnology education, and the applications of nanobiotechnology. The total variance was 53.021%, and the Cronbach's alpha for the overall scale was 0.93. The scale was later given to 203 student teachers, the results of which were presented in this study. The results indicated significant differences in gender and department in some of the subscales of the scale. As a result, it is believed that the instrument will be a valuable tool for both instructors and researchers in science education to assess the student teachers' attitudes about nanobiotechnology.