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In the context of reforming general secondary education, it is important to identify and analyze the changes occurring in the human resources of the general secondary education system under the influence of various factors, particularly the martial law in the country. This study focuses on biology teachers as an example. The following system of indicators was used to statistically characterize biology teachers in modern Ukraine: the number of teaching staff (differentiated by urban and rural areas); the age and gender structure of teachers; the structure of teaching staff by education level; the number of students per teacher; the number of biology classrooms in general secondary education institutions; and the number of institutions and students involved in specialized biology education. The article presents the results of the analysis of statistical indicators regarding biology teachers in the general secondary education system. A trend of gradual reduction in educational institutions and, accordingly, teachers, including biology teachers, was identified. Attention is drawn to the decrease in the number of biology teachers under the age of 30 (30%). Statistics indicate a high educational level among biology teachers: nearly 98% have a master’s degree. The number of urban educational institutions with equipped biology classrooms is gradually increasing. Overall, the percentage of high school students involved in specialized education is gradually rising nationwide. At the same time, an analysis of statistical data on the functioning of specialized biology education suggests that over the past five years, there has been a gradual decrease in the number of students engaged in specialized biology education.

The aim of this case study is to present the most frequent teaching methods used by biology teachers in the Republic of Croatia, based on the observations made during biology class and the teachers’ statements. The study included six distinguished primary school biology teachers, along with their seventh-grade classes. The data comprised an interview with each teacher and twelve class observations. The results show that biology education in the Croatian educational system is mostly traditional, whereby students mostly practice listening to the teacher (34%) and answering the questions (18%). In summary, the majority of teaching consists of teachers presenting the content materials and asking questions or engaging students in specific individual or group activities. The present study has determined a lack of student questions and class discussions. Additionally, the nature of teachers’ questions does not encourage students to think and provide extensive answers. For this reason, the study suggests that teachers encourage students to ask questions and organize teaching activities in ways which will contribute to more class activity and deep learning of students. Despite some acknowledged limitations, the results of this study can contribute to a better understanding of the teachers’ experiences in authentic science classrooms, in specific contexts.

E-learning tools technology is a paradigm shift in facilitating learning in our world today and the driving force of education in developed countries. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the accessibility and utilization of E-learning tools for teaching biology in secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis. The study was guided by the technology acceptance model theory, and employed a descriptive survey design. The population of the study were all biology teachers in public secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis. The sample size was determined from the estimate of the target population which is 368. The sample size for this study was 250 respondents from 100 public secondary schools. A well-structured questionnaire was the instrument. The data collected was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed lack of access and low or non-utilization of E-learning tools for teaching biology in public secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis while factors observed to be responsible for the findings are low or lack of awareness on the part of teachers, poor policy formulation to incorporate the use of e-learning tools and poor infrastructure in the schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of reforming general secondary education, it is important to identify and analyze the changes occurring in the human resources of the general secondary education system under the influence of various factors, particularly the martial law in the country. This study focuses on biology teachers as an example. The following system of indicators was used to statistically characterize biology teachers in modern Ukraine: the number of teaching staff (differentiated by urban and rural areas); the age and gender structure of teachers; the structure of teaching staff by education level; the number of students per teacher; the number of biology classrooms in general secondary education institutions; and the number of institutions and students involved in specialized biology education. The article presents the results of the analysis of statistical indicators regarding biology teachers in the general secondary education system. A trend of gradual reduction in educational institutions and, accordingly, teachers, including biology teachers, was identified. Attention is drawn to the decrease in the number of biology teachers under the age of 30 (30%). Statistics indicate a high educational level among biology teachers: nearly 98% have a master's degree. The number of urban educational institutions with equipped biology classrooms is gradually increasing. Overall, the percentage of high school students involved in specialized education is gradually rising nationwide. At the same time, an analysis of statistical data on the functioning of specialized biology education suggests that over the past five years, there has been a gradual decrease in the number of students engaged in specialized biology education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess and enhance the TPACK competencies of biology teachers in secondary schools, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. Method: Using a descriptive analytical approach, a total of 120 teachers based in Riyadh were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of 52 items. The questionnaire covered 7 dimensions of TPACK and used a 5-point Likert scale. Results: The results showed a moderate level of proficiency overall. The dimensions of technological knowledge (TCK) and content knowledge (TPACK) had the highest mean scores of 3.64 and 3.61, respectively. This suggests an understanding of the connections between technology, content, and pedagogy. Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) had the lowest score (mean = 2.65), highlighting the importance of improving training on integrating technology tools with pedagogical methods. Conclusion: The study revealed that there was no discernible distinction between the experience and educational qualifications of teachers. The study highlights the importance of TPACK for biology teachers in effectively utilizing the internet and other technology to enhance information sharing with students through online platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of instructional models in the classroom significantly impacts students’ learning abilities and achievements. The adoption of a teacher-centered learning approach might lead to reduced student engagement in the learning process, consequently influencing their ability to acquire life skills. The current study aimed to determine the educational attainment, teaching experience, utilization of learning media and application of learning models by junior and senior high school biology teachers in Ternate, Indonesia. This study employed a qualitative research method that utilized survey questionnaires. The respondents were 25 biology teachers of junior high school and 30 biology teachers of senior high school. The research findings showed that (1) 84% of the junior high school biology teachers have the undergraduate education and 16% of them have the master education; 69.77% of those of the senior high school have the undergraduate education and 30.23% of them have the master education. (2) Both the junior and the senior high school biology teachers have over 15 years of teaching experience. (3) Among the junior high school biology teachers, the use of student worksheet is only 20%, and the use of learning media is 14%; Among the senior high school biology teachers, the use of student worksheet is 36.66% and the use of learning media is 23.33%. (4) The uses of conventional learning and the use of cooperative learnings among junior high school biology teachers are 83% and 17%, respectively; where as among those of senior high school are 73.34% and 26.66%, respectively. In conclusion, the educational qualifications of junior and senior high school biology teachers in Ternate have satisfied the necessary criteria for teaching. However, the teachers have not been able to enhance the quality of education in the city. This highlights the importance of developing innovative learning models to improve the learning abilities and achievements.

The article analyses the main pedagogical and educational technologies. The purpose of the article is a comprehensive analysis of the features of storytelling technology, as one of the leading pedagogical technologies that contributes to the professional development of biology teachers. According to the goal, the following task was set: to determine the expediency and ways of using storytelling technology in the professional development of biology teachers. It is noted that in the modern conditions of the development of society, the change of the educational course to a human-centred personal direction in education, the transition to competency-based training, active, interactive and innovative educational technologies in the learning process are becoming more and more relevant. The levels of functioning of educational technologies are determined as follows: general pedagogical, subject-methodical and local (modular) levels of functioning of pedagogical technology. The importance of understanding the differences between such concepts as “educational technology”, “pedagogical technology”, “learning technology (education, management)” is emphasized. The basic pedagogical technologies, their general characteristics, purpose and functions in the educational process are indicated. In the article, considerable attention is paid to the technology of storytelling, its content and essence are determined, both for the general range of subjects and for biology in particular. Attention is also drawn to the peculiarities, types, forms and other methodical characteristics of storytelling. The key role of storytelling technology as an effective method of presenting information in biology lessons is emphasized. Storytelling has significant practical advantages: it is easily perceived by students, develops creative imagination, overcomes the fear of public speaking and establishes relationships between students. It can be said that the proposed methods of using storytelling in lessons make it possible to implement the educational process in institutions of general secondary education based on a fundamentally different methodological approach, accordingly, the widespread use of multimedia formats for presenting educational materials is gaining momentum; ICT, the use of Internet resources in combination with storytelling remain relevant. The publication highlights the main, in our opinion, recommendations for the effective use of the mentioned technology, outlines the forms of its application in biology lessons. Examples of the use of storytelling technology during the study of a certain topic from a school biology course were given. The recommendations presented in the article are based on theoretical analysis, synthesis of scientific views and personal pedagogical experience. The basic aspects of the use of storytelling technology in the professional development of teachers are indicated. It is emphasized that the technology of storytelling is an effective tool in the professional development of teachers, as it contributes to the enrichment of pedagogical experience, stimulates creativity and contributes to the effective transfer of knowledge and values.

Copyright of Opuntia Brava is the property of Universidad de Ciencias Pedagogicas de Las Tunas, Centro de Documentacion e Informacion Pedagogica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Gazi Journal of Educational Sciences (GJES) is the property of Gazi Journal of Educational Sciences (GJES) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Curiosity and critical thinking as one of the characteristics and skills developed in the goals of Indonesian education and 21st-century learning. Curiosity is a driving force for intrinsic motivation to explore behavior and gain new understanding and knowledge through observation. Curiosity and critical thinking skills are the needs of every individual to explore sciences such as biology. This study's aim is to explore the curiosity and critical thinking skills of prospective biology teacher students. This research is a qualitative descriptive study with a survey method. The sample of this study amounted to 150 students who were taken using purposive random sampling. Curiosity data was collected using science curiosity in learning environments (SCILE) and critical thinking skills were collected using the developed instrument. The data obtained were analyzed using the partial least square program to determine the contribution of gender to scientific curiosity (SC) and critical thinking skills. The results of the analysis show that gender contributes directly to critical thinking skills through SC on the stretching indicator. In general, SC needs to do research to find out the contribution of each critical thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study contributes to the thematization of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wadden Sea in biology didactics. Despite the uniqueness and high potential of the Wadden Sea ecosystem, especially for out-of-school learning, it has hardly been considered in biology didactics so far. The overall aim of this study is to gain insight into prospective biology teachers' existing conceptions regarding the Wadden Sea. Students are not only learners in their role at the university but prospective teachers as well due to their intended professional goal. Therefore, they can be considered the intersection of these two perspectives and are of particular interest to relevant research projects. In this paper, prospective biology teachers (n = 209, mean age 22.89 years) from Germany were surveyed using a word association test. Associations to the stimulus words Wadden Sea, mudflat hiking tour, tides, national park, and UNESCO World Heritage Site were collected. In the analysis, a category system was developed as literally as possible from the associations. This paper uses mind maps to provide a detailed overview of the identified associations. There was a wide range of identified associations: In addition to subject-area-related and subject-didactic associations, there were experience-oriented associations as well as associations unrelated to the subject. To place these results in context, secondary school students' associations to the same stimulus words are used for comparison. A central commonality is associations that encompass the experience possibilities at the Wadden Sea. In contrast to the secondary school students, the prospective teachers focus more on the school context. Conclusions are drawn regarding the education of biology teachers. In addition to identifying possible future research projects, this study suggests the need to consider the Wadden Sea in university teacher training.

Self-efficacy entails the belief that an individual has the ability to carry out certain actions that will result in the desired outcome. Teachers’ self-efficacy is, therefore, the teachers’ confidence in their ability to promote students’ learning. This study examined the impact of teachers’ self-efficacy on academic achievement in Biology among secondary school students in Enugu State using an expost facto research design. From a population of 5693 (2254 females and 3439 males) SS1 Biology students and 62 SS1 Biology teachers in all the 48 public senior secondary schools in Obollo A for Education Zone of Enugu state, a sample of 270 SS1 Biology students and 25 SS1 Biology teachers were selected through purposeful sampling technique. The instruments used for data collection were the Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Index (TSEI)), Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Eysenck General Intelligence Test (EGIT). Three research questions were answered in the study while Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the three hypotheses that guided the study at 0.05 level significance. The results of the study found out that: students who were taught by teachers of high and moderate Teachers’ self-efficacy levels had better academic achievement when compared with those students whose teachers exhibited low Teachers’ self-efficacy; that male and female students did not show any significant difference in academic achievement in Biology based on teacher Teachers’ self-efficacy behaviour. It was recommended that a favourable climate and conducive working atmosphere be put in place to ensure effective process of teaching and learning Biology using TSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For example, Lee and Yang (2019) found that when addressing SSIs in the science class for the first time, teachers encountered some challenges in transforming their traditional role of teaching science content as specified in the curriculum and actively engaging students in SSIs discussion activities. The attitude aspect of this scale covers interest in introducing SSIs-based instruction in the future biology classroom (Item 17), willingness to collaborate with other biology teachers to develop SSIs-based teaching materials (Item 18), and willingness to participate in professional development programs supporting teachers to implement SSIs-based instruction (Item 19). Teachers may need a longer engagement in the professional development program discussing SSIs and more opportunities to practice SSIs teaching in order to develop their confidence for addressing SSIs in their future classrooms. As the teachers in this course reported they had not received any education about SSIs before the course and were not aware of SSIs as an instructional strategy, pre-course responses is not useful to report in this study. Interview participant 2 For implementation in the school, I think the challenge for teachers are providing guiding questions for the students to discuss the SSI.... If teachers do not provide specific questions, students' discussions about the issue may be far from what they [the teachers] expected. [Extracted from the article]

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is crucial program hold by United Nations in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is necessary to prepare competent teacher which can be started with debriefing through lectures. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prospective biology teacher's knowledge about ESD. The ESD competencies which were analyzed in this study including knowledge, actions, ethical values, attitudes, and emotions. The research subjects used were 30 students of their third year biology teacher education and taking Kapita Selekta Biology course in Indonesian University of Education (UPI). This descriptive study used a questionnaire about knowledge on ESD given to prospective biology teachers beforem they were given a briefing about ESD. The data gained were analyzed using percentage. The results showed that the persentage of knowledge of prospective biology teachers about ESD was still low (under 50%). Based on the findings, it is necessary to do ESD debriefing so that prospective biology teachers are able to integrate ESD in their learning design.

Teachers’ perception of a particular material is an influential aspect of the way teachers learn the material. Since evolution is a debating material, teachers affected by this condition when they teaching the evolutionary topic. For those reasons, this descriptive study aimed to identify teachers’ perception of evolution learning, which consists of four main aspects: learning material, strategy, sources, and assessment. The population is all biology teachers at Padang, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia. Sampling was taken by purposive sampling, with criteria biology teachers that already taught the evolutionary topic in senior high school. Data collected from the questionnaire and analyzed descriptively in percentage. The result showed that for the majority of biology teachers at Padang have perceptions toward four aspects of evolution learning in a category very good, good, and good enough. In details, more concerns are needed for some less valued descriptor related to the contradiction issue between evolution theory and Islamic beliefs. In the average, each score of perception for four aspects are: learning material 3.71; strategies 4.11; sources 3.64; and assessment 3.92 with all average criteria in good category. Each aspect performed is discussed.

The student teacher usually learns their trade under the guidance of a mentor during teaching practice. Reflections usually take place after the mentor’s observation of the student´s lesson, and take the form of an interview between the two participants. Recently, video recordings have been used advantageously to add an extra dimension to such professional development. In the classroom, at the time of the lesson, future teachers may not notice certain events, but using video helps them review, and analyse their attributes, thereby making the reflective process more effective. The development of ‘professional vision’ consists of two processes: (1) noticing different events and (2) assessing and appraising themselves.1 This study analysed four written reflections (two pairs from each) from future biology teachers (n = 65) during their practice at ISCED 2 (International Standard Classification of Education 2 – lower secondary education, pupils from 11 to 15 years old) and at ISCED 3 (International Standard Classification of Education 3 - upper secondary education, pupils from 15 to 19 years old) schools. The first reflection in the pair (‘pre-reflection’) was written without video recordings, and the second (‘post-reflection’) with the support of video recordings. The reflections were divided into statements, and coded according to Sherin and van Es’ categorisation system. Statistically significant changes were found in several categories of professional vision in the students´ statements. During practice at ISCED 2 school (the first practice in the curriculum) students commented more often in the Self, Pedagogy, Management, Evaluate and Alteration categories in postreflection, and less in the Student, Curriculum, Subject, Climate and Describe categories. During (the second) practice at ISCED 3 school, students dealt more with Self and Alteration categories in post-reflection. These findings persuaded us that the use of two practices based on video-supported reflection of one’s own lessons is effective in prospective biology teachers’ development of their professional vision.Received: 28 May 2019Accepted: 08 November 2019Published online: 29 November 2019

The article shows the results of research investigation. The main goal was to find out how grammar school pupils perceive the interaction style of their biology teacher. We also looked at the influence of the personality of the teacher on shaping the relationship of pupils to the subject Biology. Data were obtained through a questionnaire inquiry, as a research tool we used a QTI questionnaire – a teacher interaction style questionnaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A part of a professional teacher’s competency is making the pedagogical design in the territory of the defined situation and includes numerous skills that function as a whole and are visible in final result related to evaluation and choice of educational resources or develop ideas for parts or for the whole process of education in a defined pedagogical context. Some of these skills that regulate professional decisions are related to retrospection of experience (learning, teaching, cognitive and affective), with an evaluation of elements of experience and after that with a choice what and how to take a part in the final professional decision. Adequacy with professional purpose and internal consistency and coherency in the decision are criteria for analysis of pedagogical construct. In the present report are discussed relations between fundamental pedagogical and methodological professional skills and their evaluating-reflective shell in context of design of professional pedagogical decision from perspective of ideal pre-defined situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THALASSEMIA SOCIALIZATION TO BIOLOGY TEACHERS IN BANYUMAS: EFFORT OF INTEGRATED PREVENTION THROUGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM. Thalassemia is a hematologic disease that causes hemoglobin blood defects. As a result, red blood cells become fragile and unable to perform their standard functions. Thalassemia in Indonesia is a quite lot. Recorded data, the carrier traits are about 3-10%, spread across all provinces. Currently, no final treatment can cure this disease altogether. Regular transfusion and iron chelating drugs are still survival of thalassemia patients. Prevention program is one of efficient handling. The pattern of thalassemia gene decline follows the laws of the recessive Mendel. Prevention is done by campaigning premarital screening to married couples or further to younger individuals so they can plan marriages wisely. High School Biology teachers are an essential factor in preventing thalassemia. They can deliver prevention programs through lessons at school. They can also be pioneers in an early self-detection carrier to teenagers before they plan a marriage. Because of its strategic role, the socialization of thalassemia in high school teachers becomes very important.

In the state of Pernambuco there is the Complexo Industrial Portuário de Suape -- CIPS, located in the municipalities of Cabo de Santo Agostinho and Ipojuca. This region is characterized by the occurrence of several socio-environmental conflicts arising from the installation of companies. This is the working environment for Biology teachers who are the professionals most dedicated to activities related to Environmental Education -- EE. CIPS offers courses aimed at EE whose target audience are also teachers, which can be considered as continuing education. CIPS offers courses aimed at EA whose target audience are also teachers, which can be considered as continuing education. Whereupon, the guiding question emerges: how can the continuing education of Biology teachers who work in the surroundings of the Suape region, offered by CIPS itself, contribute to teaching practice with regard to addressing socio-environmental conflicts? We set as a general objective the understanding of how this continuing education can contribute to the teacher's activities directed to this approach. We conducted a semi-structured interview with analysis of possible materials related to their environmental educational practices. For the treatment of the data we proceeded to the Content Analysis of Bardin. The results of the research indicated that only one of the teachers carried out activities that approach of socio-environmental conflicts, but was not influenced by the continuing education. We realized that the courses did not address socio-environmental conflicts, distancing itself from the critical line of EA and resembling naive EA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher-order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is significant for students and has to be trained and managed well by teachers. This study aims to describe the preparation of biology teachers in learning, to analyze the understanding of biology teachers about HOTS, and to examine the efforts of biology teachers in developing HOTS for high school students in Banjarmasin, Indonesia. The subject of this survey was forty-one senior high school biology teachers in the city of Banjarmasin who were involved in routine activities of MGMP (biology subject teacher working group). The research instrument is in the form of a modified questionnaire from previous researchers and has been validated by experts. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistic (percentage). The results showed that the senior high school biology teachers in Banjarmasin have prepared the lesson well, but this was not done consistently (continuously). Some teachers have not maximally prepared the lessons according to the recommended educational standards. The teacher's understanding of HOTS is broad enough, and they assume that HOTS really needs to be trained to students. However, it has not been described in their teaching activities because the HOTS aspect tends to be neglected (not well conducted). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Initial Competence Test (ICT) based on the professional competence development model for biology teachers in Surakarta Residency, Indonesia. The research was carried out by examining limited and controlled groups on the pretest and posttest assessment. A descriptive quantitative approach was applied to interpret the results, supported by statistical data analysis. The findings were drawn from discussions considering quantitative and qualitative fact. Results of the study on the effectiveness of the implementation of biology teachers' competence development model based on the Initial Competence Test (ICT) showed that the score of competence improved by 44.44 percent, from 27.78 in the pretest to 72.22 in the posttest after the new program implementation. Based on the statistical analysis, the improvement can be identified for each competence item. The highest percentage improvement was gained by the competence of "to understand the concepts, laws, and theories of biology and to implement them in practical situations," showing 38.89 percent improvement. Meanwhile, the lowest improvement was 13.27 percent showed by the competence of "to carry out research to improve teacher professionalism." This paper provides information on the effectiveness of an initial competence test implemented for biology teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]