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In recent years, the discipline of statistics has begun reckoning with its difficult history. Institutions are reconsidering names that have honored key historical figures in statistics who have deep ties to eugenics movements and racial and class prejudice. These names, however, continue to appear in our classrooms, where we teach the methods created by these individuals, raising the question of how instructors should address their legacies. Three examples of famous statisticians and their work - Francis Galton's use of conditional probabilities to demonstrate "hereditary talent," Karl Pearson's attempt to quantify the intelligence of Jewish immigrant students, and Ronald A. Fisher's creation of the analysis of variance to de-emphasize environment in human development - highlight the intimate ties between statistics and eugenics. These examples, along with a discussion of the context of these men, eugenics movements, and the statisticians and scientists who opposed their eugenic programs, can humanize the field for students, teach them about the challenges in accurate and unbiased data collection and analysis, and connect historical mistakes to contemporary ethical issues. Confronting this history in the classroom can both improve the teaching of the statistical methodologies themselves and begin a broader conversation about the role of statistics in the world. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Problem Addressed: To better understand the factors associated with family cancer history (FCH) information and cancer information seeking, we model the process an individual undergoes when assessing whether to gather FCH and seek cancer information and compare models by sociodemographics and family history of cancer. We used cross-sectional data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, Cycle 2) and variables (e.g., emotion and self-efficacy) associated with the Theory of Motivated Information Management to assess the process of FCH gathering and information seeking. We completed path analysis to assess the process of FCH gathering and stratified path models. Results: Those who felt they could lower their chances of getting cancer (emotion) were more confident in their ability to complete FCH on a medical form (self-efficacy; B = 0.11, p < 0.0001) and more likely to have discussed FCH with family members (B = 0.07, p < 0.0001). Those who were more confident in their ability to complete a summary of their family history on a medical form were more likely to have discussed FCH with family members (B = 0.34, p < 0.0001) and seek other health information (B = 0.24, p < 0.0001). Stratified models showed differences in this process by age, race/ ethnicity, and family history of cancer. Implications for Public Health Research and Practice: Tailoring outreach and education strategies to address differences in perceived ability to lower chances of getting cancer (emotion) and confidence in the ability to complete FCH (self-efficacy) could help encourage less engaged individuals to learn about their FCH and gather cancer information.

Teachers are highly reliant on textbooks for teaching. In the Republic of Korea, science textbooks help students to understand scientific terms through inquiry activities. However, there is a lack of analysis on whether the inquiry activities suggested in these textbooks appropriately cover the terms included in the main text. Therefore, this study assesses the life science units included in widely used lower secondary school science textbooks in the Republic of Korea by analysing the connection between the terms presented in the inquiry activities and the main text using the NetMiner 4.0 programme. The results reveal that the life science units included in the lower secondary school science textbooks are well structured for learning life science terms through the inquiry activities, as the terms presented in the inquiry activities and the main text are well connected. However, the number of terms included in each unit greatly differs and needs to be supplemented with the optimization of the number of terms per unit. The results provide basic data for the future development of lower secondary school science textbooks. Future research should analyse how the terms used in inquiry activities and the main text are connected in real science classes.

Case studies are valuable tools for instruction but are often limited to a single topic and a single class period. Courses such as evolution that synthesize multiple concepts around a common theme, however, can use a single case study type project that extends over the entire semester to develop and link core concepts. A central theme in evolutionary biology is determining if complex biological traits represent adaptations that arose by natural selection. The instructional model presented here engages students in a step-by-step process to answer this question of adaptation for a trait of their choosing. In this process, the instructor first introduces the major concepts required to address adaptation. As each major concept is developed in class, students apply this concept to their particular trait, using information gathered from published studies. Students then report their research back to the class. At the end of the semester, each group synthesizes their evidence into a paper developing an argument as to whether or not their trait fits the criteria of being an adaptation. This project provides students with ownership of course material, gets students to act as practicing scientists, and helps them integrate and apply theoretical material to real questions.

There is an emphasis on survival-based selection in biology education that can allow students to neglect other important evolutionary components, such as sexual selection, reproduction, and inheritance. Student understanding of the role of reproduction in evolution is as important as student understanding of the role of survival. Limiting instruction to survival-based scenarios (e.g., effect of food on Galapagos finch beak shape) may not provide students with enough context to guide them to complete evolutionary reasoning. Different selection forces can work in concert or oppose one another, and sexual selection can lead to the selection of trait variants that are maladaptive for survival. In semistructured interviews with undergraduate biology students (n = 12), we explored how leading students through a sequence of examples affected student reasoning of evolution. When presented with an example where sexual selection and survivability favored the same variant of a trait, students emphasized survival in their reasoning. When presented with a scenario where sexual selection selected for trait variants that were maladaptive for survival, more students described how two different selection forces contributed to evolutionary outcomes and described reproductive potential as a part of fitness. Moreover, these students considered how the maladaptive traits were inherited in the population. Scenarios where sexual selection and survival-based selection were opposed improved student ability to reason about how factors other than survival impact evolutionary change. When instructors introduce students to scenarios where survival-based selection and sexual selection are opposed, they allow students to change their reasoning toward inclusion of reproduction in their evolutionary reasoning.

Using discourse analysis, this article traces the persistence of eugenic ideology through the narrative structures of world history in the California Department of Education's history/social science K-12 framework. This article excavates the hidden depths at which scientific racism has become embedded into the curriculum and asks, "How do eugenic beliefs continue to shape world history in schools?" Analysis revealed the persistence of eugenic beliefs in how civilization, modernity, reason, and intelligence are articulated and circulated across grades six, seven and ten. This study's application of discourse analysis serves as a useful tool in continuing to improve curricular frameworks beyond static narratives that reproduce outdated ideologies of race and human development. The study directs social studies education toward helping students confront history's scientific overlaps with eugenics, as well as recognizing how eugenic ideology persists today.

This article is a critical review of a book by Sir William Wilde (better known as the father of Oscar Wilde) entitled "On the Physical, Moral, and Social Condition of the Deaf and Dumb" (1854). This book, which is based on the demographic and medical information that he collected from "deaf and dumb" people in the early 1850s, not only contains medical details on how people acquired deafness but also provides a social commentary on many related topics, such as how deaf and dumb people communicated, how they lived, hereditary deafness, and their marital status, intelligence, and education. Wilde's social commentary in the book is a central focus of this discussion. Wilde, a well-known physician in Ireland and Europe, formed various opinions on the above topics and, even by nineteenth-century standards, adopted a somewhat open-minded attitude towards deaf people. However, he was still a product of his time. This article attempts to bring to light a heretofore unknown figure in deaf history and his views on sign language and the deaf to better understand how Irish society in the mid-nineteenth century perceived deaf people. This analysis of Wilde's book can play a significant role in this understanding.

This study addresses eugenics and their relationship with the discourse on sex and gender in the field of Physical Education in Uruguay, specifically in Physical Education teacher training (1948-1970). The sources used include the main works and articles of national and regional leading authors in the field, the syllabi of several subjects of the Physical Education Teacher Training Course in Uruguay as per the 1948, 1956, and 1966 academic programmes, and documents with the details of candidates who took the entrance examination. In Uruguay, there was a special reappropriation of biometrics which combined different measuring instruments and techniques with indices and coefficients of Latin origin (influenced by Nicolas Pende's ideas) and Saxon-based anthropometric measurements. Eugenics and hygienism often overlapped, making it hard to distinguish one concept from the other. The eugenic discourse that permeated this training course contributed to producing and legitimising hegemonic masculinities and femininities through multiple mechanisms. This was confirmed by test indices based on the ideal male model and by the higher proportion of men who were admitted. The sources studied, fundamentally in the fields of biology and medicine, contributed to building a series of femininities centred on the most sacred goal, procreation, while regarding masculine transvestite and homosexual bodies as abnormal.

The broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of characteristics often observed in typically developing people with a genetic load for autism, such as parents of autistic children. The Broad Autism Phenotypic Questionnaire (BAPQ) is a 36-item questionnaire developed to identify the BAP in first-degree relatives of autistic people. We translated the BAPQ into Swedish and examined its psychometric properties in a Swedish sample consisting of 45 parents of children with ASC and 74 parents of non-autistic children. We found support for the original 3-factor structure (aloof, pragmatic language and rigid), good internal consistency and convergent validity with the Autism Quotient. Thus, the Swedish BAPQ exhibits acceptable psychometric properties and may be useful for assessing the BAP in non-clinical populations.

The aim of the study was to perform family-based association analysis of "PRKCB1," "CBLN1" and "KCNMB4" gene polymorphisms and autism disorder. We comprised 206 Caucasian children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and their biological parents. In transmission/disequilibrium test we observed that T-allele of the rs198198 polymorphism of the "PRKCB1" gene was more often transmitted to affected children in the male subgroup (p = 0.010). Additionally, the T carrier state was significantly associated with hypotonia (p = 0.048). In the female subgroup, the T-allele carriers more often showed more mobile/vital behavior (p = 0.046). In conclusion, our study showed that the rs198198 of the "PRKCB1" gene may be associated with ASD in men and with some features characteristic for the disorder.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) has a classic phenotype, however its expression can be variable among full mutation males. This is secondary to variable methylation mosaicisms and the number of CGG triplet repeats in the non-coding region of the Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 ("FMR1") gene, producing a variable expression of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP). Here we report a family with several individuals affected by FXS: a boy with a hypermethylated "FMR1" mutation and a classic phenotype; a man with an "FMR1" gene mosaicism in the range of premutation (PM) and full mutation (FM), who has a mild phenotype due to which FXS was initially disregarded; and the cases of four women with a FM and mosaicism. This report highlights the importance of DNA molecular testing for the diagnosis of FXS in patients with developmental delay, intellectual disability and/or autism due to the variable phenotype that occurs in individuals with "FMR1" mosaicisms.

Feeling inhibited and socially not at ease is reflected in the trait social inhibition (SI). SI is associated with psychopathology that arises in young adulthood, such as anxiety. We aim for a better insight into the genetic and environmental contributions to SI across the life span, and as such examine their contributions to SI stability and change across adolescent and adult life span. We analyzed cohort-sequential longitudinal data from the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR), spanning a period of 25 years (Men (N, %): 17855, 37.4%; Age (Median, IQR): 19 years, 16-26 years; 7474 complete MZ twins and 8799 complete DZ twins). The data were organized into 7 age groups: <14 (preadolescence), 15-16 (early adolescence), 17-18 (mid adolescence), 19-20 (late adolescence), 21-30 (young adulthood), 31-40 (adulthood), 41+ (middle-age-older adulthood). SI was assessed with the ASEBA-based proxy questionnaire. Phenotypic stability was established across the entire age range. Next, a longitudinal genetic simplex model was fitted to estimate the genetic and environmental contributions to the observed phenotypic stability. Results showed SI correlated well across follow-up of a single decade (0.44 [greater than or equal to] r [greater than or equal to] 0.59) and moderately across the 25 years (0.23 - 0.32) from adolescence to middle-age and older. Broad-sense heritability (h2) was between 40 and 48% across the 7 age groups. Additive and nonadditive genetic effects together explained most of the stability of SI across the life span (about 60-90% of the phenotypic correlation between ages), whereas environmental effects played a lesser role (about 10-40%). Concluding, SI, known to increase the risk of internalizing psychopathology, is phenotypically stable across the life span, which is largely attributable to genetic contributions to individual differences in SI.

This article traces and summarises historiographical trends in the history of learning disability. It identifies three major waves of historical approaches beginning with a medicalised analysis which emerged in the early 20th century. This presented a story of medical progress which began with the asylum movement of the 19th century and represented 'idiots' as creatures of the asylum and objects of the medicalised gaze. In the 1990s a new social history challenged these assumptions, focusing on the iniquities of institutionalisation and the eugenics period, while attempting to give a voice to people with learning disabilities and their families in their own history. A cultural history movement later emerged to challenge the idea of learning disability as a fixed universal concept over time. It argued that the idea of learning disability (in all its different linguistic iterations) is contingent on time and place, and a product of the culture within which it is framed. Not all work fits neatly into one of these categories, sometimes they overlap and sometimes they cannot be easily categorised. Nevertheless, these broad frames of reference within the historiography of learning disability do point to wider social, cultural and political concerns, which are worth holding in mind as we consider how the 'work' of history can and does act to inform attitudes, policy-making and change. The authors describe the encouraging recent emergence of historian activists who seek to write and define their own history, and who may constitute a fourth wave in the historiography of learning disability.

In a general sense, psychology is a science that studies human and animal behaviours, and the reasons of these behaviours. The symbolic foundation date of psychology is 1879. In this year, Wilheml Wundt (1832-1920) established a psychology laboratory in Leipzig. Psychology is accepted to have started as a science with the establishment of this psychology laboratory. From the point that started with Wilhelm Wundt and his colleagues on, the period of consciousness has mostly been investigated through the method of introspection and the conscious of human has been tried to be analyzed (Otrar, Eminoglu Küçüktepe, Küçüktepe, 2010). Psychology is a branch of science that aims at examining the interaction between environment, human being and behaviour. This branch of science is divided into sub-fields such as experimental psychology, social psychology, psychometric psychology and applied psychology. [image omitted] There are a lot of sub-branches under applied psychology. One of them is educational psychology. Educational psychology is about implementing the findings of psychology in the field of education. Educational psychology mainly composes two sub-fields. These are developmental psychology and psychology of learning. Developmental psychology is a field of psychology that examines the physical, psychological, cognitive and behavioral changes of a person from the birth to the death. Developmental psychology is one of the basic fields from which educational psychology benefits; because being aware of the developmental features of students' ages ensures an increase in the efficiency of educational period.

Genetics is a core topic in the biology curriculum of many countries. Learning genetics is difficult for multiple reasons, including the need to reason about complex mechanisms--and to link mechanisms--that occur at different time and space scales. Previous research in genetics education explores students' understandings of inheritance patterns or their understandings of molecular genetics; only a handful of studies examined how students understand the connection between molecular mechanisms and inheritance patterns. Moreover, we know little about how such understandings develop over the secondary and undergraduate levels. To address this gap, we conducted a cross-sectional interview study with middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate students after they had experienced "status-quo" instruction in genetics. We analyzed student responses using a cognitive model of molecular genetics that describes two key domain-specific knowledge resources: heuristics and explanatory schemas. Our findings extended this model to account for reasoning about inheritance patterns as well as identifying the knowledge resources used by students with different levels of education. This allowed us to present a snapshot of a progression describing the gradual use of these heuristics and schemas across different grades. We discuss the implications of the tentative progression for instruction aimed at supporting reasoning across time and space scales in genetics.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer for Chinese Americans. Family history (FH) plays an important role in clinical practice for CRC prevention. Nevertheless, Chinese Americans' FH of CRC communication with primary care physicians (PCPs) are still unknown. Aims: This study examined Chinese Americans' behavior and the underlying psychological factors for FH of CRC communication with PCPs. Method: A total number of 742 Chinese Americans completed a survey developed based on the health belief model, the theory of planned behavior, and the social cognitive theory. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: Majority of the Chinese American participants (75.3%) had never discussed FH of CRC with their PCPs. Lack of inquiries from the PCPs was the main barrier. Structural equation modeling results suggested a good model fit between our theoretical model and the survey data (comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.946, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.070, and standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = 0.020). Participants' FH of CRC communication with PCPs was positively associated with their intention ([beta] = 0.30, p < 0.001), which was positively correlated to attitudes ([beta] = 0.29, p < 0.001) and self-efficacy in discussing FH of CRC with PCPs ([beta] = 0.57, p < 0.001). Their attitudes were positively associated with perceived susceptibility to CRC ([beta] = 0.08, p < 0.05) and the perceived benefits of communicating FH of CRC ([beta] = 0.52, p < 0.001). Conclusions. Given that most Chinese Americans in this study did not communicate their FH of CRC with their PCPs, it is important to promote such behavior among Chinese Americans. Our structural equation modeling findings can guide future interventions and education for this underserved racial/ethnic minority group.

Objectives: International students face increased vulnerability for mental health challenges, but underutilize counseling compared to their domestic peers. We examined beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness, known as attributions, which may impact treatment-seeking and stigma. Participants: Surveys were collected from 680 international students at U.S. universities. Methods: We sent invitations to a computer-based survey disseminated via international student email lists. The survey explored mental health attributions for depression, alcohol use disorder, and schizophrenia. Results: Attributions differed significantly by disorder. Depression and alcohol use were attributed to social stress and perceived as controllable and influenced by personal weakness and lifestyle choices. Schizophrenia was often attributed to hereditary/biological causes. Differences also emerged based on the participants' acculturation, region of origin, and religiosity. Conclusions: Attributions influence perceptions of mental illness and may lead to stigma. Providers should incorporate discussions of attribution in student outreach and counseling to address potential impacts on care-seeking.

Physical and life science disciplines emphasize how basic structural units influence function, yet it is challenging for students to understand structure-function relationships, particularly at molecular scales. Undergraduates in our biology capstone course struggled to connect mutations in a gene encoding a key protein in a cell development regulation pathway to the function of that protein. We hypothesized that physical molecular models and interactive activities exploring the pathway would help students overcome this learning challenge. Four years of iterative assessment cycles, curricular revisions, and assessment rubrics based on these classroom strategies allowed us to pinpoint students' struggles to make specific connections between genetic structural mutations and protein function. Student scores on summative assessments and self-reports of learning improved over the 4 years. Furthermore, student comments both supported the summative data and helped us understand how these curricular materials are helpful. We present an evidence-based example in which STEM educators successfully incorporate a novel teaching material by integrating scaffolds that allow students to see how experts make sense of complex and dynamic systems.

The concept of intergenerational trauma acknowledges the potential of exposure to adverse events to carry on from trauma survivors to their offspring through biological, psychological, and social pathways. In this article, the authors offer an overview of intergenerational trauma and posttraumatic growth. They offer recommendations for schools within a multitiered systems of support (MTSS) framework. Additional foundational information and guidance regarding trauma can be found in the October and November 2021 editions of "Communiqué."

Although unrecognized for his scientific achievements during his life, Gregor Mendel pioneered our modern understanding of the gene, work that shaped the field of genetics and advances in biology and medicine. The field that he set in motion 200 years ago lies at the center of current ethical debates about the future of humanity, the limits of science, and how best to employ our knowledge for betterment of the human condition. Mendel's personal life also offers lessons, especially for those of us engaged in teaching future generations.

In this article, it is argued that it makes sense to define and distinguish three levels of human intelligence: intelligence as genotypical potential, intelligence as actualised in environmental interaction, and intelligence as measured by tests (IQ). This raises the questions of what is meant by the term "intelligence as potential", and how and in what sense does a child's cognitive potential express the parents' potential and genetics? The larger the number of genes involved in a certain trait, the more possibilities emerge for the formation of new combinations for that trait. The degree of similarity between a child and their parents depends on the "unique" combination of innate genes in each newborn child. The more genes are connected with a human trait or ability, the more refined or intricate the structure of the distribution for that trait in a population will be. The question of how a parents' genes relate to their children's genes has been studied, among other things, in 'twin studies'. Another relevant, but complicated question concerns the relation between genetics (nature) and environment (nurture). Nature appears to be at work in nurture, while nurture influences processes of nature. In psychological research, some DNA differences can be used to predict psychological differences, called polygenic scores. In this context, it is argued that individual cognitive growth comes about by all kinds of influences; psychologists call such influences 'bidirectional' influences. It is also argued that, ultimately, it is the individual human explorative "activity" that is responsible and a strong catalyst for the development and mastery of human traits and for the cognitive qualifications of all newborn children.

Results from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) can be used to generate a polygenic score (PGS), an individual-level measure summarizing identified genetic influence on a trait dispersed across the genome. For complex, behavioral traits, the association between an individual's PGS and their phenotype may contain bias (from geographic, ancestral, and/or socioeconomic confounding) alongside the causal effect of the individual's genes. We formalize the introduction of a different source of bias in regression models using PGSs: the effects of parental genes on offspring outcomes, known as genetic nurture. GWAS do not discriminate between the various pathways through which genes become associated with outcomes, meaning existing PGSs capture both direct genetic effects and genetic nurture effects. We construct a theoretical model for genetic effects and show that the presence of genetic nurture biases PGS coefficients from both naïve OLS (between-family) and family fixed effects (within-family) regressions. This bias is in opposite directions; while naïve OLS estimates are biased away from zero, family fixed effects estimates are biased toward zero. We quantify this bias using two novel parameters: (1) the genetic correlation between the direct and nurture effects and (2) the ratio of the SNP heritabilities for the direct and nurture effects.

This paper reviews the rapidly developing field of epigenetics, providing an accessible explanation of the key ideas and some illustrative examples of work in the field. Although very much a biological discipline the implications of the developing knowledge in this area are very significant for educational psychologists and this paper aims to provide an introduction to what is becoming a very significant shift in how people think about learning and development. Understanding the processes that underlie epigenetic change and the research that the new knowledge is based on will be important for educational psychologists in order to understand this important developing area of thinking about development and learning. Consensus is growing that intergenerational transmission of epigenetic changes are a reliable phenomenon, establishing the principle of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. This contrasts starkly with models of biological determinism and provides a new way of thinking about educational and societal change.

Recent findings in behavioral genetics and technological advances have the potential to alter education administration in ways that were inconceivable just a decade ago. Specifically, new understandings about the heritability of educational outcomes and the ability to calculate polygenic scores that predict likely student outcomes could change how educators identify students who are eligible for specific services. Russell Warne explains where the science currently stands, describes the benefits and possible drawbacks of using genetic technologies, and suggests policies for applying these technologies in schools.

Arguing from evidence is one of eight key science practices in which students should engage. It is an essential component of science, yet students have difficulties with this practice. We describe a scaffolded claims-evidence-reasoning (CER) argumentation framework that is embedded within a new eight-week, freely available curriculum unit developed by the Genetic Science Learning Center -- "Evolution: DNA and the Unity of Life." The scaffold provides high school students with practice in both developing and evaluating written arguments. It is designed to incrementally build student skill week-by-week, starting with an introduction to the CER components of an argument, and ending with students evaluating data and constructing a supported written argument. We also present evaluation findings from field testing the argumentation scaffold in the context of the complete "Evolution" unit in dozens of classrooms. And we discuss how this integrated, scaffolded approach to argumentation influenced both student and teacher learning.

Learning progressions are theoretical models that describe learning of scientific ideas and practices over time. These hypothetical progressions need to be tested and refined in order to productively inform instruction and assessment. In this paper, we report our attempts to revise a learning progression in genetics. In particular, we focused on two constructs that embody core ideas in classical genetics and one molecular construct. The revisions are based on analysis of pre- and postinterview data obtained from sixty 11th grade students before and after they engaged in a 10-week unit that addressed these concepts. We found that while many of the students held ideas that aligned with the progression, there were several distinct dimensions of student reasoning that were not captured and led to substantial revisions of the constructs including: (a) the splitting of the construct dealing with meiosis (E) into two subconstructs (E1-physical passage of genetic information and E2 -- the role of sex cells), (b) the addition of new levels to constructs dealing with the universal nature and organization of the genetic code (A) and construct (F). For Construct A, the lower levels were expanded to include ideas about the localization of DNA in cells and to include ideas about the composition of DNA that were not captured in the progression. Revisions to Construct F included the expansion of existing levels and the addition of modes of inheritance such as codominance and incomplete dominance. The research we present offers insights about a methodological approach that can be used to test and refine progressions, as well as insights about student learning in genetics as we further describe and expand the stepping-stone ideas in the progression and discuss further the multidimensional nature of learning progressions.

Lewis M. Terman's "Genetic Studies of Genius" stands as one of the landmark studies of the 20th century in the educational and psychological sciences. This longitudinal study of individuals in the top 1% of general cognitive ability has sparked interest and debate among scholars for nearly 100 years. In this study, we examine how Terman's "Genetic Studies of Genius" has influenced academia through a bibliometric citation analysis. We gathered all scholarly works that cited one of the volumes of Terman's "Genetic Studies of Genius" and appeared in academic journals and mapped out the growth of scholarly citations within differing academic fields. We found that the influence of Terman's studies extends beyond the field of education and psychology into business, medicine, and the sciences.

Genetic essentialism of race is the belief that racial groups have different underlying genetic essences which cause them to differ physically, cognitively, or behaviorally. Apparently, no published studies have explored if belief in genetic essentialism of race among adolescents differs after many weeks of formal instruction about different domains of genetics knowledge. Nor have any studies explored if such differences reflect a coherent change in students' racial beliefs. We use a quasi-experimental design (N = 254 students in 7th-12th grade) to explore these gaps. Over the course of 3 months, we compared students who learned from a curriculum on multifactorial inheritance and genetic ancestry to students who learned from their business as usual (BAU) genetics curriculum that discussed Mendelian and molecular genetics without any reference to race, multifactorial genetics, or genetic ancestry. Relative to the BAU condition, classrooms that learned from the multifactorial genetics and ancestry curriculum grew significantly more in their knowledge of multifactorial genetics and decreased significantly more in their genetic essentialist perceptions, attributions, and beliefs. From a conceptual change perspective, these findings suggest that classrooms using a curriculum emphasizing genetic complexity are more likely to shift toward a coherent anti-essentialist understanding of racial difference.

The paper presents an experimental study that examines the conditions required for news about behavioral genetics to activate genetic essentialism beliefs. Nine hundred sixty-five adults living in the USA were randomly assigned to read either a control news article or one of the three versions of a news story about behavioral genetics. The cautious version presents a general introduction to behavioral genetics and examples while also discrediting the genetic determinist myth and clarifying that this field is not interested in studying differences between populations. Another version was identical to the cautious version, except that it mentioned high heritability estimates as supporting evidence. Finally, a third version included claims supporting Nicolas Wade's (2014) main thesis, which argued that societies develop different institutions partly because of their population's behavioral genetic predispositions. Compared to participants in the control group, those exposed to the high heritability version and the Wade's thesis version reported higher scores on a scale measuring belief in genetics determinism. The results revealed no overall effect for the cautious version, but an exploratory interaction model indicates that reactions to this version vary depending on educational attainment. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Based on the responses of our sample (N = 310) of adolescents and young adults from Slovenia (students of secondary and tertiary schools, university students) to a number of tasks covering reproduction, from the molecular to organismal levels, it can be concluded that their knowledge is seriously flawed. Correlations of knowledge between individual tasks are low, or even negative, showing patchiness and missed connections between different aspects of reproduction. Our study confirms the well-known difficulties in building a consistent body of knowledge on the genetic-inheritance axis while expanding it to the anatomy and physiology of reproduction. It is crucial to stress the quality of elementary school biology, and science (biology) courses in secondary schools because, for most people, this will be the last formal contact with some important topics that could influence their life decisions.

This article describes a self-guided, story-like game with creative drawing for grades 3-5 that teaches the evolution concepts of adaptation, natural selection, ecosystem dynamics, inheritance, and mutation following the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). Drawing reinforces concepts through emphasis on students' hands-on interaction with the material and games result in greater retention of concepts because students are more engaged. Elementary school students are especially receptive to games as a non-traditional teaching method because their generation has grown up with a saturation of technology and gaming. The overall goal for this game was to expose students to the key elements of evolution by natural selection: variation, inheritance, selection, and time.

Background: College wellness interventions have potential to reduce the growing burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by guiding students to establish behaviors for lifetime CVD risk reduction. Yet, some students may not see CVD prevention as a relevant issue during young adulthood. Purpose: We examined perceived risk of CVD amongst 148 college students and compared perceived risk to demographic characteristics and traditional risk markers. Methods: Survey data on perceived CVD risk and student characteristics were linked to biochemical lab values from a cholesterol screening program. Results: Only 39.2% of students had been previously screened for dyslipidemia. Mean perceived CVD risk was highest amongst students with age [greater than or equal to]21 years, BMI [greater than or equal to]30, a family history of CVD, and a fair or poor rating of overall health. Perceived risk was not higher amongst students with total cholesterol values outside of the normal range. Discussion: While some students were aware they may possess an elevated CVD risk, we identified others who were unaware of a potential risk. Translation to Health Education Practice: These variations in perceived risk indicate that individualized intervention approaches may be necessary to engage college students in behaviors for lifelong CVD prevention.

A set of core ideas in the life sciences revolve around genetics, variation, and inheritance. While the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS; NGSS Lead States 2013) emphasize teaching and learning about these concepts across K-12 grades, it is critical for early learners to begin to develop understanding of them. By the end of fifth grade, students should understand that "many characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents" and "different organisms vary in how they look and function because they have different inherited information" (NGSS Lead States 2013, p. 29). This article presents a one-week instructional sequence from a six-week curriculum module to support third-grade students in developing understanding of inheritance and variation in living things by engaging in scientific modeling. Scientific modeling is a science and engineering practice emphasized in the "NGSS" in which students develop and use representations of scientific concepts, processes, or phenomena (Forbes et al. 2015; Kenyon, Hug, and Schwarz 2008). In this unit, students develop and use models to investigate the corn life cycle, structure and function, and inherited traits through hands-on investigation, data modeling, and other learning activities that build upon their existing understanding of the key life science concepts, such as life cycles and reproduction. The "NGSS"-aligned curricular sequence from the unit highlighted here explores three key ideas: (1) how resemblance between parents and offspring is related to the process of inheritance; (2) how inherited traits are passed from parent to offspring via coded instructions; and (3) how a mix of traits for multiple characteristics creates variation in a population of plants.

Purpose: Kindergarten children are more susceptible to diseases as they are still in the process of acquiring immunity. The purpose of this study was to assess kindergarten teachers' and parents' perception of the prevalence of health problems among children in Kuwait and the role of health education in promotion of healthy habits. Design/methodology/approach: The methodological aim of this study was to assess the factors that affected kindergarten children's health as children suffered from health problems that affected their quality of life. Therefore, a questionnaire was administered to evaluate kindergarten teachers' and parents' perception of the main factors that caused increased health problems among children at higher rates than before. A total of 164 teachers and parents were recruited for this study and the questionnaire was completed. Findings: The results indicated that kindergarten children suffered from different health problems that affected their quality of life. Lack of health knowledge and education in the society was one of the main reasons for the prevalence of these health problems among young children in Kuwait. The findings offered insight about the importance of health education and promotion in prevention of diseases. Originality/value: This study offers insights into how to increase health knowledge and education in the Kuwaiti community to prevent and decrease health problems that affect children's health.

Several studies have shown a strong association between atopic diseases and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the risk of atopic diseases in individuals having ASD-affected siblings has never been investigated. This nationwide population-based cohort study included 2762 individuals with ASD-affected siblings and 11,048 controls. Diagnoses of atopic diseases, including asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and allergic conjunctivitis, were ascertained from 1996 or the birth data to the end of 2011. Individuals with ASD-affected siblings had a higher risk for asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and multiple atopic diseases compared with controls. In conclusion, individuals with ASD-affected siblings were more likely than were the controls to develop atopic diseases, suggesting shared familial mechanisms underlying the two conditions.

Family communication environments can be a facilitator or barrier to family cooperation and communication in collecting family health history (FHH) information, which can facilitate disease prevention. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of family communicative environments on whether individuals actively collected FHH information, as well as how age and sex differences complicate this relationship. Participants (N = 203) completed online surveys, answering close-ended questions about their family's communication patterns, how open their family is to communicating about FHH, and whether they have actively collected FHH information. Results show there was a direct effect between open family communicative environments and active collection, and found FHH communication openness was a positive partial mediator. Conversely, family environments stressing hierarchy and homogeneity of beliefs inhibit open communication about and collection of a FHH. Analysis of age and sex as moderators in the models showed a significant conditional indirect effects, which grew stronger as participants' age increased. Furthermore, results showed open family communicative environments lead to active collection of FHH for women, but not for men. Results confirm the importance of family communicative environments in facilitating or inhibiting FHH collection. Findings from the current study provide intervention points for practitioners to advise patients on the importance of collecting a FHH and guide behaviors to collect FHH information based on the family communicative environment.

This is an account of the three-centuries long journey to the discovery of the link between DNA and the transformation principle of heredity beginning with the discovery of the cell in 1665 and leading up to the 1953 discovery of the genetic code and the structure of DNA. This account also illustrates the way science works and how scientists do science as well as the fact that scientists are also subject to the same human foibles and short-comings as people in any field of endeavor. Their use of the scientific method helps them find the path back from false starts and erroneous conclusions but does not assure a smooth progression toward the truth. What emerges from this example is the scientists' search for explanations based on empirical evidence, with the goal of trying to disapprove, rather than prove, a given theory and explanation. As scientific knowledge increases, answers to scientific questions may become outdated, or they may generate a new set of questions that require new ways of thinking and conducting experiments. Science educators have already recognized the value of historical materials and events in fostering an accurate understanding of science and in achieving desirable, positive and realistic attitudes toward science and in developing scientifically aware citizens. This is simple because the history of science can provide a vital background for students, detailing how science and scientists work and how scientific knowledge is created, validated, and influenced. However, desirable attitudes and behaviors toward science are not likely to be achieved unless history of science is learned and appreciated by all young citizens. Thus, there is a need for educators to involve, investigate, and explore the application of historical science and to show how this can contribute to accurately and explicitly show what science is, how it works, how scientists operate as a social group and how human societies direct and react to scientific endeavors both locally and globally (McComas, 2015, Cherif, 1988, Klopfer, 1969). And it is here where the history of science, the nature of science and how scientists do science is of enduring interest to us as well as to many educators in the scientific community. For those who might use this essay as classroom reading material, we provide a set of questions as an appendix that teachers and faculty may use to reinforce understanding of the essay.

The conflicts between nature and nurture are brought to the fore and challenges socio-scientific decision-making in science education. The multitude of meanings of these concepts and their roles in societal discourses can impede students' development of understanding for different perspectives, e.g. on gene technology. This study problematizes students' use of "nature" and "naturalness" to further the development of the experience of science education in relation to the nature-nurture debate. We build on the social constructivism view that present conceptions of nature and naturalness emanate from historical and modern social constructions of nature. Claims presented by upper secondary school students in interviews actualizing the control of human actions pertaining to treatments for hereditary diseases by making use of concepts of "nature" and "naturalness were analysed. The students suggested control of human activity on different levels of biological organisation, either from within the Romantic view or the Enlightenment view on nature. The Romantic view provided students with moral grounds for consistently preserve what is considered as nature and means to bolster their reasoning by referring to the balance in nature, the purity of nature, and the laws of nature. The Enlightenment view provided students with means to support gene technology by embedding "nurture" into the concept "nature" by using knowledge while implying that nurture is a natural way to overcome such imperfections of nature. We propose that these conflicting views should be addressed in biological education to promote students' understanding of contemporary discourses dependent on the different concepts of nature and nurture.

This collective case study uses a design-based research approach to investigate the role of 3D pens, an emerging technology, in fostering creativity during a lesson on biomes, genetics, and heredity with learners in six classes of 4th and 5th grade students from rural Michigan and Idaho. Data analyzed included video of the classroom lessons, student surveys, student created artifacts (planning grids, sketches, photos of their 3D bugs), and student created Flipgrid reflections. We used a collective case of three cases encompassing nine students with self-reported high, median/mean, and low creativity scores to investigate how these scores and creative products aligned. Three major themes emerged across and within the cases: aspects of originality were found in all products, positive and negative aspects of technology use, and affect towards the activity. The results of this study offer understandings into design of activities to foster creative perception and production in the classroom.

Social efficiency shaped much of public schooling in the United States during the early twentieth century. Simultaneously, Roman Catholic schools proliferated and became increasingly regulated by state departments of education. This led to increased influence of public education reform movements on Catholic schools. This article examines the arguments advanced by Catholic educators who questioned the educational measurement movement and eugenic-inspired reforms such as intelligence testing. It follows those debates during the early twentieth century through to the mid-century. American Catholic educators offered arguments beyond self-interest grounded in the principles of Catholic education with a commitment to educating the whole child -- mind/body-soul -- in the Thomist tradition. This historical case demonstrates how the dualist tradition of the mind/body-soul stood against the pseudo-scientific attempt of eugenicists in attempting to measure minds and bodies-souls.

Science education strives to increase interest in science and facilitate active citizenship. Thus, the aspects of personal and societal relevance are increasingly emphasised in science curricula. Still, little is known about how teachers choose content for their teaching, although their choices translate curricula to teaching practice. We explored how teachers choose genetics content and contexts for biology courses on cells, heredity and biotechnology by interviewing ten Finnish upper-secondary school teachers. We studied how the teachers described teaching on three themes in which they have varying freedom afforded by curricula: genetically modified organisms, hereditary disorders, and complex human traits. We analysed interviews with theory-guiding content analysis and found consistent patterns in teachers' perceptions of the themes in genetics teaching and teacher inclinations towards teaching genetics in human context. These patterns, which we call emphasis of content in genetics teaching were Developmental, Structural and Hereditary. Teachers with Developmental emphasis embraced teaching genetics in a human context, while teachers with a Structural emphasis avoided them. In general, teachers justified their choices by national, local school, and personal factors. While teachers mentioned that societal and personal contexts are important, at the same time teachers never framed the main themes in genetics with these contexts.

This article explores the linguistic identity of young multilingual learners through the use of a Language Portrait Silhouette. Examples from a research study of children aged 6-8 years in a German bilingual program in Canada provide teachers with an understanding that linguistic identity comprises expertise, affiliation, and inheritance. This article also provides additional concrete examples of how teachers can openly reference linguistic identity with students and help children to see stronger connections between home and school learning. The validation and understanding of linguistic identity is beneficial to young children's emotional, social, and educational development.

Genetics has become increasingly important in everyday life, a fact that is reflected in state and national science education standards. This study examines the relationship between 474 fifth graders' understandings of the core ideas of "inheritance of traits" and "variation of traits". A confirmatory factor analysis, supplemented with qualitative analyses of students' responses, revealed a relationship between these concepts and contributed evidence about the nature of students' challenges in learning these ideas. While most students demonstrated some normative ideas, many struggled to explain "variation of traits" as resulting from equal inheritance of genetic information from two parents. Instead, they focused on generational patterns of visible traits or on the influence of nongenetic factors. Deepening understanding of young students' heredity-related thinking can improve preparation of older students for learning advanced genetics-related ideas.

The term "polymath" refers to a person whose expertise approaches different subject areas, to rely on complex packages of knowledge for solving problems. Famous polymaths from history include Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, and Albert Einstein; individuals that have impacted science, arts, humanities, and our society for centuries. However, from a neuropsychological point of view and social perspective, it is unclear whether these gifted subjects developed their abilities because of inherited neurobiological or anatomical differences when compared to average people, or their skills and functional advantages were a result of specific environmental factors or stimulus inducing brain plasticity changes that reflect in cognitive improvements. In this discussion report, we present literature evidence from basic health sciences supporting the hypothesis that polymaths may be "born" based on their individual genetic characteristics but also "trained" by surrounding environmental factors or stimulus. At the functional level, polymaths may have a number advantages regarding creativity, resilience, and versatility. Since educational strategies are nowadays more focused on specialization rather than developing multidisciplinary professionals for the future, one could speculate whether these conventional approaches should be updated to stimulate polymathy in future generations.

The aims of this study are to identify health concerns and behaviors, to understand why some concerns are more worrisome than others, and to learn what information sources are relied on for a young age cohort--7th grade students--in two poor and near-poor school districts. Focus groups--one each of girls and boys--in each of two public school districts were held. Health concerns and their rationale for why some are of greater concern than others are remarkably similar among rural and urban participants, and include illegal drug use, smoking marijuana, smoking cigarettes, HIV/AIDS, drinking liquor, becoming a young parent, being hurt in a fight, cancer, diabetes, and having a bad heart. Five over-arching themes emerged accounting for why certain health issues command their concern, and these were remarkably consistent across groups. These include: (1) desire to avoid dying at a young age, (2) social stigma, (3) choices that have negative legal and health ramifications, (4) choices that eliminate youth activities, and (5) avoiding the "heredity is destiny" syndrome. Findings on used and trusted information sources suggest that online social media (MySpace, Facebook) provide a parasocial experience and should be examined as future components of primary socialization theory (PST). If online social media can overcome some wariness regarding credibility they may become important sources for adolescents seeking health information. (Contains 4 figures.)

The mechanics by which unique individuals are built from the instructions encoded in DNA is too advanced for elementary-age children. However, students can easily understand that organisms have observable traits and that each individual has a unique combination of traits, ideas that are included in the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") (NGSS Lead States 2013) for elementary-age students. Children are deeply curious about themselves and their traits. Elementary science teacher Ms. Anderson used a collection of fun and free activities, available in English- and Spanish-language versions, to help her students explore observable traits. In this article, she describes the activities and her experiences teaching them.