Authentic Research Investigations of a Controversial Question: Can Plants Learn?

Can plants learn? This question stirs up controversy and speculation in the classroom, as it is currently doing in the scientific community at large. We leverage the controversy to ask students to contribute tu the greater body of knowledge by using scient(fic principles in creative research projects. Ninth-grade honors biology students became familiar with original research and the surrounding controversy, and performed experiments testing two distinct forms Of plant learning in Pisum sativum (pea) and Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]