The COVID-19 pandemic had an immense impact on communities around the world. We know that new epidemic-prone diseases will emerge in the future. Consequently, it is important to investigate what impact the current pandemic had on school children's understanding of infectious diseases in order to develop biology education based on that novel…

There has never been a more pressing need for students to learn how to evaluate scientific information online than during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information, misinformation, and disinformation spread quickly across online news and social media platforms. This misleading or incorrect scientific information about infectious diseases could lead to…

Chronic absenteeism is a widespread and troubling phenomenon affecting high school students nationwide. Existing research identifies an inverse link between student health and chronic absenteeism. Illness is a top cause of student absence, suggesting that school-based health services may play an important role in mitigating chronic absenteeism.…

In recent times, the world has witnessed an unprecedented global crisis with the outbreak of COVID-19. This pandemic has not only brought about a paradigm shift in our daily lives but has also significantly impacted various sectors of society, including the education system. K-12 schools are a major concern for viral transmission due to the close…

This study aims to determine the mathematical model of student learning behavior. The model is built by analogizing the spread of learning behavior with infectious diseases, which is called the SEIR model. The survey was conducted through filling out a questionnaire on the learning behavior of junior high school students with a population of 1,143…

Facing recent threats of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an educational strategy was designed and applied to middle school students in order to reinforce related knowledge and behaviors. A group of 65 middle school students (14-18 years old) developed several designed online curricular activities. After the intervention, students answered a…

Systems thinking (ST) is an essential skill for understanding complex issues, making predictions and informed decisions. This research explores how students applied ST in complex health contexts using the 'One Health' (OH) approach. OH highlights the interdependence relationship between animal, human and ecosystemic health (including plants).…

Background: In-school transmission of COVID-19 among K-12 students is low when mitigation layers are used, but the risk of acquiring COVID-19 during school bus transportation is not well defined. Given the operational limitations of many school districts, more data is needed to determine what mitigation is required to keep COVID-19 transmission…

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for teachers to explicitly address nature of science (NOS) themes during instruction. Aligned with key NOS categories in the "Next Generation Science Standards," this article discusses events and trends from the pandemic that teachers can use to help students understand values and methods of…

At every stage since the start of the pandemic, decisions across education and childcare have been informed by the scientific and medical evidence -- both on the risks of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, transmission and illness, and on the known risks to children and young people not attending education settings -- balancing public health and…

Background: School-based COVID-19 testing is a potential strategy to limit COVID-19 transmission among youth in congregate settings such as schools, sports programs, and summer camps. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of frequent rapid antigen testing at a supervised distance-learning setting for elementary…

The outbreak of COVID-19 has posed serious challenges to schools and teachers as it forced schools to close and traditional face-to-face teaching was suspended. How did Hong Kong geography teachers respond to these challenges in the first nine months of the outbreak? How did they adapt to the social distancing measures such as school closure? Why…

Background: At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closed across the United States. Given the impact of virtual learning and lost access to school resources, schools eventually reopened with COVID-19 mitigation protocols in place. This qualitative study sought to understand parental perceptions of school-based COVID-19 mitigation…

Background: Test-to-stay (TTS) is a strategy to limit school exclusion following an exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We evaluated the use of TTS within universally masked kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) school settings following household SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Methods: Three hundred twenty-two…

We designed and evaluated a student laboratory workshop on plant-based vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The workshop focused on hands-on laboratory techniques, including DNA extraction from rice seeds, where the recombinant protein was produced, detection of the transgene, and basic concepts on how vaccines work in the human body to offer…