Considerable anecdotal evidence indicates that some of the most difficult concepts that both high school and undergraduate elementary-education students struggle with are those surrounding evolutionary principles, especially speciation. It's no wonder that entry-level biology students are confused, when biologists have multiple definitions of…

Students need practice in proposing hypotheses, developing experiments that will test these hypotheses, and generating data that they will analyze to support or refute them. I describe a guided-inquiry activity based on the "tongue map" concept, appropriate for middle school and high school students.

Teaching population genetics provides a bridge between genetics and evolution by using examples of the mechanisms that underlie changes in allele frequencies over time. Existing methods of teaching these concepts often rely on computer simulations or hand calculations, which distract students from the material and are problematic for those with…

Using an interactive map-based PDF, students learn key concepts related to biodiversity while developing data-analysis and critical-thinking skills. The Bird Island lesson provides students with experience in translating geospatial data into bar graphs, then interpreting these graphs to compare biodiversity across ecoregions on a fictional island.…

Teaching methods of genetic analysis such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) can be an important part of instructional units in biology, microbiology, and biotechnology. Experience, however, indicates that these topics are difficult for many students. The authors of this article describe how they created an activity that effectively…

Provided is an activity for student-constructed dichotomous keys that requires nothing more than a pile of shoes. Examples and directions are given. (MA)

Describes sequence of activities for teaching three-point linkage concept and gene-mapping to high school biology students. Includes laboratory experiments and hypothetical examples for classroom discussion. (PS)

Describes a method suitable for quantitative studies of plant water status conducted by high school or college students and the calculation of the relative water content (RWC) of a plant. Materials, methods, procedures, and results are discussed, with sample data figures provided. (CS)

Described are simulations that can be used to illustrate evolution by natural selection. Suggestions for simulating phenomena such as adaptive radiation, color match to background and vision of predators are offered. (BR)

Presents experiments to introduce students to the phenomenon of biological rhythmicity and to reinforce the fact that there are differences in the physiology of human beings. (Author/MA)

Discusses several of the plant responses to the environment and ways that these responses can be demonstrated. Includes phytochrome-controlled growth, phototropism, and geotropism. (CS)

Describes an exercise that teaches Mendelian inheritance using human traits which students find exciting and relevant. (LS)

Describes a simple method for extracting bacterial DNA for use in laboratory investigations to study genetic transformation in bacteria. (BR)