The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between United States (US) preservice middle school science teacher characteristics, their attitude toward a specific animal and their belief concerning the likelihood of incorporating information about that specific animal into their future science classroom. The study participants…

Arachnids are predatory arthropods that are beneficial to humans in many ways, with common examples including spiders and scorpions. Despite the importance of arachnids to global ecosystems, the fear of spiders in specific human groups is well documented. Arachnids are a very diverse class (i.e., Arachnida) encompassing eleven extant orders with…

Earth is experiencing a great mass extinction (GME) that has been caused by the environmentally destructive activities of humans. This GME is having and will have profound effects on Earth's biodiversity if environmental sustainability is not reached. Activities and curriculum tools have been developed to assist teachers in integrating the current…

Middle school students can develop and enhance their observation skills by participating in teacher-guided scientific inquiry (NRC 1996) activities where they observe animals that tend to act in known, predictable ways. Madagascar hissing cockroaches ("Gromphadorhina portentosa") are one such animal. This article presents beginning, intermediate,…

Five past great mass extinctions have occurred during Earth's history. Humanity is currently in the midst of a sixth, human-induced great mass extinction of plant and animal life (e.g., Alroy 2008; Jackson 2008; Lewis 2006; McDaniel and Borton 2002; Rockstrom et al. 2009; Rohr et al. 2008; Steffen, Crutzen, and McNeill 2007; Thomas et al. 2004;…

Madagascar hissing cockroaches (MHC) are amazing insects that can be an integral part of an effective science learning and teaching environment. MHCs have a fascinating social structure. They make excellent pets, teach students how to properly care for animals, and their large size adds to their "wow" factor. These characteristics make them unique…

The National Science Education Standards have outlined flexible processes children perform when engaging in scientific inquiry. Cases narratives are a common component of many university science education courses but rarely are they used as a tool to evaluate the preservice teachers within these courses. This article describes the construction of…

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between United States K-4 preservice teacher's attitudes toward specific animals and the likelihood that the preservice elementary teachers would incorporate these specific animals in their future science curriculum. A strong statistically significant association was found between the…

The Madagascar hissing cockroach ("Gromphadorhina portentosa") is one of the most exciting and enjoyable animals to incorporate into your science curriculum. Madagascar hissing cockroaches (MHCs) do not bite, are easy to handle, produce little odor compared to many terrarium animals, have a fascinating social structure, are easy to breed, teach…