Field-Based Practicum (FBP) about Pterydophyta diversity material in Low plant botany learning is very important, even though the facts in the field show that FBP is still minimally carried out. This research aims to utilize the potential diversity of Pterydophyta in the Tuban-Lamongan Pantura area as a support for FBP about low plant botany…

Raman scattering spectroscopies are important analytical tools in modern chemistry. Here, we describe the construction of the unamplified Raman scattering analysis (URSA) instrument: an inexpensive, open-table Raman spectrometer that uses a 532 nm diode-pumped laser as a light source. Upon application of this spectrometer to DNA extracted from…

Plant awareness disparity (PAD, formerly plant blindness) is the tendency not to notice plants in one's environment, which leads to the perspective that plants are unimportant. In this paper, we explore how plants and animals are represented in introductory biology textbooks to determine if these texts are contributing to PAD in undergraduate…

We used a novel approach that combined direct PCR of plant tissue and SRAP DNA fingerprinting to seek to identify the crosses made in "Brassica rapa" used in the Wisconsin Fast Plants. Our goal was to develop a rapid method for students to use in a biology, botany, or genetics class to identify the parental types (purple stem, non-purple…

The current and ongoing challenges brought on by climate change will require future scientists who have hands-on experience using advanced molecular techniques, can work with large data sets, and can make correlations between metadata and microbial diversity. A course-embedded research project can prepare students to answer complex research…

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…

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…

Soft rot diseases cause crop losses all over the world. These losses can have large economic impacts and threaten international food security. Soft rot bacterial pathogens produce pectolytic enzymes that attack the pectin around plant cells resulting in smelly, wet, and mushy tissue maceration. Once symptoms are visible, the crop cannot be used or…

Humans have long sought to understand the forces that shape the diversity of living creatures on our planet. This work is primarily concerned with examining one such force--the historical action of natural selection--from practical, philosophical, and pedagogical perspectives. The first half is concerned with a suite of genetic mechanisms in…

Conrad Hal Waddington's epigenetic landscape is now a central paradigm in evolutionary developmental biology. This article proposes that it should be adopted into middle-years (ages 11-16) biology curricula as a way of visualising the interactions of the genome with the environment. The epigenetic landscape is explained, with some biographical…

We examined the sophistication of middle school students' mechanistic explanations of genetics phenomena and how they interact with a technology-based explanation tool as they articulate and organize their ideas about the phenomena. We coordinated curriculum and assessment design frameworks to develop a middle school curriculum unit that engages…

This study investigated the causes of modifications on "Tradescantia zebrina" leaves due to environmental effects by inquiry-based and long-term observations. These observations started with restricted face-to-face education at school during the COVID-19 and continued under the teacher's guidance in distance education. All the study…

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…

Many fruits and vegetables undergo browning when they are cut and the tissue is exposed to the air. This is due to the activity of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO, EC 1.14.18.1) with endogenous substrates. In this laboratory experiment, students prepare slices of different varieties of apples and assess the rate of browning. They make a simple…

A critical thinking assessment was used to compare biology students in a nonmajors course who participated in either a multisemester research program or in a one-semester lab study. Initially, it was thought the former would be more effective in promoting critical thinking improvement than the latter. Data from nine biology classes with pre- and…