At home, children often have pets that they take care of and play with; even in the classroom it is not uncommon to find a wormery, an aquarium or an ant farm. However, children rarely have the opportunity to own and care for a plant over a lengthy period of time, let alone a tree. The authors describe a project in Portugal aimed at improving…

Examined 10 introductory college-level, general biology survey textbooks for the coverage of algae to assess the efficacy of coverage. Describes a proposal of seven kingdoms and discusses the disposition of algae among five of these kingdoms. Contends that textbooks should highlight the concept of algae across the five kingdoms. Contains 59…

Nine sixth-grade students were asked to identify plants by their common names. In the event that students did not know the correct response, researchers observed a variety of avoidance strategies. The study demonstrated that students at the elementary level should be introduced to the concept of genus before more abstract levels of the botanical…

Reflects on the origin of the misconception of inverse respiration in green plants. Proposes a series of conceptual schemes that could form the basis for teaching the subject of green plants in a way that prevents or substantially reduces the appearance of this misconception in primary- and secondary-school students. Contains 33 references.…

Describes activities in which students explore composting. Enables students to learn that all organic material returns naturally to the earth through a process of decomposition that involves many living organisms. (JRH)

Reports on a seven-year longitudinal study of pupils' (n=25) understanding of ecological processes with emphasis on how their conceptions of matter influence their understanding. Results indicate that initially students expected the plants cultivated in closed transparent boxes to die but later used a "cycle model" to explain how the…

Suggests activities to elicit and develop children's conceptual understanding of plants. (Author)

Presents a brief overview of allelopathy, or "chemical warfare" among plants. Includes suggestions for school science topics of study and activities. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/WRM)

This design study tracks the development of student thinking about natural variation as late elementary grade students learned about distribution in the context of modeling plant growth at the population level. The data-modeling approach assisted children in coordinating their understanding of particular cases with an evolving notion of data as an…

Laboratory components of introductory biology college-level courses are becoming increasingly rare. Due to the absence of laboratory funding and time, instructors at all levels are faced with the problem of implementing inquiry-based projects. In this article, the authors present an activity that they developed for the 50-minute discussion period…

Presents a creative way to teach photosynthesis. Revolves around the growth of a lily planted and stored in the classroom. Combines the concepts of particle theory, transformation, and changes of phase and mass in a holistic approach. The six-step teaching sequence is founded on the notions of challenge, variation, and drama. (Author/NB)

Presents ideas for spring flower displays. Has students constructing their own interactive flower displays as extra-credit assignments to reinforce vocabulary and scientific concepts, and modeling flowers with household items. (JRH)

The carpel is a highly modified leaf enclosing the ovules. This article describes methods for teaching about the evolution of the carpel and the nature of carpel fusion. Presents an illustration of the evolution of the most common types of compound pistil arrangement from the ancestral single-carpel marginal type of placentation. (PR)

Children and teachers may not think in the same way about particular science concepts. Such parallel lines of thought can compound children's confusion and misunderstanding as they learn science at primary school. The situation could be more acute when student teachers are teaching science, because of their limited experience of considering…

This study investigated the contributions of students' reasoning ability and meaningful learning orientation to their understanding of the photosynthesis and respiration in plants concepts. Data were gathered through the use of the Test of Logical Thinking (Tobin & Capie, 1981), the Learning Approach Questionnaire (Cavallo, 1996), and the Two-Tier…