We report here the development of an inexpensive and engaging laboratory-based activity that can help students learn about the scientific method and the role of plant epicuticular waxes and surfactant function on waxy plant leaves as real life example in the agricultural industry. Three each of nontreated collard leaves ("Brassica…

In 2018 the Gulf coast of Florida suffered extensive damage from harmful algal blooms (HABs), from as far north as Clearwater Beach south to Naples. The bloom lasted nearly a year, picking up in intensity during the late summer months. HABs occur when conditions such as reduced salinity, higher water temperatures, light saturation, and currents…

This article offers a philosophical-empirical account of embodied skilful performance in the practice of plant biotechnology. Drawing on the work of Merleau-Ponty and others, we elaborate how skilful performance emerges from and through reciprocal relations encompassing the body-in-the-world and the world-in-the-body. The contribution of this…

The increasing urbanization and alienation from nature reduce children's opportunities to interact with plants and challenge teachers to devise educational practices that contribute to learning botany. This study presents the results of activities developed in a Brazilian school through explorations, drawings, dried and pressed specimens, and…

In the increasing pervasiveness of today's digital society, mobile devices are changing the face of education. Students can interact with mobile devices in context-aware environment. This paper presents a mobile application based on expert system (Plant-E) for students to acquire knowledge about plant classification by answering decision-making…

Researchers and pollsters still debate the acceptance of genetic engineering technology among U.S. adults, and continue to assess their knowledge as part of this research. While decision-making may not rely entirely on knowledge, querying opinions and perceptions rely on public understanding of genetic engineering terms. Experience with…

This investigation used a multiple-probe-across-participants design to examine the effects of using a simultaneous prompting procedure to teach four secondary students with mild intellectual disabilities the employment task of caring for plants in a greenhouse. The instructor also embedded photosynthesis science content as nontargeted information…

Plants is a neglected topic in biology education. Educational activities about plants are important in early terms because they are the base of both the science and the biology education. The purpose of this research is to understand opinions of the children by utilizing drawings and the colors they used. It is run by the phenomenological model…

This study presents a new technique, the "Which plant am I?" game, which helps to increase pupils' plant knowledge, while motivate them to become familiar with more plants. On the other hand pupils' plant knowledge was tested in Serbia. The "Which Plant Am I?" game was tested with two groups of pupils (in average 11 years old).…

The finding that under split-attention conditions students learn more from a picture and spoken text than from a picture and written text (ie, the modality effect) has consistently been found in many types of computer-assisted multimedia learning environments. Using 58 fifth-grade and sixth-grade elementary school children as participants, we…

Purpose: This study reports on the comparison of students' knowledge about mangrove conservation and their attitude into mangrove ecosystem between students who live in mangrove ecotourism area and those who live outside of mangrove ecotourism area. Methods: About eighty students from public junior high schools located inside mangrove ecotourism…

In this classroom activity, students build a phylogeny for woody plant species based on the morphology of their twigs. Using any available twigs, students can practice the process of cladistics to test evolutionary hypotheses for real organisms. They identify homologous characters, determine polarity through outgroup comparison, and construct a…

Stories are a powerful means to change people's attitudes and beliefs. The aim of the current work was to shed light on the role of argument strength (argument quality) in narrative persuasion. The present study examined the influence of strong versus weak arguments on attitudes in a low or high narrative context. Moreover, baseline attitudes,…

Educators are increasingly looking to neuroscience for guidance to improve classroom instruction and to teach their students about the nervous system. Although materials to assist teachers are available, many educators still have misconceptions about the brain. Twenty-three middle school teachers were trained to use the Sowing the Seeds of…

Background: Children's interest in science is known to decline around the upper primary age, and botanical topics are unpopular with students. Drama in education has the potential to increase motivation and interest in school science. Purpose: The study examined the impact of immersive drama on knowledge about biological classification and…