Reviewed are some of the techniques being used in plant biotechnology laboratories. Described are tissue culture and genetic manipulation. Advantages and disadvantages of this approach and ethics and public concern issues are discussed. (CW)

Presented is an analysis of published research on students' conceptual development in the life sciences with the intent of providing information on the trends and content of those studies. A list of 128 references is appended. (CW)

Presents nine hands-on discovery and inquiry type activities which penetrate the student's immediate world, integrate other curricular areas, involve group cooperation, excite, motivate, and encourage creative thinking. (RT)

Describes activities which demonstrate the abundance of organisms living underground. Provides outlined directions, lists of materials, and a soil ecosystem transparency for delving into the properties of soil. (RT)

Presents teacher comments on audiovisual materials dealing with: biotechnology applications in immunology, agriculture, and cancer research; efforts to halt the eutrophication of Lake Tahoe; and banana slugs. Availability and costs of materials are included. (RT)

Examined are some of the distinctive features of the biological sciences. Discussed are the use of models with case studies, universal principles, and alternative frameworks. (CW)

Presents a lesson on introducing writing into the science curriculum by using an experiment to illustrate the detrimental effect of tobacco smoke on human lungs. Outlines the materials, procedures, a summary of the project, extension activities, and additional information about the writing process. Two handout sheets are included. (RT)

Presents techniques used for disinfestation of plant material, preparation of equipment and media, and laboratory procedures for tissue culture using cauliflower. Details methods for preparing solutions and plant propagation by cloning. (CW)

Describes a teaching approach that uses actual landowners and their forest lands to create real world management planning experiences for senior forestry students. Using land currently managed by natural resource professionals allows the instructor to compare student plans with professionally prepared plans. (MDH)

Computer-assisted genetics instructor (CAGI) is a database program to help students and teachers identify conceptual weaknesses, provide interactive drill to master problem solving, and reduce teacher tutorial time. Results of a comparison of users and nonusers indicates that CAGI users averaged between 6 and 10 points higher on hour exams than…

Presents the Forage Manager spreadsheet, developed as a forage management teaching tool to integrate agronomic, livestock, and cost data to demonstrate the impact of forage management on livestock production costs. Teaching applications, examples involving agronomic data and conventional agronomic evaluation, and limitations of the program are…

Describes recently published children's books in Spanish that explain basic facts about animals; introduce students to ecology, the environment, popular inventions, and some of the world's most amazing structures; and entice the very young reader into nature. Titles are divided into the areas of biology, ecology, general science, earth and space…

A study examined the effect of formal academic education on cognitive processes in decision making in 940 undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni in the social sciences, humanities, and physical and biological sciences. Although academic studies correlate positively with better performance in each of the decision-making stages, they…

Presents the results of two newspaper polls conducted in Kansas concerning the teaching of evolution. Finds that the majority of the state's citizens do think that evolution should be taught in the public schools. (WRM)