Book Review: Cell and Molecular Biology for Minors

Education Research International, 2014

Basic concepts of cell biology are essential for scientific literacy. However, because many aspects of cell theory and cell functioning are quite abstract, students experience difficulties understanding them. In this study, we investigated whether diverse teaching resources such as the use of replicas of Leeuwenhoek’s microscope, visualization of cells using an optical microscope, construction of three-dimensional cell models, and reading of a comic book about cells could mitigate the difficulties encountered when teaching cell biology to 8th-grade primary school students. The results suggest that these didactic activities improve students’ ability to learn concrete concepts about cell biology, such as the composition of living beings, growth, and cicatrization. Also, the development of skills was observed, as, for example, the notion of cell size. However, no significant improvements were observed in students’ ability to learn about abstract topics, such as the structures of subcel...

Text sets: Multimodal learning for multicultural students, 2018

1993

How can science be made more meaningful to all students? This paper approaches this question through an analysis of gender. It begins with a brief exploration of the fundameni:al mismatch between women and science as described by statistics on the success, interest, and participation of women in science; feminist critiques of science; and studies of gender in science textbooks. A gender analysis of three different editions of the textbook "Modern Biology" are presented; explaining what it tells students about themselves, the nature of science, and the purposes of science education. It shows how the format, content, and message of this text has changed over time; how these changes can be linked to larger trends in science education, science and society; and how these changes have failed to eliminate barriers to women's participation in science. Finally, today's reform efforts in science education and their potential to help solve problems of gender in science are explained. (PR)

American Biology Teacher, 1982

2013

This study explores upper-elementary and early-middle-school students' ideas about cells and inheritance and describes patterns of understanding for these topics. Data came from students' responses to embedded assessments included in a technology-enhanced curriculum designed to help students learn about cells and heredity. Our findings suggest that the instruction aided students in progressing to more sophisticated levels of understanding, especially by reviewing non-normative ideas and integrating new content into their previous understandings. Students, however, tended to struggle in distinguishing genes, chromosomes, and DNA and had some difficulties connecting the cell division process with the inheritance of genetic material.

Cell Biology Education, 2004

Science Education, 2014

Produced in cooperation with Akademika publishing. The thesis is produced by Akademika publishing merely in connection with the thesis defence. Kindly direct all inquiries regarding the thesis to the copyright holder or the unit which grants the doctorate. This work could not have happened without the contributions of a number of helpful and supportive people. I am truly grateful. First of all, to my supervisor, Marianne Ødegaard, thank you for welcoming me into the Budding Science and Literacy project and for the guidance and support you have provided throughout this process. Thanks for our great conversations about research, science teacher education, and books, and for taking me to the emergency room even though I insisted we continue our meeting. To my co-supervisors, Sonja M. Mork and Rolf Vegar Olsen, thank you so much for always having your doors open, for your guidance and generosity, and for all your great comments and advice on writing. The entire Budding Science and Literacy research group have made it a great project to work on. It has been a wonderful experience to collaborate so closely with you all. To Berit Haug especially, thank you for all of our rewarding conversations and travels to schools, conferences, courses, and the city of Mysen, as well as your always-helpful advice and comments. To Kari Beate Remmen and Merethe Frøyland for our shared interest in geoscience and your enthusiasm, and to Rie Malm and Ingvar Andersen for being great research assistants. To all the wonderful teachers and students I have met through the Budding Science and Literacy project, thank you for your passionate collaboration, participation, and contribution to the project. I would also like to thank the multidisciplinary cooperation Knowledge in Schools (KiS) for funding my research, the research group SISCO, the national graduate school NATED, the Nordic Science Education Network (NorSEd), and The Norwegian Centre for Science Education. A special thanks goes to Kirsti Klette and Frøydis Hertzberg for your insights and guidance through KiS, SISCO, and NATED, as well as to Erik Knain, for your always-careful readings and constructive comments at NATED and in my end-stage evaluation. Thank you also to Svein Sjøberg,

Volume 5: Engineering Education, 2019

The discipline of biomimicry encourages engineers to take design inspiration from the nearly four billion years of research and development since life first appeared on Earth-nature is the greatest engineering designer. Rather than leveraging biomimicry as a discipline unto itself (a worthy approach, regardless), this project explores biomimicry as a tool to inspire K12 students to appreciate math and engineering. We conducted this project in four lesson modules and one lab. In the first module, we presented various types of engineering. In the second, we introduced certain aspects of mathematics from a qualitative perspective. In the third, we discussed the fundamental mathematics that undergirds thermodynamics, although qualitatively and visually. In the fourth, we introduced the students to the world of biomimicry. Then we integrated the mathematics and biomimicry with a laboratory experience in quantitative design, borrowed from an NSF sponsored project. In summary, efforts in biomimicry reside at either the quantitative arena of multi-phase physics, or the qualitative arena of biological interpretations. However, we have use it as a bridge to science, math and engineering.

Research in Science & Technological Education, 2020

Background: Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST) has been one of the most used instruments to study conceptions of scientists and science. It has been especially useful for charting the conceptions of younger children who might lack the skills to express themselves in writing. However, recent studies suggest that instead of children's conceptions of the appearance of scientists, their conceptions about the activities are more crucial in shaping children's attitudes towards science. Purpose: This study describes a new instrument, Draw-A-Science Comic (DASC), and examines the advantages and disadvantages of using a comic as a tool to collect data about children's conceptions of scientists and science. Sample: A total of 104 children aged 8 to 13 drew a comic while attending university's science camps during the summer of 2017 and 2018. Design and methods: Participants drew a comic about how science is made. The analysis of the drawings was based on four main categories: scientific activities, locations of research, appearance of scientists, and emotions and attitudes. Instances for each category were calculated by two researchers independently. Qualitative overviews of the categories and the methods used to convey information were formed. Results: The children used sequential pictures to depict actions and processes, speech bubbles to depict dialogue between characters as well as text captions to provide additional details and clarifications. By drawing comics children were able to have more detailed illustrations of scientific activities than with a single picture. The sequential narratives were also used to depict emotions and attitudes related to science. Conclusions: In contrast to DAST, the DASC provides information about children's conceptions and stereotypes regarding scientific activities even without the use of additional or more explicit prompts.

The focus of this article is on how to support reading in science, a practice that is foundational to learning science successfully (Norris and Phillips 2003). While reading science texts is necessary to acquire new ideas and understandings, many teachers regularly experience the frustration of reading a science text in class and find that many or most students struggle to comprehend the text. It is easy to believe that the only challenge posed by science texts is the vocabulary they contain, but our view of reading - what we call reading to learn—suggests that the reading of science texts poses a set of unique challenges for students, only one of which is vocabulary. Moreover, these are challenges that few of us are aware of, or know how to deal with in our teaching.