Exploring the development of biological literacy in Tanzanian junior secondary school students

<p>Internationally, scientific literacy is a major goal of science education in the twenty first century. In Tanzania, where there is a widespread lack of public understanding about major health issues, biological literacy is needed so that people can make decisions about the socio-scientific issues that confront them. To that end, the Tanzanian school curriculum aims to connect students’ understandings of Biology to their everyday lives but few studies have been conducted that show whether these aims have been achieved, especially in junior secondary school. This ethnographic case study investigates the ways in which the junior secondary school Biology curriculum in Tanzania supports or constrains the development of biological literacy and how institutional context, particularly as it relates to urban and rural schools, influences the delivery of the Biology curriculum. Teachers’ and Year Four students’ of secondary schools views about school Biology were sought in the course of this study and the issues that emerged were analysed using social constructivist and social constructionist theoretical frameworks. Data were collected through student questionnaires, student focus group interviews, teacher interviews, and classroom observations. The research sites included rural and urban schools, and government and private schools. The findings suggest that the Biology curriculum and the ways it is delivered do not adequately address the students’ needs and therefore is unlikely to enable them to become biologically literate. Rural schools are less well equipped than urban schools to deliver the curriculum and teachers and students face bigger challenges. A key finding was that Tanzanian young people have a strong desire to learn more about reproductive Biology and health issues but these are not prioritised in the current curriculum. In light of these findings, curriculum changes are recommended to provide learning opportunities for students to gain biological knowledge and skills that are relevant to their daily lives.</p>

Exploring the development of biological literacy in Tanzanian junior secondary school students

<p>Internationally, scientific literacy is a major goal of science education in the twenty first century. In Tanzania, where there is a widespread lack of public understanding about major health issues, biological literacy is needed so that people can make decisions about the socio-scientific issues that confront them. To that end, the Tanzanian school curriculum aims to connect students’ understandings of Biology to their everyday lives but few studies have been conducted that show whether these aims have been achieved, especially in junior secondary school. This ethnographic case study investigates the ways in which the junior secondary school Biology curriculum in Tanzania supports or constrains the development of biological literacy and how institutional context, particularly as it relates to urban and rural schools, influences the delivery of the Biology curriculum. Teachers’ and Year Four students’ of secondary schools views about school Biology were sought in the course of this study and the issues that emerged were analysed using social constructivist and social constructionist theoretical frameworks. Data were collected through student questionnaires, student focus group interviews, teacher interviews, and classroom observations. The research sites included rural and urban schools, and government and private schools. The findings suggest that the Biology curriculum and the ways it is delivered do not adequately address the students’ needs and therefore is unlikely to enable them to become biologically literate. Rural schools are less well equipped than urban schools to deliver the curriculum and teachers and students face bigger challenges. A key finding was that Tanzanian young people have a strong desire to learn more about reproductive Biology and health issues but these are not prioritised in the current curriculum. In light of these findings, curriculum changes are recommended to provide learning opportunities for students to gain biological knowledge and skills that are relevant to their daily lives.</p>

Development of a Freeze-Dried CRISPR-Cas12 Sensor for Detecting Wolbachia in the Secondary Science Classroom

Training the future synthetic biology workforce requires opportunity and exposure to biotechnology concepts and activities in secondary education. Detecting Wolbachia bacteria in arthropods using PCR has become a common way for secondary students to investigate and apply DNA technology in the science classroom. Despite this framework, cutting-edge biotechnologies like CRISPR-based diagnostics have yet to be widely implemented in the classroom. To address this gap, we present a freeze-dried CRISPR-Cas12 sensing reaction to complement traditional DNA technology education and teach synthetic biology concepts. The reactions accurately detect Wolbachia from arthropod-derived PCR samples in under 2 hours and can be stored at room temperature for over a month without appreciable degradation. The reactions are easy-to-use and cost less than $40 to implement for a classroom of 22 students including the cost of reusable equipment. We see this technology as an accessible way to incorporate synthetic biology education into existing biology curriculum, which will expand biology educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

Research on build exercises that integrate knowledge to solve practical problems in teaching high school students

Based on one of the viewpoints of building the Biology curriculum, which is integrated education and sustainable development education, helps students strengthen and develop the competency to mobilize and apply integrated knowledge, skills in many different fields to effectively solve problems in study and their’ life. Practical problems in teaching Biology are very diverse, associated with daily life and related to other subjects such as environmental protection, health care, response to the Covid-19 epidemic. ..... The article proposes the process of designing and using integrated practice exercises in teaching Biology in high school in order to develop students' competency to solve practical problems

Preservice biology teachers’ knowledge and usage level regarding lab equipment and materials

Laboratories are an indispensable part of the fundamental sciences. Laboratories are important learning environments that enable students to relate events to daily life as well as being places where theoretical knowledge is implemented. The present study investigated the knowledge and usage level of preservice biology teachers regarding lab equipment and materials. The study utilized a descriptive survey. A total of 61 preservice biology teachers from the Biology Education Department of a public university in Turkey constituted the participants. Lab Equipment and Materials Recognition Form that is developed by the researcher of the present study was used to collect data. In the design of this form, the 9–12 grade biology curriculum was first analyzed, and a list of frequently-used equipment and materials of biology laboratories was created in line with the opinions of field experts. The form included 40 laboratories equipment and materials and questions regarding the recognition of these items, their functions, and their application processes. The preservice teachers’ answers to these questions were graded as: zero points for each incorrect answer, one point for each partially correct answer, and two points for each correct answer. The data obtained were analyzed using cluster analysis, descriptive analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and independent samples T-test in SPSS27 software, and the Polycoric correlation coefficient in Factor Analysis software. The results revealed that the preservice teachers mainly recognize the biology laboratories equipment and materials but generally lack information regarding the application process of laboratories equipment and materials.

INVESTIGATE THE SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES EMBEDDED IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY CURRICULUM

Purpose of the study: The study aimed to investigate the sustainability principles embedded in the secondary school Biology curriculum in Lahore. Secondly, it helps explain the theoretical frames which underpinned the embedding of sustainability principles into the secondary school Biology curriculum. Methodology: The qualitative research method was employed to collect the data to answer the posed questions. Analysis of the Biology curriculum document was opted to analyze the sustainability principles embedded in the secondary school Biology curriculum. Main Findings: The result of the study revealed that the inclusion of sustainability in the curriculum of secondary school Biology made it more organized, coordinated, and formal. However, there is a need to emphasize the memorization and retention of irrelevant material, themes, or detail. In the limited portions of the Biology curriculum, the social and economic aspects omit and practical, experimentation or application of the written content work ignored in the curriculum. Applications of this study: The study will shed new light on the progressive and applicable implementation of sustainability principles. The systematic and coordinated inclusion of the sustainability principle in the biology curriculum will help students cope with the needs and demands of a future society. Novelty/Originality of this study: There was a considerable amount of work on the science curriculum and the alignment of the textbooks. However, it is improper in the Biology curriculum. In this project, scientists analyze individually or simultaneously the principles of sustainability in the biology curriculum. This study will also help the curriculum developers to make a curriculum that must reflect our social, Islamic, environmental, and economic needs.