CRITERIA FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF THE BIOLOGY TEXTBOOK FOR THE SCIENTIFIC SIXTH GRADE (AN EVALUATION STUDY)

This research aims to build criteria for improving the text book quality and to Identify the extent in which criteria might be implied in the Biology textbook, might be implied in the Biology textbook for the 6th Grade, to achieve the research objectives, the researcher depend on the description method and the questionnaire as the research instrument which consisted of (7) fields: the introduction, the educational objectives, the scientific content, the activities, the photos - figures - tables, the evaluation methods, the artistic editing. It includes (99) criteria. Reliability and validity have been affirmed. The number of individuals is (1950) and the sample of the research is (331) as teachers and s supervisors for biology, they were chosen randomly who represented the Iraqi governorates of 2017. The research has concluded that the biology textbook has achieved most of quality criteria with admission of weakness in criteria of introduction and activities. The researcher recommends to adopt criteria of textbook quality which adopted by this research and to reconsider the reorganizing the textbook and to take in consideration of the practical aspect. The researcher suggests to n evolutions to other Biology Textbook to get the specialties in authorizing Textbooks‎.

Content Analysis of Developed Science Textbooks (Collins) for the Tenth Grade in Jordan in View of the Constructivism Theory : تحليل محتوى كتب العلوم المطورة (كولينز) للصف العاشر الأساسي في الأردن في ضوء مبادئ النظرية البنائية

The study aimed to analyze the content of developed science textbooks (Collins) for the tenth grade in Jordan: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Geology and Environment. the study has used the analytical descriptive approach, for achieving the objective of the study the researcher has made a content analysis tool of the principles of constructivism theory that include the following five principles: Prior Knowledge, Knowledge Building, Change of Knowledge Structure, Confronting Situation, and Social Negotiation. The results that the percentage of the principles of the constructivism theory are as follows: Physics textbook (28.57%), Geology and Environment textbook (25.21%), Biology textbook (24.28%), and Chemistry textbook (21.84%). And the study recommended conducting more studies to identify the principles of the constructivism theory in textbooks and other academic grades.

Evaluation of the biology book for Sixth grade science (biology) according to the international education standards

The study aimed to evaluate the biology textbook for Sixth grade science (biology) according to the CFBT international education standards. To achieve the goal of the research, the researcher used the descriptive approach, where the researcher prepared a list of CFBT criteria, which consisted of two fields (scientific research - biology) and according to four main criteria and twenty sub-indicators for the first field (scientific research), 13 main criteria and 61 sub-indicators for the second field ( Biology), and in this study, the researcher found a lack of interest in the biology book for the third intermediate grade in the CFBT standards compared to the spoken percentage adopted by the researcher by the experts. Keywords: Curriculum evaluation - CFBT standards - Biology book- Sixth grade science (biology).

The Use of Biology Textbook based on Collaborative Learning Model to Improve Scientific Literacy Skill

Scientific literacy skills are important skills taught to prepare students for the 21-st century learning era. Textbook based on collaborative learning model can be an alternative to improving students' scientific literacy skills. The purpose of the study was to describe scientific literacy skills and student responses through the use of biology textbook based on collaborative learning model. The type of research used is descriptive quantitative research with one group pretest-posttest research design. The instruments used are scientific literacy skills tests and response questionnaire sheets. The N-gain score, a paired sample t-test, and the results of the students' responses were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the value of the science literacy skills test increased with an N gain of 0.67, sig 0.05, and 95% of students responded positively. These results indicate that textbook based on collaborative learning model is effectively used to train students' scientific literacy skills and can be tested widely.

Nilai-nilai Tauhid dalam Mata Pelajaran Biologi (Telaah pada Mata Pelajaran Biologi)

This study aims to find the values of tauhid (religion) in biology (science) subjects. This type of research is a qualitative study using an interpretive approach. The main source of the research is the biology textbook for SMA / MA students written by Slamet Prawirohartono. The conclusion of this research is that someone who studies biology will be able to get an understanding of monotheism (religion). This can be seen from the value of monotheism contained in the subject of biology, which is tawhid rububiyah that mean the god is the only one can control and creator universe. Someone can develop his potention to maintain and preserve the universe as a form of worship to God. Second, uluhiyah, this is in the form of the tasbih of the universe in the form of the order and balance of the universe that Allah created for every creature, three Asma 'wa sifah, this is the form of Allah's affection for every creature that He has created. This can be seen from biological materials such as material on scientific methods that recommend utilizing the five senses in studying ancient verses, biodiversity as a gift of God's beauty, ecology which is the unity and harmony of God's creation in order to maintain the balance of the environment (ecosystem)

Características ilustrativas das representações visuais de recursos hídricos em livros didáticos de Biologia

Visual representations are ubiquitous in science textbooks today and, in recent years, have become an object of criticism and evaluation. Thus, this article aimed to evaluate the visual representations about water resources presented in all the Biology textbook collections suggested by the 2018 National Textbook and Teaching Material Program for High School. The books were analyzed as proposed by Gkitzia and collaborators who analyzed in detail the visual representations in textbooks. The results found indicate that the analyzed works presented visual representations, for the most part, adequate. The limiting factor was the degree to which the images related to the information contained in the text, since they did not mention or partially mentioned the images in the chapter.

Impact of Biology Education on Infectious Diseases Knowledge among Students in The Municipality of Ilijaš

The research in this paper is based on the collection of data on the knowledge of infectious diseases through the application of Sequence of the Objective Type Tasks (SOTT) in elementary school students in the municipality of Ilijaš.This research was conducted on a sample of 123 ninth grade students in the elementary schools "Hašim Spahić" and "Podlugovi".The testing was conducted in the period from May 25 to 31, the 2017/18 school year.The comparison of students' answers to a sequences of 10 questions created according to the material of the biology textbook for the ninth grade of elementary school showed a slightly higher level of knowledge among elementary school students "Podlugovi".Statistical analysis showed that there is no statistically significant difference between the compared classes when it comes to knowledge in the field of infectology.

Analysis of the Validity Level of Biology Textbooks based on the 2013 Curriculum with the Integration of Ayat Kauniyah

The validity of textbooks is an important thing before it is used in the learning. This study aims to determine the level of validity of the 2013 curriculum-based biology textbook that is integrated to the ayat Kauniyah (Kauniyah verses). The research was conducted on the campus of the Master of Biology Education Study Program, FKIP, Riau University. The validation of the textbook was carried out by 5 validators consisting of 3 experts according to their fields and expertise, and 2 validators from education practitioners. The validators from the expert element consists of Plant Science expert, Animal Science expert and one expertist on the integration of kauniyah verses. While the validator from the education practitioner element consists of 2 SMAIT teachers who are members of the city biology subject teacher deliberation (MGMP) Pekanbaru. The developed Biology textbooks based on the 2013 curriculum with the integration of kauniyah verses were declared very valid with an average of 95.20%. If detailed based on indicators, the results obtained are 94.44% in appearance aspects (very valid), 96.53% content aspects (very valid), 97.22% presentation aspects (very valid), 95.00% linguistic aspects (very valid) ) and aspects of the kauniyah verses 92.82% (very valid).

Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection Isn’t Fundamental After All

Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection (FTNS) was called “biology’s central theorem” (Fisher, 1930, pgs. 36–37; Brockman, 2011; Royal Society, 2020). FTNS might possibly have been accorded this status for decades because Fisher himself declared his own theorem to be fundamental to biology (Fisher, 1930, pgs. 36–37). However, the idea that Fisher’s theorem is biology’s central theorem is by-and-large a myth promoted by popu- lar science writers like Richard Dawkins (Brockman, 2011). Joseph Felsenstein, when delivering the 2018 Fisher Memorial Lecture declared that FTNS was “alas, not so fundamental” (Felsenstein, 2018; Felsenstein, 2017, pg. 94. One may be hard-pressed to find a biology textbook or biology student who can explain how FTNS helps them understand biology. Even the meaning and proof of the FTNS have re- mained contentious even to this day (Price, 1972; Basener and Sanford, 2018). Not only does FTNS do little to nothing to explain biological evolution, but like most population genetic and evolutionary literature, FTNS relies on a definition of fit- ness in terms of population growth rates rather than the biophysical notions of fitness which are more in line with the common-sense intuitions of the medical and engineering communities. From the perspective of the biophysical (rather than the population growth) notion of fitness, natural selection might be more accurately described as an agent against the increase of complexity rather than an agent for it. Thus, metaphorically speaking, some sort of anti-Weasel model of natural selection might better describe how selection actu- ally works in nature rather than Dawkins’ Weasel or other man-made genetic algorithms. However, the main focus of this communication is to pro- vide some pedagogical insights through simple numerical illustrations of Fisher’s Theorem. The hope is that this will show the general irrelevance of FTNS to the question of the evolution of complexity by means of natural selection, and thus show that Fisher’s Theorem is not so fundamental after all.