Large, introductory, nonmajors biology classes present challenges when trying to encourage class discussion to help reinforce important concepts. Lively in-class discussion involving hundreds of students is more successful when a relevant story told with passion is used to introduce a topic. In my courses, each semester begins with thorough treatment of the scientific method, followed by the multiple Darwinian theories of evolution. To reinforce these two important themes, the story of the ivory-billed woodpeckers ecology, evolution, conservation, and probable extirpation has been effective in provoking class dialogue and reinforcing the two themes. Although I describe this approach as a large-class activity, it works well in courses of all sizes. In this article, I discuss teaching with storytelling and detail the use of the ivory-billed woodpecker story as a teaching tool.

Evaluating the potential health impacts of chemical, physical, and biological environmental factors represents a challenging task with profound medical, public health, and historical implications. The history of public health is replete with instances, ranging from tobacco to lead and asbestos, where the ability to obtain evidence on potential environmental hazards has been impaired and the publication of results delayed because of commercial interests. The burden of proof is heavy on those trying to change the status quo when that involves highly profitable industries. When evaluating potential hazards that are linked with industrial activities, it is often the case that only after proof of human or environmental harm becomes undeniable are steps finally taken to control or reduce future hazards. This approach has the net effect of delaying and postponing action, allowing dangerous practices to continue until health or environmental risks have become undebatable.

A collaborative effort between a junior high school and a nearby university allowed 40 eighth-grade honors students to engage in a scientific investigation within a university laboratory. These students, with their science teachers and university researchers, gathered data on egg cannibalism in a beach-spawning fish and thereby contributed to an ongoing research project. Our objectives were to provide a scientific learning experience for the students and introduce them to a college setting. A survey, given 2.5 years after the investigation, found that most of the students had increased their interest in studying science in college.

Various sequences for teaching genetics have been proposed. Three seventhgrade biology textbooks in Taiwan share similar key knowledge assemblages but have different knowledge arrangements. To investigate the influence of knowledge arrangements on student understanding of genetics, we compared students' reading comprehension of the three texts that exhibit different knowledge arrangements. The results revealed that one particular knowledge arrangement (genetic materials, mitotic and meiotic models, genetic model, and molecular model) leads to the greatest reading comprehension of genetics. The differences are found in knowledge of mitotic and meiotic models. The results of this study are valuable for use in organizing instruction.

“Cootie Genetics” is a hands-on, inquiry-based activity that enables students to learn the Mendelian laws of inheritance and gain an understanding of genetics principles and terminology. The activity begins with two true-breeding Cooties of the same species that exhibit five observable trait differences. Students observe the retention or loss of traits among first-generation heterozygotes, hypothesize what happened to these traits, and design an experiment to test their hypotheses by mating the first-generation Cooties. With the second generation, Mendel's principles of segregation and independent assortment of alleles are observed; dominant and recessive traits and tools students need to construct Punnett squares are apparent.

In order to challenge our undergraduate students' enduring misconception that plants, animals, and fungi must be “advanced” and that other eukaryotes traditionally called protists must be “primitive,” we have developed a 24-hour takehome guided inquiry and investigation of live Physarum cultures. The experiment replicates recent peer-reviewed research regarding speed—accuracy tradeoffs and reliably produces data with which students explore key biological concepts and practice essential scientific competencies. It requires minimal resources and can be adapted for high school students or more independent student investigations. We present statistical analyses of data from four semesters and provide examples of our strategies for student engagement and assessment.

Many students leave the biology classroom with misconceptions centered on cellular structure. This article presents an activity in which students utilize images from an online database called “The Cell: An Image Library” ( http://www.cellimagelibrary.org/) to gain a greater understanding of the diversity of cellular structure and the correlation of a cells structure to its function. Additionally, students develop an awareness of the structural variation of organelles across organisms.

The goal of this Quick Fix is to inform biology teachers about the availability of online crossword puzzles that can be used to engage students and help them learn technical biological terms.