In this article, a guide is presented to help biology teachers so that they can process the subject of the eye and eye defects with an interdisciplinary approach. The guide, which was created by considering the stages of a lesson plan, includes content information, suggestions, and various directions that can help the teacher at every stage. The presented content is arranged to guide students from time to time to remind them of some concepts and subjects they learned in physics lessons while processing the structure of the eye and eye defects. In this way, it is aimed that the students can perceive the information they learned in physics and biology lessons holistically and see the relationships and connections more easily. Thus, it is thought that this situation will also benefit their meaningful learning and the permanence of knowledge.

BrainWaves is a Next Generation Science Standards-aligned neuroscience curriculum that allows high school students to develop and test original research questions related to how their brain helps them learn and form new memories. This article discusses the benefits and challenges associated with conducting authentic research in the high school biology classroom. This program was found to strengthen students' content knowledge and self-efficacy in research, particularly among female and minority students who are often underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Such positive student outcomes may be emulated in similarly designed curricula that prioritize student-centered anchoring phenomena and authentic research. The BrainWaves curriculum is available at https://brainwaves.education.uconn.edu.

A feature of student–teacher–scientist partnerships (STSPs) involves students working with scientists for the purpose of helping them learn more about how scientists work and think. Previous research on STSPs has generally focused on identifying the best practices of partnerships and on identifying challenges of these partnerships. The study reported here employed a cluster-randomized trial design to test the effectiveness of the PlantingScience STSP that combines high-quality curriculum, teacher preparation, and online mentoring by professional scientists. The results of the current study show that students who participated in the PlantingScience STSP showed significant improvements in science content knowledge and attitudes about scientists compared with students in the control group. The study sample was highly representative, demographically, to the U.S. population of high schools. These results add to the limited empirical evidence about the effectiveness of STSPs on student outcomes related to science achievement and attitudes.

Plant Physiology and Ecophysiology (PPE) is a subject taught in the biology degree. One of the skills that students must acquire is “the ability to solve PPE problems.” Acquiring this competence requires a precise working methodology, a high degree of presence, and teamwork between teachers and students. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and health restrictions, we had to teach the class online. This article shows the learning methodology we employed using information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the achievement of this competence. We also analyzed the results obtained in the academic performance of the students in comparison with previous years in which the classes were face-to-face. The results confirmed that the students obtained this subject-specific competence through the ICT teaching process compared to face-to-face teaching. The study also revealed that online assessment services are not secure as they do not appear to prevent cheating behavior. Therefore, we propose this learning methodology for future online teaching activities although improvements in the evaluation process must be addressed.

The mark–recapture technique paired with the Lincoln–Peterson index is a commonly used method of estimating the size of animal populations in ecological research. However, this technique is difficult to emulate in an educational setting due to the logistical constraints inherent to the process of capturing and marking live animals. As a result, most lessons on mark–recapture use captive animals or inanimate objects as the focal population. This approach may give students an inaccurate understanding of the potential applications and limitations of the mark–recapture technique. Here, we describe an authentic application of the mark–recapture technique that allows students to gain hands-on experience with the method on naturally occurring ant colonies, a ubiquitous animal system. By participating in this lesson, students will directly engage with the mark–recapture technique to estimate the number of individuals within ant colonies and will learn about the natural history of ants in the process.

Ruminant animals serve as an excellent platform for post-secondary biological science instructors to teach microbial ecology and systems biology. Instructors can extrapolate the dynamic interactions that microorganisms play in modifying the diet of a ruminant animal. This symbiosis can be used to teach how ruminants can thrive on low-quality feed yet produce high-quality substances such as meat and milk. Instructors can require students to create graphical models that represent these dynamics, through the lens of systems biology. Altogether, instructors should consider teaching microbiology in their introductory biological science courses through the lens of ruminant production; especially, since we live in a time when vast population interest revolves around the origins of our food.

Writing is a high-impact tool that is often used to improve student learning, success, and critical thinking. Science courses typically implement writing in the form of laboratory and/or research reports. To extend the use of writing and use it as a tool to learn biology, both in-class/informal and out-of-class/ formal writing assignments were designed. All the assignments focused on two important skills biology students are expected to gain: To compare and contrast biological processes and present and defend an argument. The assignments were implemented throughout the semester with a final, cumulative out-of-class assignment to give students an opportunity to review whole class material. The assignments were used in in-person, hybrid, and online General Biology I course at a community college. These assignments can be used as is, modified by the instructor, or used as preparation for valuable classroom debates.