A partnership between a community college biology professor and a local high school teacher was established to engage high school students in authentic microbiology research. High school students isolated actinomycetes from soil samples and tested them for their ability to produce antimicrobial chemicals. They also designed and carried out their own experiments with these isolates. Laboratory reports, written assignments, and quizzes were used to assess the scientific learning of the subject covered by the research project. The students' attitudes about science and scientific research were assessed using a standardized survey and written reflection questions. In completing this project, the students applied their knowledge of the scientific method and experimental design to address authentic research questions. They also learned several hands-on laboratory skills, including serial dilution, aseptic technique, isolation of pure cultures, Gram staining, microscopy, and antimicrobial testing. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive – many expressed an increased interest in pursuing a career in science, and most felt that the project helped them gain confidence in their ability to do science. This project illustrates the importance of establishing partnerships between secondary schools and academic institutions to successfully introduce research to younger students.

The use of game activities is spreading in diverse contexts, including stimulating teamwork and creativity, selecting job candidates, and as a teaching aid. Games are recognized as promoting interaction and engagement among children through an abstract challenge, which often results in emotional reactions. We investigated whether a game-based activity is useful as a tool for teaching entomology, as assessed on the basis of the learning achieved and the feedback provided by students. Student feedback was positive regarding card content, the rules manual, game-play design, and game use (the functional perspective). Likewise, the students also considered the game a fun activity, fast and competitive, and even challenging (the personal perspective). Some difficulties were indicated, such as the amount of initial information required to play. Nonetheless, the game increased student learning, demonstrating its usefulness as a didactic activity in the classroom. In addition to encouraging creativity and healthy competition among students, the game represents an integrative and dynamic teaching mode that is different from traditional classroom methods.

We designed and implemented two instructional approaches to plant education, with the intention of supporting positive attitudes toward plants among sixth-grade students (11–13 years old). In one instructional approach, students prepared a book about plants that have interesting characteristics. In the other approach, students visited a botanical garden. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of these approaches on students' attitudes toward plants. A matched-pairs experimental design was used in the research. A total of 56 students (28 in each group) participated in the study. Data were gathered by using the Plant Attitude Questionnaire. This instrument consisted of 28 items using a five-point Likert scale and included four dimensions of attitudes toward plants: importance, urban trees, interest, and utilization. Our results indicate that instruction via writing a book about plants with interesting characteristics is a good way to support students' positive attitudes toward plants; this approach was especially effective in the dimensions of interest and utilization. The botanical garden trip was also effective, though in a more limited way, in supporting students' positive attitudes toward plants; this approach was most effective in the dimension of urban trees.

Visualizing thermoregulation (endothermy vs. ectothermy) in animals can be challenging for students in undergraduate biology courses. Data-driven, hands-on laboratory activities can enhance student learning while reinforcing application of the scientific method. This article describes a visual-learning, inquiry-based activity that can be applied to introductory high school and college biology laboratories with the use of easily accessible technology (a smartphone and an inexpensive thermal camera attachment). Students generate hypotheses and qualitatively observe real-time thermal images of live endothermic and ectothermic animals. This activity is effective in engaging students by allowing them to visualize thermoregulation and body temperature. We provide suggestions for modifying the activity to further investigate animal behavior related to temperature regulation.

The terms Anthropocene and Homogenocene are frequently used to describe our current epoch, which is characterized by strong human impacts on the environment. One defining feature of the Anthro- or Homogenocene is biodiversity loss – experts say we are heading for Earth's sixth mass extinction. A crucial weapon in the battle against threats to biodiversity is education, particularly biodiversity literacy. Raising awareness of the social and environmental value of biodiversity, providing education on the concept of biodiversity, and promoting the ability to act may lead to active and responsible citizenship. We developed a biodiversity education teaching unit to promote biodiversity literacy through formal education. To make the topic of biodiversity tangible for students, our approach involves them in a citizen science project and uses the forest ecosystem to illustrate the relations between economic, ecological, and social aspects of biodiversity.

Forests are excellent “outdoor classrooms” for active learning in ecology and evolution; however, in many areas trees have no leaves or visible animal activity for much of the year. Fallen leaves may preserve evidence of interactions such as herbivory and infectious diseases, although these can be difficult to differentiate from mechanical damage and decomposition in older fallen leaves. I developed an exercise in which students collect fallen leaves and observe several different types of damage to the leaves. I provide images and descriptions of different types of damage and practices to differentiate them. In addition, I provide a list of questions that can be answered by collecting fallen leaves and observations of damage. My students gained valuable quantitative literacy skills by entering data into an online worksheet and performing various calculations and data analysis techniques. This exercise provides many benefits and can be an engaging addition to a high school's or college's outdoor curriculum outside of the growing season.

Inquiry- and course-based research pedagogies have demonstrated effectiveness for preparing undergraduate biology students with authentic scientific skills and competencies, yet many students lack the experience to engage successfully in open-ended research activities without sufficient scaffolding and structure. Further, curricula for student-centered laboratory activities are lacking for several biological disciplines, including plant biology and botany. In this article, I describe a semester-long structured-inquiry research curriculum developed for a plant biology course taught to second-year biology students that integrates key elements of inquiry and discovery while providing a structured approach to gaining research skills. In the research project, students collect leaves from woody dicot plants across a range of environments that are characterized by different mean annual temperatures, and investigate the relationship between various leaf characteristics and temperature. Curricular materials are provided to teach skills in scientific paper reading, field data collection, data processing including microscopy and image analysis, quantitative data analysis in R, biological inference, and scientific writing. This comprehensive, ready-to-implement curriculum is suitable for plant biology, botany, and plant ecology courses and is particularly valuable for students with no prior research experience.

Microscopy and stained specimens engage students visually as they learn about plant anatomy, a topic covered in many biology and introductory science courses. In this activity, students section plant material and prepare specimens to view under a brightfield microscope. Using a camera or cell phone, images of microscope slide contents allow students to label plant parts and engage in discussions with peers. The addition of scale bars to their images will allow a better understanding of the relationships of the various structures observed in the functioning of plants.

Terrestrial isopods (often referred to as sow bugs or pill bugs) are small, land-dwelling crustaceans. Because of their gentle nature, terrestrial isopods are excellent animals to have in a science classroom. There are many fun and effective classroom activities that utilize terrestrial isopods to teach science concepts, but there are multiple barriers to acquiring the large number of terrestrial isopods needed for classroom activities. Furthermore, when terrestrial isopods are brought into the classroom, the possibility exists that they will die inhumanely because finding good information on their proper care and reproduction can be difficult. Websites, books, and magazines frequently provide contradictory, inaccurate, incomplete, overly complex, and inhumane care information. To address these issues, this article explains how to set up a simple, low-maintenance, and inexpensive classroom enclosure for the terrestrial isopod species Porcellio scaber. These techniques, which I use in my classroom, produce large numbers of healthy captive-bred P. scaber. This article also presents examples of effective, hands-on classroom activities utilizing P. scaber.