Search

Biotechnology has great importance as a socioscientific issue in STEM education. This study aimed to explore the knowledge and attitudes of college students toward biotechnology. A total of 236 university students participated in the study. Questionnaires on knowledge and attitudes towards biotechnology were used for data collection. The results revealed that participants had inadequate knowledge about several basic concepts related to genetics and biotechnology, particularly those concerning genetically modified organisms. The results regarding the attitudes revealed more neutral results. The participants had a neutral attitude towards biotechnology, with mean scores ranging from 2.71 to 3.55. They were generally against buying genetically modified products but supported biotechnology for medical purposes and strongly desired to increase their knowledge about genetically modified products. The participants did not have a negative opinion of biotechnology in general but were critical of its purpose and use. The correlation analysis between knowledge and attitudes produced weak correlations. Offering supplementary resources on biotechnology can enhance students' and individual's understanding and attitudes of this topic.

Pre-service science teachers need to be aware of eco-literacy and biotechnology as they will teach science subjects to students from the perspectives of 21st-century skills. This study aimed to develop a web-based module on biotechnology and examine preservice science teachers' eco-literacy skills after using the developed module. The study used a research and development design adopting Molenda's product development model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation/ADDIE). There were 60 students majoring in science education as the research participants. The data were collected using a needs analysis questionnaire, a curriculum analysis form, a validation sheet, tests, and a response questionnaire. The obtained quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 25 with descriptive statistical tests with Swanson's quantifications. Results showed that the web-based module on biotechnology could be developed through ADDIE stages with experts' high validity results (M = 4.59, valid with revision). The module significantly improved the teachers' eco-literacy skills on biotechnology topics (F = 14.053, p = 0.000, N = 60). This result implies that the web-based module on biotechnology can assist preservice science teachers in improving their eco-literacy skills.

Historically, research disciplines have successfully operated independently. However, the emergence of transdisciplinary research has led to convergence methodologies, resulting in groundbreaking discoveries. Despite the benefits, graduate programs face challenges in implementing transdisciplinary research and preparing students for real-world collaboration across diverse disciplines and experience levels. We propose a convergence training framework integrating project-based learning, training modules, and collaborative teaming to address this. This approach, tested in a multi-institutional workshop, proved effective in bridging expertise gaps and fostering successful convergence learning experiences in computational biointerface (material-biology interface) research. Here, biointerface research focuses on control of biomolecular interactions with technologically relevant material surfaces, which is a critical component of biotechnology and engineering applications. Positive outcomes, including conference presentations and published models, endorse the framework's application in graduate curricula, particularly for students engaging in transdisciplinary collaboration.

Alcohol consumption has profound effects on behavior, such as impaired judgment, addiction or even death. It is estimated that alcohol contributes to around three million deaths worldwide, 13.5% of them in young people with ages between 20 and 39 years. Consequently, it is necessary to raise awareness among college and high school students of the risk related to alcohol drinking. The small nematode "Caenorhabditis elegans" is an animal widely used as a model organism to study nearly all aspects of Biochemistry. It is a powerful tool to test the potential bioactivity and molecular mechanisms of natural compounds and drugs "in vivo." Therefore, it is an interesting topic to include in an undergraduate course of Biotechnology, Biochemistry or Biology students among other scientific vocations. "C. elegans" is also used as a neurobiological model to evaluate substances' neurotoxicity and behavioral effects. The proposed experiment introduces students to the handling of this preclinical model and to the evaluation of behavioral alterations induced by chemicals in scientific research. The effects of different doses of ethanol on "C. elegans" behavior are studied using a versatile chemotaxis assay. This laboratory experiment is suitable for an undergraduate course. The practical session can be used in the global strategies of information and awareness of educational centres to mitigate the impact of alcohol abuse among students, both in formal courses or in Science fairs or exhibitions.

The adoption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Ghana has raised a lot of public concerns and mixed feelings among some Ghanaians. Our present study, therefore, explored the current knowledge of the general public on GMOs, their perceptions, and factors that influence their understanding of GMOs. A total of 200 Ghanaians were interviewed using an online semi-structured questionnaire to solicit information on their knowledge of GMOs. The findings of the study showed that most Ghanaians (183 out of 200) are aware of GMOs. Age and level of education significantly influenced consumers' awareness of GMOs. The results also revealed that most of the participants have a medium to a high level of knowledge of GMOs; however, limited information about GMOs is available to the public. About 61% of the respondents are willing to consume GMOs when made available in Ghana. Also, the findings of the study showed that the respondents would prefer GM-labelled products. The educational level of the respondents significantly influenced their knowledge and understanding of GMOs. The study recommends that scientists and various media platforms provide a platform to address the concerns of the public on GMOs and occasionally engage them in GMO-related issues and their role in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition.

Biotechnology students entering the workforce often struggle in their application of textbook knowledge to build the solutions that we see in science and health fields today. Some students may be naive to what a job in the biotechnology industry can encompass. Students should graduate having a firm grasp of the prospects of their field and have the confidence to begin contributing to the growth of the industry. For this, it is necessary for students to be able to start practising applications in their coursework before they graduate. A competition titled "Biotech BioBrawl" was incorporated in the University of Central Florida's Methods in Biotechnology (MCB4721C/MCB5722C) course agenda during the semester of Fall 2021. This competition challenged students to harness innovation and applied science in a group setting that led to the development and pitch of an original idea to a panel of judges with various biotechnology industry experiences.

This study aims to examine the unique educational films prepared by science teacher candidates about biotechnology applications and getting their perceptions on the process/the educational films they have prepared. The phenomenology method was used. The study group consists of 30 sophomore teacher candidates. Teacher candidates prepared educational films. Then, the perceptions of the teacher candidates about this process were taken. According to the results of the study educational movies were prepared by teacher candidates by way of their writings about stem cells, genetically modified organisms, nanotechnology and cloning. The educational films focused on the positive and negative aspects of these biotechnology subjects, on the basis of daily life scenarios. Even though the short movies contained both negative and positive references, they mostly had a positive note.

This study aimed at designing instructional material named Biotechnology Instruction Module (BIM) which is enriched with active learning methods to enhance the 8th grade students' learning of the topic. The development of the teaching materials proceeded within the stages of the ADDIE instructional design model. The final form of the instructional module comprised active learning materials of DNA Isolation Experiment, Bulletin Boards, 4x2 Biotechnology Learning Station, Case Studies Text, and "What Would You Do If You Were…?" activities. Instructional module covers the topics such as genetically modified organisms (GMO), gene therapy, cloning and bioremediation. The "Biotechnology Instruction Module" is expected to help students to learn in a meaningful way the rapidly changing and renewed biotechnology issues, to foster knowledge and understanding of key issues, to promote socioscientific discourse in class, and to encourage higher order thinking skills. All the data show that the instructional module applied in the real classroom environment is successful in realizing the learning objectives of the subject of biotechnology.

In biotechnology education, practical laboratory courses are vital. In having these practical courses, a lot of time and monetary resources are needed, it also requires the presence of the teacher and students and all the necessary equipment, which is currently not allowed in the Philippines due to the pandemic restrictions. Biotech virtual laboratries are useful in this time but what are the different research studies that has been done regarding this tool and what elements are important in terms of instructional design and technology? In this review, different types of technology and instructional design were examined, and overview of the previous research were highlighted in this paper. The study revealed that virtual laboratory simulations can be equally effective or better than hands on activity and said to be more effective compared to traditional teaching method. It was also found out that when the traditional teaching methods and virtual simulation laboratories yields better results in terms of performance. The included studies in this review utilized 2D, 3D, and VR technologies in having the virtual laboratory for the past few years. The review paper also identified different designs for instructions such as scaffolding and IBL (inquiry-based learnings). Biotech Virtual labs can be used as an effective alternative or complementary tool to an actual or physical conduct of laboratory experiment.

This study aims to investigate the influence of teaching via educational films on science teacher candidates' perceptions of biotechnology applications. This is a mixed-methods study aiming to investigate the influence of teaching with educational films on science teacher candidates' perceptions of biotechnology applications. In the quantitative data collection process of the research, a single group pre-test / post-test experimental design was used. And the phenomenology method was used, on the other hand, to collect the qualitative data of the study. For this research, which aims to investigate the influence of teaching with educational films on science teacher candidates' perceptions of biotechnology applications, 32 second-year science teacher candidates at a state university in Ankara were recruited. Two data collection tools were used in the study. The perception scale for biotechnology applications developed by the researchers was used to collect the quantitative data of the study. While the interview form was used to collect the qualitative data of the study. According to the results the study found that teaching with educational films increased the perceptions of science teacher candidates about biotechnology applications. within the scope of the research, the question of whether teaching a lesson with educational films has an effect on changing their perceptions about the subject, and if so, how this change occurs, was asked during the interview stage, and it was found that the majority of the teacher candidates perceived a meaningful change. [The publication year (2022) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct publication year is 2023.]

The world is changing: both a conventional and a vaccine passport are now needed to travel internationally. Mask mandates, and social distancing are the new norm in a rapidly changing society. These measures were put in place to control the spread of the highly infectious and often fatal COVID-19, caused by a viral agent, a microorganism, a zoonosis, and the cause of death for over 6 million people around the world. Considering this, maintaining biosecurity is important around the world to ensure public health. Biosecurity in New Zealand supposes that people including young people understand different pests and diseases that can harm public health. This qualitative study was conducted to gauge the biosecurity knowledge of 171 young people (14-15-year-olds). Young people were tested on their knowledge about biosecurity related plants, animals, and microorganisms. This paper reports specifically on the results of knowledge of microorganisms of young people. Results show that negative anthropocentric views dominate adolescents understanding of microorganisms and anthropomorphism is widely used to explain microorganism activity. An educational programme, targeted at developing a conceptual understanding about microorganisms starting at primary education may help develop a more educated global citizen, one versed in understanding the biology of microorganisms.

This case study is based on a digital storytelling project conducted with first year Biotechnology with French students at National University of Ireland, Galway. Working in small groups, the students created digital stories in French based on forensic cases in which DNA profiling was used. The study was conducted while they were learning about DNA forensics in their mainstream programme. This study provides a practical example of how Digital Storytelling (DST) can be integrated as a teaching and learning tool into the Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) classroom within a higher education context. It highlights the potential of DST to develop students' language skills within this specialised context and facilitate the acquisition of the transferable skills needed to communicate effectively in an increasingly globalised society.

This study investigates the question of how Engineering education in the Nordic region responds to the challenge of educating future engineers who are ready for professional practice in a digital world. Particular interest is put on identifying who is responsible for the implementation of digital knowledge and what and how subject content is addressed. Our study draws on Bernstein's pedagogical device model (Bernstein, B. 2002. "Editorial: Basil Bernstein's Theory of Social Class, Educational Codes and Social Control." "British Journal of Sociology of Education" 23 (4): 525-526). The study focuses on the questions of if/how digital transformation leads to change of engineering education content and/or pedagogical approaches. Narratives of 20 university teachers have been collected and analysed. Findings reveal three areas of consideration; there is a connection between how digital knowledge is valued and how the subject is introduced in engineering education, differences in digital knowledge can be linked to the generation gap and, universities are seldom seen as the driving force for digital innovation. It is concluded that education must reflect on the purpose for which digitalisation takes place, continuous training targeting digital transformation should be offered to senior teachers and, universities need to provide increased focus and dedicated time for educational development.

Academic literacy skills are universally considered as a valuable and integral part of academic development in higher education, yet they often remain peripheral to or are completely absent from many qualifications. At the presently selected institution, there is little consensus on the most effective model to design for and implement as far as academic literacy is concerned, and whether this should be embedded within core curricula, or as a stand-alone, credit-bearing subject. Conspicuously absent in conversations on this matter however, is the student voice, which is what the present study seeks to draw on. An analysis of students' reflections on an integrated model of learning and teaching of academic literacy was evaluated, where the skills are taught within the context of an academic discipline. The academic literacy component was embedded within a single course taught in a Biotechnology qualification. Upon completion of the learning activities, ten students were interviewed, and a questionnaire was administered to a further fifteen students, to gauge feedback on the usefulness of the integrated model of academic literacy. We report that the pedagogy improved and enriched the overall learning experience. Students reflected that the approach enabled better access to Biotechnology content and made the discourse of the discipline more explicit, as they unlocked academic literacy skills, compared to if an academic literacy course was taken alone. More broadly, the study highlights the need to draw on student reflection and experiences in the design and implementation of pedagogies and the value of remaining responsive to student voices.

Purpose: This study aims to diagnose the perception, knowledge, awareness and position of the bioeconomy in university education and research. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a questionnaire survey conducted at universities in Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal (n = 464). The questionnaire consisted of open-ended, dichotomous and Likert-type questions. Variable frequency distribution methods and the non-parametric chi-square test were used to test the independence of the characteristics. The Cramer's V contingency coefficient was used to determine the degree of dependence between the variables. Findings: The researched academic community is dominated by a traditional approach to the bioeconomy, which relates to agriculture and ecological aspects. Respondents believe in the positive environmental impacts of the bioeconomy, while less often being aware of its importance from a socio-economic perspective. Insufficient teaching and research in the field of the bioeconomy can be widely observed. The presumed link between the existence of a bioeconomy strategy at national level and awareness of the bioeconomy was not confirmed. Research limitations/implications: The limited sample, the narrow geographical scope of the study does not allow for a comprehensive analysis of the topic. Another limitation is the lack of representativeness of the results in relation to all university representatives in the countries studied and the uneven composition of the samples. Originality/value: This study fills the knowledge gap about the status of the bioeconomy in European academic communities by analysing its perception among both teachers and students of social, natural and applied sciences.

Entrepreneurship skills are part of the essential skills in facing 21st-century challenges and demands. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the extent to which the empowerment of the creative entrepreneurship learning-based discovery skills (CEL-BaDiS Up) learning model can improve university students' science-based entrepreneurship (SciPreneur) skills on the topic of food biotechnology. This quasi-experimental research study employed a pretest-posttest control group design at a public university in Surakarta, Indonesia, in the 2020/2021 academic year, in which one class was as an experimental class using the CEL-BaDiS Up model, while the other class was an existing class utilizing a project-based learning (PjBL) model. Data were obtained through test instruments in the form of a performance assessment to measure SciPreneur skills, which had gone through expert validation, encompassing validation from education and evaluation experts, biotechnology experts, and certified natural science lecturers, and empirical validation tests had also been carried out. The results revealed that the effectiveness test score utilizing SEM from PLS software showed the effect of CEL-BaDiS Up (X1) on the SciPreneur skills (Y) variable of 2.105 > T-table (1.976). In addition, the original sample estimate value exhibited a positive value of 0.199, signifying the direction of the relationship between the CEL-BaDiS Up (X1) variable and the SciPreneur Skills (Y) variable was positive. Based on this study's results, it could be denoted that SciPreneur skills in the aspects of critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, collaborative skills, observational skills, and creativity and innovation could be improved effectively through the CEL-BaDiS Up model activities.

The science curriculum in the Turkish education system includes socioscientific issues (SSI) as a context for developing students' reasoning skills, scientific thinking habits, and decision-making skills from an early age. Conducting activities on real problems with teachers and pre-service teachers based on SSI and making decisions considering different dimensions in SSI can provide a better explanation and transfer of the content dimension of the subject. It was found that SSI studies are conducted with science teachers and pre-service science teachers in Türkiye. In this study, activities with different SSIs were organized with pre-service primary teachers, and the decisions of pre-service primary teachers on various socioscientific issues were evaluated considering different dimensions (sociology/culture, environment, economy, science, ethics/morality, and policy) using the SEE-SEP model. Nine different SSI scenarios were presented to 60 pre-service primary teachers in the Central Anatolian region of Türkiye, and they were asked to make a decision in dilemma situations and justify it. It was found that hydroelectric power plants (HEPP), mining, and electric vehicles are highly favored by pre-service primary teachers, while GMOs, cloning, and the establishment of industrial zones are not highly favoured, and they are undecided about biotechnology. It is concluded that the pre-service primary teachers' decisions to support various SSI are mainly economic and scientific, while the environmental and ethical/moral dimensions lead mainly to non-support and indecision.

Textbooks can have a fundamental and positive effect on both learning and teaching. As such, in order to understand how students structure concepts in their minds, it is necessary to analyze the structure in which those concepts presented in textbooks are described. This study examined a network of concepts used in the domain of biotechnology in the Iranian 12th grade biology textbook and investigated the alignment of science concepts used in its sub-domains. The findings of this study suggest that too many concepts, as well as unconnected ones, were used in biotechnology domain, which led to a complicated conceptual network. Therefore, this paper recommends that the number of biology concepts described in the later text books in the biotechnology domain at Iranian high schools should be reduced in order to facilitate a better formation of connections between concepts and their descriptions.

The rapid developments in biotechnology and its implications raise moral dilemmas for individuals and society. Therefore, bioethics education at all levels is necessary. Science teachers should inculcate moral values and ethics among students. However, studies on various aspects of curriculum-oriented moral education remain lacking, despite the growing focus on the prosocial and moral development of students. Moreover, most existing studies have not evaluated the effectiveness of moral education curricula in terms of both students' learning experiences and their learning results. In this light, the present study examined the growth of students' moral reasoning on the moral dilemmas of modern biotechnology applications. A total of 206 high school students participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to a bioethical enrichment module (n1 = 87) and an ordinary case-based module (n2 = 119). We compared the mean of moral reasoning scores before and after implementing the interventions between the two groups. The results showed that the means of the intervention group were higher than those of the ordinary group. Our intervention which integrated not only SSI-based teaching but also synthesized essential features of teaching bioethics explicitly could improve students' moral reasoning scores. The pedagogical implications were also discussed.

In this paper, we altered an in-person high school tissue engineering program to create a virtual course. Through this alteration, we aimed to show that online programs can still be engaging and at the same time provide greater accessibility and flexibility to students. This was achieved through utilizing Google classroom as a virtual platform for students to engage with course modules and assessments. After analyzing pre- and post-program survey responses in both the in-person and online offerings of the CardioStart program, it was found that students improved in their understanding of all of the tissue engineering topics that were introduced in the programs. Furthermore, when comparing the results from the in-person versus online offerings of the program, it was found that the level of student understanding and learning of these topics was similar across the in-person and online programs. We were also able to engage five times the number of students online as compared to the in-person program, which was conducted yearly for six summers. However, many students indicated that their experience would have been better if hands-on activities were included to supplement their knowledge of cell culture techniques after completing the course. The online program improved accessibility and scalability of the program compared to in-person workshops. Future work will consist of bridging this virtual course and the hands-on experiments performed during the in-person program to provide interested students access to laboratory experiences.

This paper explores a possible future of postdigital education in 2050 using the means of social science fiction. The first part of the paper introduces the shift from 20th century primacy of physics to 21st century primacy of biology with an accent to new postdigital--biodigital reconfigurations and challenges in and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The second part of the paper presents a fictional speech at the graduation ceremony of a fictional military academy in a fictional East Asian country in 2050. This fictional world is marked by global warfare and militarization, and addressed graduates are the first generation of artificially evolved graduates in human history. The third part of the paper interprets the fictional narrative, contextualizes it into educational challenges of today, and argues for a dialogical, humanistic conception of new postdigital education in a biotech future.

Instead of seeking the slick aesthetics of consumer-friendly creative stories, this paper ventures to the sublime of the incomprehensible and invites us to look into the abyss of education's possibilities. Drawing inspiration from Jeff Vandermeer's 2017 novel, "Borne," and filmmaker David Cronenberg's aesthetic, this paper aims to tell a story that unfetters easily compartmentalized notions of creativity in education. "Borne" tells the story of a young female scavenger who finds and proceeds to care for a sentient--and quite vocally curious--experimental biotech remain, while Cronenberg's films famously bridge science fiction and body horror. Popular culture, in identifying this aesthetic, developed the slang term "to Cronenberg," meaning to affectively highlight exaggerated mutations. To this end, this paper explores specific questions for educational futures: what does creativity mean for a Cronenberg pedagogy and how does the ethics of creativity inform future educational policy directions?

In theory, there is broad agreement among science education stakeholders that supporting the achievement of scientific literacy is crucial for citizens to make informed and critical decisions about socioscientific issues (SSI). Likewise, it is widely held that argumentation is an important component of scientific literacy. In practice, however, university science courses give undergraduates limited opportunities to strengthen their argumentation skills. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence to explore the use of drama to enrich students' argumentation about genetically modified (GM) foods. This study was conducted in Colombia where an eventual banning of GM crops is the subject of discussion in Congress. Data include the oral and written arguments produced by seventy-five students (55 females and 20 males, 18-24 years old) in a university science course during a complete drama-based teaching-learning sequence. Coding of students' responses to open-ended questions, Cohen's d effect size, and chi-square tests were performed. The outcomes suggest that the sequence effectively provided participants with explicit opportunities to enrich their GM food argumentation, producing arguments about their viewpoints and anticipating counterarguments. The evidence provided in this study contributes to the exploration of an emergent possibility in science education, namely, the use of drama as a platform for enriching students' argumentation about SSI.

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for analyzing classroom argumentation that includes a process of rebutting. A most commonly used framework to analyze argument in science education is Toulmin's Argumentation Pattern. It is useful for analyzing argumentation but it cannot represent the complexity of students' rebuttals during argumentations in the lessons. The study was conducted in three science stream classes of grade twelve students. The number of students in each class ranged from 39 to 40 students with a total of 119 students. The topics of the lessons were three biology contents that are closely related to socio-scientific issues, i.e., genetics, evolution, and biotechnology. Analyses of students' rebuttals show that the newly developed Rebuttal Analysis Framework generated a better picture of classroom argumentation. In terms of the level of students' argumentation, this study shows that argumentation-oriented lessons do not necessarily lead to the improvement of students' argumentation competence. The study also identifies four types of argumentation changes, namely inert, contrary, under two positions, and impartial.

Literature has been an imitator of life for generations on this earth, this literature has voiced the voiceless. Recent contemporary and postmodern literary theories have catered to burgeoning notions of logic that go beyond human survival on the planet. Science fiction is a genre of fiction that encompasses imaginative concepts like futuristic scientific-technological settings, faster than light, past and future spatial time travel, the existence of parallel universes and extraterrestrial life etc. An outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel acute respiratory syndrome of coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occurred in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The outbreak was declared as a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization on 30 January 2020. During this crisis, literature also plays an important role and apocalyptic literature has shown the disastrous consequences if humans didn't stop their behaviour and attitude towards the world. This research project aims to take literature out of the realm of imagination and present the harsh realities of culture. This study revealed how literature represents the truth of the world that science is learning every day, and how certain inventions can have harmful effects if they are not halted in time. This research analysed the novel "Oryx and Crake" in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and pointed a convincing glimpse of the future. Snowman (protagonist), known as Jimmy before humanity was overrun by science, is trying to live in a world where he might be the last human Snowman tells the tale of how Crake's scientific ambitions contributed to the abolition of human civilization. The researcher emphasizes how the reel depicts reality and how people are to blame for the degradation of their world.

In the natural science education study program of Universitas Hasyim Asy'ari Jombang UNHASY, textbooks based on biodiversity have never been developed and applied to biotechnology courses. This study aims to reveal the appropriateness of biodiverse entrepreneurship-based textbook based on validity and effectivity. This development model is ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation). The study instruments include validation sheets, learning outcomes assessment sheets, and entrepreneurship enthusiasm questionnaire. The validity percentage average by the material experts is 77, 08% with valid criteria. The validity percentage average by the media experts is 73, 6% with valid criteria. The result of the validity test by user, showed the average is 83, 4% with valid criteria. Next, the effectivity test showed that the classical completeness score is 73, 7% with good criteria and the percentage average of the entrepreneurship enthusiasm is 83, 95% with high criteria. It is concluded that the biodiverse entrepreneurship-based textbook is effective for developing students' entrepreneurship enthusiasm.

While focus group discussions have become popular across the communication research field, some researchers have pointed out the importance of studying group interactions within focus groups. However, most researchers used a qualitative approach and mostly explored the interaction between participants or between participants and the moderator. This study claimed there might be a third and unobservable interaction that occurs between participants and structured discussion topics. An affiliation network in social network analysis was applied to investigate this phenomenon among eight groups of existing focus group conversations. By affiliation network data and network visualization, this study demonstrated diverse structures between groups. The interaction between participants and discussion topics was significantly different between at least two groups. The results showed that social network analysis could be a tool to help examine focus group interactions from qualitative data, and the interaction between participants and discussion topics could be a potential third interaction in focus group studies. This study is limited by comparing the mean difference between groups. Future research may examine short- and long-term causal effects of group interaction on participation or attitude changes after focus group discussions.

Considering the recent rapid developments in science and technology, it is quite important for individuals to be able to make decisions about their own future and their children's future for the society in which they live and to know how to establish a balance of risk and decision. For this reason, teacher training programs should be planned to internalize pre-service teachers' awareness of responsibility. Regarding this point, the development of pre-service science teachers' bioethical values was examined on a class level basis using survey research. Research sample consisted total of 286 pre-service teachers of Science Teacher Training Program. Bioethical Values Questionnaire was applied to determine pre-service teachers' bioethical values. As a result of analyses, it was determined that pre-service teachers' bioethical values increased according to their class levels they attended. It was stated that pre-service science teachers' bioethical values related to sub-dimensions of "Benefits of Biotechnology Applications", "Science and Ethics", "Reproductive Technologies and Cloning" and "Control of Genetic Interventions" were increased based on participants' class levels. In addition, the results of the study revealed that pre-service teachers also had some concerns about the benefits of biotechnology applications.

The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two learning methodologies in a Plant Tissue Culture course of a Biotechnology degree--lecture-based and hybrid project-based learning--in which a project assignment was included. The effectiveness of these two systems was compared based on the students' knowledge acquisition and the perception of their satisfaction. In this study, we evaluated the scores obtained by students in a written exam and the results of a satisfaction survey. The assessment showed that students attained improved marks in the written exam after being taught using the hybrid method. The incorporation of the project assignment in the Plant Tissue Culture program also improved the general perception that the students had of the course. The project assignment allowed the students to achieve new learning outcomes directly related to experimental work and the scientific method. The teachers perceived the hybrid project-based learning method positively, as students not only improved their knowledge gain, but were also more involved in the course.

This study examined Saudi secondary students' and science teachers' knowledge of, and attitudes towards, biotechnology. A mixed methodology approach (i.e., incorporating semi-structured interviews and questionnaires) was utilised. A questionnaire was provided to 138 Saudi students (44 grade 10 students, 45 grade 11 students, and 49 grade 12 students) and 75 Saudi science teachers; in addition, a semi-structured interview was carried out with 10 of these science teachers to explore their opinions on biotechnology. The questionnaire was a Likert scale survey comprising 43 questions. Fifteen of these questions (i.e., the Biotechnology Knowledge Questionnaire, BKQ) were linked to biotechnological knowledge as a way to determine the extent of the secondary students' and science teachers' knowledge about biotechnology and how it is used; a further 28 questions were added to fulfil the above objective. The findings from this research indicate a limited awareness of biotechnology among Saudi students and science teachers. Furthermore, most of the interviewed educators agree that the Saudi science curriculum insufficiently addresses the most important issues in biotechnology. In order to increase their awareness, students need to be introduced to the subject of biotechnology within an overarching Saudi science education curriculum.

Teaching biomedical technology is critical for the success of research of both domestic and international postgraduate students (DPSs and IPSs). However, difference in the learning characteristics between the two cohorts as well as appropriate teaching modality remains largely unexplored. In the present work, we studied these issues by recruiting 33 IPSs and 32 DPSs who selected the course of 'Patch-Clamp Technique and Its Application in Life Science Research' at Harbin Medical University in China in 2019. Questionnaires were performed to investigate their learning obstacles and style preferences. Correspondingly, we designed a new teaching modality, i.e. lecture enriched with practicum, research proposal and post-course advice (LEPPA in brief) and tested its effect. This modality was positively evaluated by all the IPSs and 90% of the DPSs. The LEPPA can efficiently resolve the concerns of both IPSs and DPSs while promoting their transition from undergraduates to research students.

Human ageing and age-associated diseases are among the greatest challenges and financial burdens faced by developed countries. Unfortunately, undergraduate students often do not experience any laboratory training in ageing research in the current laboratory curriculum of majors in biology, biotechnology, or medicine. In this study, we developed and implemented a 12-week laboratory course for biotechnology undergraduates in which "Drosophila melanogaster" is used as the model organism to scaffold the understanding of the basic concept and process of ageing research. Students worked in teams of three to conduct lifespan analyses based on the use of selected dietary supplements on "Drosophila melanogaster." By integrating abstract knowledge and practice in the process of scientific research, students gained hands-on experience in lab techniques while learning about the principle and process of ageing research. The learning outcomes demonstrated that students substantially enhanced their understanding of how lifespan assays could be used to evaluate whether a certain dietary supplement has an anti-ageing effect. Overall, the course was very effective for helping biotechnology undergraduates learn the theory and application of basic ageing research, while also yielding positive effects in developing confidence and scientific skills for future work in research.

As a universal and extensively adopted technique, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) can be used to detect and quantify small molecules in many applications both clinical and analytical. However, generally, students experiment mechanically using commercial ELISA kits according to the instructions and eventually produce a standard curve to calculate the concentration of the sample to be measured, cannot understand the critical factors and process of method establishment. This study systematically introduced undergraduates to using the pathogen-specific antigen and establishing an indirect ELISA method to detect the diagnostic target pathogen "Burkholderia pseudomallei." This course aimed to develop the experimental skills of the students and improve their scientific research knowledge, which fully embody the organic combination of scientific research and teaching. Students independently selected the diagnostic antigen target of interest, obtained the antigen proteins using genetic engineering techniques, and established an ELISA method through a series of conditional optimization experiments. In addition, typical student-generated data, experimental methods, and a student feedback interpretation are presented in this study. Overall, the students were able to combine abstract knowledge with practice and understand the principles and applications of antigen--antibody interactions, thus enabling them to gain practical experience in molecular biology techniques, and learn how to use this principle to establish an ELISA method for detecting infectious diseases.

Purpose: Amidst continued calls for the democratization of access to higher education for historically underrepresented populations alongside the first global health crisis in a century lies the opportunity to address persistent societal needs: increasing access for underrepresented minority students to educational pathways that lead to careers in lucrative fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Design/methodology/approach: Student participants enrolled in the biotechnology pathway Associates, Bachelors and Masters programs share programmatic experience in an accelerated biotechnology program through a bi-annual survey grounded in the central tenets of social-cognitive career theory aimed at understanding requisite academic, social and financial support for student success. Findings: The pathway program described in this paper emerged to address the need to support underrepresented students in degree attainment and taking on roles in the growing field of biotechnology through a novel, multi-degree, multi-institutional pathway to STEM degree attainment and career success. Social implications: This work has advanced understanding about how to effectively align higher education institutions with each other and with evolving STEM labor market demands while documenting the impact of essential academic, career and social supports recognized in the literature as high impact practices in broadening participation and increasing retention of underrepresented minority students in lucrative STEM careers. Originality/value: Pathway programs which best support student success include robust mentoring, experiential learning and robust student scholarship support, part of the design of this unique pathway program. The authors share how this program utilizes high impact practices to provide low-income, underrepresented minority students with supportive, accelerated biotechnology degrees in preparation for success in the job market. What's more, of all our BS-level graduates thus far, 100% are employed and 93% within the biotechnology field. For many, the opportunity to raise their family out of poverty via a stable, high paying job is directly tied to their successes within this program.

Multiple choice results are inherently probabilistic outcomes, as correct responses reflect a combination of knowledge and guessing, while incorrect responses additionally reflect blunder, a confidently committed mistake. To objectively resolve knowledge from responses in an MC test structure, we evaluated probabilistic models that explicitly account for guessing, knowledge, and blunder using eight assessments (>9,000 responses) from an undergraduate biotechnology curriculum. A Bayesian implementation of the models, aimed at assessing their robustness to prior beliefs in examinee knowledge, showed that explicit estimators of knowledge are markedly sensitive to prior beliefs with scores as sole input. To overcome this limitation, we examined self-ranked confidence as a proxy knowledge indicator. For our test set, three levels of confidence resolved test performance. Responses rated as least confident were correct more frequently than expected from random selection, reflecting partial knowledge, but were balanced by blunder among the most confident responses. By translating evidence-based guessing and blunder rates to pass marks that statistically qualify a desired level of examinee knowledge, our approach finds practical utility in test analysis and design.

This article describes a comprehensive practical laboratory method for developing an enzyme to more easily measure glyphosate levels in solution. Through this article, undergraduate students of biology majors can conduct research experiments in critical fields by utilizing various techniques, such as chemiluminescence (CL) biosensors with engineered enzymes and are guided in molecular biology laboratories. A glyphosate oxidase mutant library was constructed by DNA shuffling, and a glyphosate oxidase variant with increased glyphosate degradation activity was selected by using a high-throughput screening assay. Following protein overexpression in "Escherichia coli" (DE3) and purification by affinity chromatography, the glyphosate oxidase variant protein combined with luminol-H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] reaction was constructed as a new CL biosensor for detecting glyphosate in soils.

This study describes student interest in the agricultural content pathways established by the National Council for Agricultural Education. Differences exist between male and female students concerning curriculum choices in agriculture, food, and natural resources. Male students were most interested in food products and processing systems, while females averaged the highest interest in animal systems. Females were significantly more interested in animal systems. Males were more interested in power, structural, and technical systems, biotechnology, food products and processing, and agribusiness systems. When considering the students' race and ethnic background, Native Americans or Alaska Natives reported the most interest in animal systems. Asian students reported the highest interest in natural resource systems. African American students averaged the highest interest in power, structural and technical systems. White Non-Hispanic students reported the highest interest in animal systems. White Hispanic students reported the highest average interest in natural resources. White Non-Hispanic students were significantly more interested in agribusiness systems, animal systems, food products, and processing systems than were African American students. Native American or Alaskan Native students were significantly more interested in animal systems than African American students. This study concluded that male and female students value agricultural curriculum content differently and that the differences were significant in most agricultural content pathways. Students of different races and ethnic backgrounds value agricultural content pathways differently, but most of these differences were insignificant.

The call to increase student interest in science and related careers continues to receive national attention in the United States. While many current efforts have focused on infrastructure support and innovative pedagogies to better reach and engage students, research suggests that having a career role model can influence adolescents' interest in and choices of science courses and career pathways. This exploratory study investigated the impact of a week-long online biotechnology program called Biotech in Action (BIA) that featured career role modeling and authentic science learning. Students were engaged in career modeling sessions with multiple professionals working in related STEM fields while learning life sciences within authentic biotechnology research contexts. In total, over 400 high school students participated in BIA. The results showed that students felt they developed a better understanding of the biotechnology field and became more cognizant about steps to achieve their future career goals after BIA. Many students reported that the interactions with career role models and learning about their educational and professional pathways helped demystify science career fields. Overall, this research provides new insights to curriculum designers and researchers on integrating career role modeling and authentic learning to spark and sustain student interest in science.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the McWane Science Center have partnered for over 20 years to provide secondary students in Alabama opportunities to conduct inquiry-based, standards-aligned science labs. LabWorks (middle school) and GENEius (high school) programs offer multiple research laboratory experiences in which students explore molecular biology, physical science, genetics, engineering, anatomy, and forensic science, with associated summer professional development for teachers: BioTeach and GeoTeach. These programs each attract 3,000-4,000 participants annually. This partnership has been synergistic, allowing the science center to offer high-level secondary science programming, while giving the university a conduit into the K-12 world. Originally, these programs were developed through Howard Hughes Medical Institute funding, and then expanded through support from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Education. These programs have excited secondary students and teachers about science education and careers, provided authentic science experiences, and given teachers the opportunity to experience a model of learning that engages students in "real science" closely linked to their curriculum. For over 20 years, this unique, evolving partnership has increased the understanding of over 90,000 students and teachers relative to the opportunities that science and STEM careers hold.

Boston University's (BU) CityLab program was created in 1991 as a partnership between faculty members of BU's School of Medicine and School of Education in response to the first call for proposals under the Science Education Partnership Awards initiative of the National Institutes of Health. CityLab's founders recognized the need for CityLab, a centrally-located facility for pre-college teachers and students to explore the burgeoning world of biotechnology. The mission has always been to share the excitement of science with students and teachers by engaging them in hands-on laboratory experiences, thereby fostering the development of a robust pool of scientists and physicians and a scientifically-literate populace. In order to reach more schools, particularly those that could not come to CityLab's facility in Boston, the CityLab team pioneered the mobile science laboratory concept with the launch of its MobileLab in 1998. Both CityLab and MobileLab have been replicated in the U.S. and abroad. CityLab has sustained itself because it has benefited from stable leadership, built and disseminated models for hands-on STEM education, embraced innovation by creating new programs to serve additional populations, and developed diverse funding streams. The CityLab program has been remarkable in its outreach, success, and longevity.

This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of Creative Entrepreneurship Learning Based on Discovery Skills (CEL-BaDiS) in improving students' creative-thinking skills on the simple food biotechnology topic. This research is a quasiexperiment using the pretest-posttest control-group design in a state university in Surakarta, Indonesia in the 2018/2019 academic year with one class as an experimental class using the CEL-BaDiS model and the other class as the existing class using a Project-Based Learning (PjBL) model. The data were obtained using an essay test instrument to measure creative-thinking skills through expert validations, namely validation from the education and evaluation expert, biotechnology expert, and certified science lecturer, as well as an empirical validation through trials. The results demonstrated that the average score of the score gain calculation of creative-thinking skills in the experimental class was higher by 0.65 compared to that of the existing class of 0.52. The independent sample t-test shows the difference between the experimental class and the existing class with the t value of 2.1491. Based on the findings, it can be summed up that creative-thinking skills in flexibility, fluency, originality, and elaboration aspects can be improved effectively through the activities of the CEL-BaDiS model.

The BIOSEL (Biotechnology Series Learning) model is a learning model that provides opportunities for students to assemble learning through a conceptual description of the coherent and precise steps of Biotechnology implementation. The purpose of this research was to analyze validity and practicality of the BIOSEL model to improve the concept mastery and scientific creativity of junior high school students. This research was conducted in the Odd Semester of the 2018/2019 Academic Year at Ex Residency of Besuki Junior High Schools (Jember, Banyuwangi, Bondowoso, and Situbondo) which involved 140 junior high school students of class XI through purposive sampling. The validity instruments used were validation sheets for learning and material content experts and for user. Meanwhile, the practicality instrument used was an observation sheet focusing on learning implementation, relevant student activities, and obstacles found during learning. The results of BIOSEL model validity showed that the model had the content, construct, and face validities that had fulfilled the feasibility to apply in the learning process. In addition, the results of BIOSEL model practicality included implementation of each syntax with an average value of < 3.6 as a very good category, student activities with an average value of < 85% as a very active category, and the obstacles found that had the appropriate alternative solutions.

The aim of this study is to determine the trend of studies in the laboratory and put the current situation in Turkey. For this purpose, document analysis technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. The data group of the research consists of thesis studies on laboratories in our country between 1999-2017. Theses in the fields of science, physics, chemistry, and biology have been determined and themes and sub-themes have been created through the keywords of these theses. Then, frequency tables were created according to the themes and sub-themes created. According to the findings obtained, it was seen that the traditional laboratory approach and inquiry-based laboratory approaches are compared in the studies. It was determined that the studies were done on physics subjects and it was determined that complementary measurement and evaluation studies performed for performance evaluation were used in very few numbers. In addition, it was concluded that the keywords did not give enough information about the studies. In this context, it can be suggested to examine the effectiveness of these approaches according to each other and experiment types by examining the approaches in which students can be more active in laboratories.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)-based biotechnology module equipped with flash animation for learning biology in high school. This research was conducted in a high school, involving 32 students of Year XII. The research design was the design model for development of R2D2 with one group pretest-posttest design as effectiveness tests. This study utilized a learning design, biotechnology modules equipped with flash animation, instrument testing, validation sheet and questionnaire as research instruments. Data validation and the questionnaire results were then converted into qualitative data into a category. The effectiveness test data were analyzed using the N gain. The results of the validation material, media and users indicated that the module was valid with the final score of 89.85. Students' responses to the module in terms of readability, clarity of presentation, the attractiveness and usefulness of the results were in very good category (81.2%). The effectiveness test showed that result of post-test greater than pre-test and the value of N gain were in the high category (0.72).

Provision of teaching materials in term of module can be an alternative to meet the learning needs of science. The study aimed at describing science module constructed based on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) equipped with valid and effective biotechnology games for learning science in junior high school. This Research and Development (R&D) was developed using the 4D model (Thiagarajan). This research was conducted at MTsN (State of Islamic Secondary School) 2 Jember, involved 30 IX graders. The design used was one group pretest-posttest design as the test of effectiveness. This study used STEAM-based science module equipped with biotechnology games, test, and validation sheets as research instruments. The validation results by experts were converted into categories. The effectivity test data was analyzed using N-gain and paired samples t-test. The average of validation results of material, media, and users was 87.17 (very valid). The effectivity test results showed the increase of students' cognitive learning outcome [N-gain value = 0.72 (high category), t(29) = 9.030, p < 0.05]. Therefore, the module developed is valid and effective in improving the learning of biotechnology science which means that the use of this module is recommended to be implemented in biotechnology learning process.

The difficulty of entering the workforce requires the world of education to change the paradigm of thinking students from job-seeking cultures become job creators or entrepreneurs. Islamic boarding schools are educational institutions that can provide learning experiences directly to students or students. Islamic boarding school graduates do not all go to college and work immediately while the desire or interest of students for entrepreneurship is still very low. Islamic boarding schools must be able to equip students or santri by inserting learning activities with entrepreneurship education to equip them with skills. The purpose of this study was to determine the success of the implementation of learning innovations through biointpreneurship in increasing interest in entrepreneurship in Islamic boarding schools so as to inspire students to create their own work opportunities with skills in making biotech products in biology. This research is a research development (R & D). The development of learning is oriented towards making biotechnology products by adding entrepreneurial concepts and then experimenting with the experimental class. Data is taken by observation and questionnaire. Data testing techniques using t-paired samples test. The results showed that there was an increase in interest in entrepreneurship from before and after the application of learning with bioentrepreneurship.

Today, Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is a popular socio-scientific issue and views on this issue directly shape people's behaviors. This study aims to investigate university students' views about GMOs. A total of 200 university students from different faculties of a state university participated in the study. For data collection purposes face-to-face interviews developed by the researchers were conducted with the participant students. The convenience sampling technique and the maximum variation sampling technique were systematically used together to determine the participants of the study. The study was designed as a holistic single-case study. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and the content analysis. NVivo12 software, a qualitative analysis software, was used to organize the data and the results of the analyses were presented via frequencies and percentages. Quotes from the themes were also included. The results revealed that the university students' sources of information regarding the issue were mainly news, social media, and the school courses. It was nonetheless found out that they did not rely on news and social media. They indicated many food products with GMOs were plants in particular. However, they are confused about situations like growing the aforementioned products in periods different than seasonal periods and using hormones and additives with modifying genetics. In accordance with the content analysis the views of the participants were collected under five different themes: Genetically Modified Products, Purposes of GMO Use, GMO's differences from other products, advantages of GMOs, and damages of GMOs.

To support science education, more than 350 student labs have been established throughout Germany in the last decades. The goal of these out-of-school facilities is to foster the students' scientific literacy and promote interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) by providing the students with the opportunity to conduct experiments. Primarily, they are located at universities, other research facilities, or in companies. The present study investigates whether an experimental workshop dealing with DNA in the context of a lab-on-tour model can yield the same motivational outcome in terms of situational interest and flow experience as the same workshop held at a school. 110 high school students participated in the workshop at the authentic biotechnology laboratory "teutolab"-biotechnologie at Bielefeld University; 177 high school students participated in the workshop, with the same equipment and the same tutors in their biology classrooms at school. The results of (M)ANOVA showed no differences between the groups with respect to the students' perception of the motivational variables (situational interest and flow experience). In addition, the study investigated the influence of personality traits: Individual interest was found to have an impact on situational interest and flow experience. In contrast, gender and a student's biology grade were not found to influence these motivational variables. In conclusion, an experimental workshop designed for a student lab can be provided as a lab-on-tour model with the same motivational outcome. The professional and technical expertise of specialists in lab work can be used as a valuable support for the educational system.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of making argumentation practices on the conceptual understanding level and decision making styles of pre-service science teachers on socio-scientific subject, genetically modified organisms (GMO). The sample of this study consists of 48 Pre-service science teachers studying in the 2nd grade of the science education department, Faculty of Education, in the 2018-1019 academic year. 24 of the pre-service science teachers are the experimental group and 24 of them are the control group. Case study was used in the study. In the experimental group; within the scope of 5E teaching model; with materials and animations containing Toulmin's argumentation model; the control group was processed with traditional teaching methods. Conceptual understanding levels of Pre-service science teachers, who constitute the experimental and control groups, about GMO before and after the teaching activities, were measured. As a data collection tool in the research; the open-ended question and Likert type scale consisting of 12 items, which are based on GMO, based on expert opinions and have scope validity, is the Knowledge Test on Genetically Modified Products of University Students (KTGMOUS), pre-test and post-test. It was applied as a test. In addition, a five-point Likert-type "Decision-Making Styles Scale" consisting of 24 items was applied to the experimental group in the form of pre-test and posttest. Findings obtained at the end of the study are presented.