Fourth-grade students at Cutchogue East Elementary School in Cutchogue, New York learned about dependence on natural resources for survival on a visit to Downs Farm Preserve at Fort Corchaug. This is a slice of preserved land just eight minutes beyond the classroom walls. Its inhabitants date back to the first hunting and gathering settlers--the…

Microorganisms can be used to produce a variety of chemicals such as drugs, enzymes, and fuels from different sugars. Traditionally, these processes have involved a single feedstock, most often glucose. More recently, significant effort has been devoted towards developing processes that directly use plant-based material as the feedstock. One…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether increased levels of UV radiation and temperatures from global warming have a significant impact on dissolved oxygen (DO) output from the alga, "Euglena," which affects other organisms in the ecosystem. The original hypothesis stated that if temperature was increased along with exposure time to…

Urban development, the pinnacle of human land use, has drastic effects on native ecosystems and the species they contain. For the first time in recorded history there are more people living in cities than in the rural areas surrounding them. Furthermore, the global rate of urbanization continues increasing; raising serious concerns for earth's…

The study of naturopathy in Australia has undergone a number of significant changes that have impacted dramatically on scholarly and academic practice. Naturopathic education has shifted from apprenticeship style with a charismatic teacher, to several private colleges offering advanced diplomas/degrees with Government accreditation, and into the…

Preparing the technology proficient learners to meet the needs of 21st century has emerged as a critical challenge facing education in our country. The teacher has to prepare the young generation to fit in to the technology intensive society of the 21st century. Instructional design (ID) is the systematic process of planning events to facilitate…

In this paper there is a critical overview of the role of analogies as tools for meaning making in science education, their advantages and disadvantages. Two empirical studies on the use of analogies in primary classrooms are discussed and analysed. In the first study, the "string circuit" analogy was used in the teaching of electric circuits with…

The US Botanical Capacity Assessment Project (BCAP) was initiated as a first step to gauge the nation's collective ability to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century. The project, in which the authors of this article are involved, specifically aimed to identify multisector contributions to and gaps in botanical capacity in order to…

The authors' school's second-grade science curriculum has always focused on trees and their role in the ecosystem during the first half of the year. Curricular goals have largely emphasized what students ought to "know" by the end of the semester, such as identifying the parts of a tree, describing the process of photosynthesis, and…

A leaf is a fundamental unit in botany and understanding what constitutes a leaf is fundamental to many plant science activities. My observations and subsequent testing indicated that many students could not confidently and consistently recognise a leaf from a leaflet, or recognise basic leaf arrangements and the various types of compound or…

Bluebells in the woods and by the roadside in May are a colourful reminder that spring has arrived and summer is on the way. This is an ideal time to make the most of the outdoor classroom and enthuse children, with the opportunities for new learning experiences and observing the outdoors, finding answers to questions such as "Are all…

This study investigated plant and animal photographs in elementary science textbooks to discern whether there were disparities in the number of plant and animal photographs or in how those photographs were labelled. We examined the Life Science sections of two nationally syndicated (USA) textbook series. For each text, we identified the…

This paper is in part, a reflective analysis of 15 years living with the state-recognized Florida Creek Indians of the Central Florida Muskogee Creek Tribe and the Pasco Band of Creek Indians, formally of Lacoochee, FL and currently in Brooksville, FL, respectively. It addresses the power structures within tribal organizations. Selected Creek…

A garden can be a magical place for young children and offers them rich and engaging learning experiences as they interact with a variety of plants and wildlife throughout the year. This book guides you through the process of creating a garden, however small, for young children. It looks at the impact a garden area can have on children's overall…

Students often prefer to study animals rather than plants, because they see plants as passive, less interesting organisms. This paper proposes a simple hands-on laboratory exercise for high-school students (grade 12) to arouse their interest in learning about plants and to demonstrate to them that plants are active organisms capable of defending…