Demonstrate and evaluate lab activity about antimicrobial sensitivity.

Lab activities in primary and secondary education are essential to promote students' scientific skills. In this article, we propose a lab activity where different antimicrobial agents are used to the microorganisms' susceptibility to them. Moreover, we produce a rubric, a scoring tool, to quantify students' replies and evaluate the whole activity. We concluded that using the scoring rubric, we have been able to evaluate students' replies and students' benefit.

Development and validation of a framework for the assessment of school curricula on the presence of evolutionary concepts (FACE).

Evolution is a key concept of biology, fundamental to understand the world and address important societal problems, but research studies show that it is still not widely understood and accepted. Several factors are known to influence evolution acceptance and understanding, but little information is available regarding the impacts of the curriculum on these aspects. Very few curricula have been examined to assess the coverage of biological evolution. The available studies do not allow comparative analyses, due to the different methodologies employed by the authors. However, such an analysis would be useful for research purposes and for the development of appropriate educational policies to address the problem of a lack of evolution acceptance in some countries. In this paper we describe the steps through which we developed a valid and reliable instrument for curricula analysis known as FACE: "Framework to Assess the Coverage of biological Evolution by school curricula." This framework was developed based on the "Understanding Evolution Conceptual Framework" (UECF). After an initial pilot study, our framework was reformulated based on identified issues and experts' opinions. To generate validity and reliability evidence in support of the framework, it was applied to four European countries' curricula. For each country, a team of a minimum of two national and two foreign coders worked independently to assess the curriculum using this framework for content analysis. Reliability evidence was estimated using Krippendorf's alpha and resulted in appropriate values for coding the examined curricula. Some issues that coders faced during the analysis were discussed and, to ensure better reliability for future researchers, additional guidelines and one extra category were included in the framework. The final version of the framework includes six categories and 34 subcategories. FACE is a useful tool for the analysis and the comparison of curricula and school textbooks regarding the coverage of evolution, and such results can guide curricula development.

Using Aipotu simulation to promote evolution learning and teaching.

In this article, we present the simulation software called Aipotu and we propose a way to use it in order to promote Evolution Learning and Teaching. Through activities, included in a worksheet, students gradually gain new knowledge not only on evolution and its genetic base but on the concept of simulation and scientific modeling as well. Aipotu is offered free of charge through a web page, so that it can be used at any time and place.

Modeling of DNA and protein organization levels with Cn3D software.

The molecular structure of living organisms and the complex interactions amongst its components are the basis for the diversity observed at the macroscopic level. Proteins and nucleic acids are some of the major molecular components, and play a key role in several biological functions, such as those of development and evolution. This article presents an educational, bioinformatics-based process, designed to enhance a better understanding of the structure of the above molecules. In addition, by using selected protein molecules, it attempts to clarify protein organization levels and how these are related with the structural and functional diversity, which define the biodiversity of living organisms at the macroscopic level. In the framework of this project, molecular modeling has been performed using the Cn3D software, created by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Cn3D is a user friendly application, which is easy for students to get familiar with quickly. Our suggested process may be easily enriched by a multitude of protein, nucleic acid, or other molecule structures, which are freely accessible at NCBI website. The described process has been implemented by students (n = 225) of the 5th high school grade, in two high schools in Greece. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):126-129, 2017.