Science education often fails to address the actual range of adolescents' interests. One such interest is music. Research shows that young people devote large amounts of time and money to music. By tapping into students' interest in music, affective outcomes can be achieved in the biology classroom. This article describes a project-based learning activity that studies the influence of music on seed germination. Part of the student project is to conduct a literature search on the influence of music on plants, and possibly also on people (its biological, psychological, and social effects). The project is contextualized in the indigenous practice of making music while planting crops. There is a growing body of literature suggesting that music can improve crop yields. Students are required to follow the key features of project-based learning to plan and execute an inquiry to determine the influence of music on seed germination. Students undertaking a literature study will find research showing that music affects the viscosity of the plasmalemma and the availability of intercellular Ca 2+ , which, in turn, influences the activity of membrane-based enzymes. This can lead to larger amounts of water, nutrients, and growth regulators entering the plant cell. The article also reflects on data obtained from high school biology students as they engage in the learning activity.

Classroom action research (CAR) represents a midpoint between teacher reflection at one end and traditional educational research at the other. CAR is a process in which a teacher identifies problems in the context of his or her own classroom and then engages in investigative methods to address the problems. Teachers sometimes shy away from CAR, due to their lack of training in research methodology, time constraints, and the fact that not all schools value or support such a scholarship of teaching and learning. I show how cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) could be used as a practical lens when engaging in CAR, and how this could help biology teachers become more reflective practitioners by using a rigorous tool to analyze data. Third-generation CHAT is explained and the reader is shown, through a practical example, how research findings could be analyzed and interpreted through a CHAT lens.

Teachers often wonder how best to teach the myriad of social and ethical issues that are encompassed in the biology curriculum. One can just think of issues such as genetic engineering, evolution (and the continuous evolution-creationism debate), research ethics (the haunting book The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks comes to mind), human population studies, health care and nutrition, sexuality and gender, drugs, environmental pollution, to name but a few. In this article we highlight the advantages of puppetry in the biology classroom, as an engaging pedagogy that could assist conceptual change in students. We explore the dual epistemological border-crossing that takes place in the classroom when puppetry is used: (a) the integration of societal and ethical issues within the biology curriculum, and (b) the infusion of art and drama within the natural sciences. We reflect on our own classroom action research on puppetry, and share our main findings. We also provide practical guidelines for using puppetry as pedagogy within a problem-based and cooperative learning setting.

This article describes a problem-based, cooperative learning activity, where students investigate the role of ethylene in flower senescence. The cooperative learning activity is contextualized in an authentic problem experienced in the cut flower industry: how can the shelf life of cut flowers be prolonged? We describe the procedure for conducting the experiment and show the affectiveness of contextualized science that includes indigenous knowledge—an approach that Gibbons calls “mode 2 knowledge production.” In addition we also give suggestions on how this type of problem-based, cooperative teaching-learning activity can be used in a school biology classroom.

This article provides ideas for a laboratory investigation into the role of the plant hormone ethylene in seed germination. The role of ethylene is explored from various perspectives, namely from an indigenous knowledge perspective, but also from a botany and economic angle. This article shows how students could test indigenous knowledge claims related to ethylene in the school laboratory.

Recent research has identified a karrikin (a butenolide derative) known as 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one, formed from burning cellulose, that stimulates seed germination. Here, I present ideas on how to investigate the influence of karrikins on seed germination in the laboratory.

On the basis of an ethnobotanical survey that we conducted on plant use by descendents of the Khoi-San people in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa, we introduce biology teachers to an adapted rapid-appraisal methodology that can be followed in the life sciences classroom. Such a project addresses a number of the content standards in the National Science Education Standards, such as science as a human endeavour, the nature of science, and the history of science. We also shed light on ethical considerations when engaging in an ethnobotanical survey, and address, among other issues, intellectual property rights. Examples are provided of how teachers in the United States can sensitize students to the rich ethnobotanical heritage of their country.