Laboratory experience and skills are not only essential for success in science studies, but are the most exciting and rewarding aspects of science for students. As a result, many biology teachers have become critical of the efficacy of cookbook-type laboratory activities as well as the purposes, practices, and learning outcomes of lab experiments conducted in this regimented way. In our proposed lab approach, instead of asking students to compare and contrast living cells from various kingdoms, we ask that students design and conduct lab experiments to obtain the empirical evidence to disprove both Schleiden's and Schwann's generalizations that all living things, including plants and animals, are composed of identical units called “cells.” Students must then write up their findings in a paper intended for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Through this process, students learn the scientific method; concepts such as testability, falsifiability, and repeatability; and the requirements of communicating scientific findings through peer-reviewed publication.

Implementation of a guided-inquiry lab in introductory biology classes, along with scaffolded instruction, improved students' understanding of the scientific method, their ability to design an experiment, and their identification of experimental variables. Pre- and postassessments from experimental versus control sections over three semesters showed that most students improved in their understanding of the scientific method and experimental design skills. Students exhibited improvement in their ability to create hypotheses and correctly identify controls and dependent variables. However, students in both groups struggled with the identification of independent variable and controlled variables.

The educational video game Mission Biotech provides a virtual experience for students in learning biotechnology materials and tools. This study explores the use of Mission Biotech and the associated curriculum by three high school teachers and their students. All three classes demonstrated gains on a curriculum-aligned test of science content. Students from two of the classes showed gains on a standards-aligned test of content; students from the third class did not demonstrate statistically significant gains. This result is attributable to a ceiling effect. The results support the idea that video games can be useful in classroom contexts. No statistically significant changes were found when looking at how the game affected student attitudes toward science and science careers.

Students are provided with a mystery concerning dogs that are paralyzed. This motivates a laboratory exercise to measure parameters from the dog's “blood” to determine whether the paralysis is due to pesticide poisoning or an autoimmune attack on nerve myelin. Most of the materials are available from the grocery store. The real-world nature of the problem, and the mystery, engages the students in thinking about nerve, muscle, and immune system function. Alternative versions require less familiarity with physiology and can be used as engagement activities to encourage learning laboratory skills and experimental design or as motivation for learning nerve and muscle physiology.

Populations of the Eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, are widespread throughout most of the eastern United States. Subterranean termites have the ability to survive flooding conditions by lowering their metabolism. This lesson investigates the connection between the ability of termites to lower their metabolism to survive floods and their feeding behavior. Using an incubator, Petri dishes, and different types of mulch, termite consumption can be measured and compared. These results can be analyzed with a simple statistical test to look for significance.

Predator—prey dynamics are an important concept in ecology, often serving as an introduction to the field of community ecology. However, these dynamics are difficult for students to observe directly. We describe a methodology that employs model caterpillars made of clay to estimate rates of predator attack on a prey species. This approach can be implemented as a field laboratory in almost any natural or seminatural setting, and is designed to allow educators to pursue any number of student-generated hypotheses representing varying degrees of scientific sophistication ranging from middle school to college level.

“What is life?” This deceptively simple question lies at the heart of biology. In this activity, students work in groups to come up with their own definition using a set of prompting cards that differs for each team. In doing so, students gain an appreciation of the complexities of addressing this question. The activity takes approximately 60–90 minutes to complete, but students often discuss its implications for weeks afterward. This activity successfully engaged freshman undergraduate students and could easily be adapted to high school and even elementary school students.

The controversy and uncertainty surrounding use of nanosilver in consumer products can be used to stimulate a question-based discussion that integrates ethical and social implications with biology.