Prof. Anat Yarden’s research group
The group of Prof. Anat Yarden attempts to bridge between the dynamics of biological discoveries and high-school biology education, while adapting practices employed by scientists to the practices by which students and teachers accumulate and advance their knowledge within the discipline of biology. Towards this end the group is focusing on: i) further characterization of the concept developed by the group for learning biology through scientific research articles that are adapted to the knowledge level of high-school biology students (adapted-primary-literature, APL) and examining the influence of learning using such texts on students’ writing abilities; ii) examining the outcomes of learning genetics and biotechnology using authentic bioinformatics tools and databases; iii) making learning materials in molecular biology less abstract for high-school students using virtual and hands-on experiences; iv) integrating a systems thinking approach into the learning of biological systems in general and the transport system in particular in junior-high school; v) characterizing the teaching and learning of authentic scientific practices in inquiry-oriented educational programs in biology; and on vi) characterizing the dynamics of in-service high school biology teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge during long-term professional development programs.
Dr. Michal Haskel-Ittah’s research group
The research group of Dr. Michal Haskel-Ittah studies how people learn, understand, and use scientific causal explanations, with a particular focus on biological mechanisms. While identifying cause-and-effect relationships may seem straightforward, scientific causality is often complex. Understanding why genes influence traits, how diseases develop, or why particular interventions produce specific outcomes requires more than knowing that two events are related; it requires understanding the mechanisms that connect them and reasoning about how they operate.
Learning scientific causality involves more than memorizing causal relationships as facts. To use causality as a lens for understanding the natural world, learners must develop the ability to reason about causal relationships, evaluate the limits of their knowledge, and apply what they know to new situations. Such reasoning depends not only on recognizing causal patterns but also on understanding the mechanisms that underlie them.
Although biological mechanisms are commonly taught in school science, they are often presented as collections of isolated facts rather than as explanatory processes that account for observed phenomena. As a result, students may learn the components of a mechanism without developing the reasoning practices needed to use mechanistic explanations to make predictions, solve problems, or evaluate claims. In this way, the facts may be learned, but the underlying scientific way of thinking can be lost.
Our research seeks to understand how learners develop mechanistic understanding and mechanistic reasoning, as well as the challenges teachers face in supporting these forms of thinking. By designing and studying educational programs centered on biological phenomena, we investigate how students learn to construct, evaluate, and use mechanistic explanations. We also aim to understand how mechanistic reasoning contributes to scientific literacy and everyday decision-making. By helping learners reason about causes, mechanisms, and the limits of their knowledge, we aim to support forms of scientific thinking that extend beyond the classroom and enable informed engagement with complex biological and societal issues.
