Primary literature as a basis for a high-school biology curriculum

Abstract

Textbooks, research news from the media, and review articles from popular journals are the most common sources of texts used for high-school biology education. We attempted to adopt primary literature as a means of developing scientific literacy among high-school biology majors. For that purpose, we developed and implemented a primary literature-based curriculum in developmental biology. The process of adapting original research articles to the high-school level, as well as a conversational model developed for learning through research articles, are discussed.