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Resumen. En este artículo se analizan algunas referencias importantes para la enseñanza de la genética en la ESO. Considerando que los estudiantes aprenden a partir de lo que ya saben, se examinan sus concepciones cuando inician sus contactos académicos con la herencia biológica, se aportan criterios para seleccionar y secuenciar los contenidos relacionados con la localización, la transmisión y los cambios de la herencia biológica y se analizan las características que podrían tener las actividades de enseñanza para favorecer el aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Palabras clave. Constructivismo, aprendizaje, enseñanza, genética, secundaria. Summary.In this paper we analyse some important issues related with teaching Genetics in secondary school. Starting from the premise that students' learning is based on prior knowledge, we examine the students' ideas on the location, transmission and changes in biological inheritance, before starting their first academic course on Genetics. Taking into account such knowledge, we establish several criteria for selecting and sequencing the teaching contents and analyse any characteristics that the learning activities might have to improve students' knowledge of Genetics.

In this paper we analize the leve1 of knowledge students have at different educational levels (15-18 years), about some basic concepts related to genetic inheritance. The strategies developed by students when solving, successfully, genetic problems have also been studied.The results show the difficulties in learning through problem-solving activities. Consequently, very often, their posings (even those of cause-effect approach) allow them to find the right solution by applying the correspondent algorithm. As a conclusion, some suggestions to change the students' position on genetic problems are presented.

In this paper an analysis is made of some of the causes which can hinder the students' learning of genetics at Secondary Leve1 (12-17 years). This research study highlights the need of introducing changes in content at syllabus design level, and shows that students have a slight knowledge of heredity, although the basic tenets are very often wrong, even before they have their first contact with the subject as academic content at school.