The purpose of the study was to explore the relation between the acceptance of genetically modified organisms, basic emotions, general (IQ), verbal (VIQ) and procedural (PIQ) intelligence. The sample comprised 123 students of psychology (N = 65; 52.8%) and pre-service teachers (N = 58; 47.2%). There were 52 (42.3%) females and 71 males (57.7%) from one of the Slovenian universities. The conclusions of the study are as follows: a) acceptability of genetically modified organisms cannot be considered as a single group, but each GMO should be considered separately. Plants and microorganisms are much more easily to be accepted than animals and usages others than for food are more acceptable. Females showed higher level of acceptance than males. b) Among responses involving ten basic emotions (fear, anger, joy, disgust, sadness, shame, contempt, guilt, surprise and interest), anger, fear, disgust and contempt are significantly correlated with the rejection of GMOs. Interest and surprise are the most frequent responses towards GMOs but are not correlated with acceptance, showing that interest can be triggered by both negative and positive attitudes toward GMOs. c) IQ in females is negatively correlated with fear, disgust, sadness, shame, contempt, guilt and surprise (statistically significant); VIQ with fear, disgust, shame and guilt; PIQ with joy, shame and guilt. Higher IQ, VIQ and PIQ are connected with the lower emotional response, leading to easier acceptance of GMOs.

The research presents a case study in the scope of which real and virtual field trips have been compared. The emphasis was on determining the levels of knowledge gain effectiveness in the fields of biology and ecology. A pre-existing natural trail in the protected area of Maribor Island was chosen and digitized for the purposes of the study. During the development of the virtual trail, real fieldwork was simulated in order to ensure a valid comparison. In the spring of 2011, field exercise tests were conducted by means of a study sample consisting of 211 (8th grade) lower secondary school students. The results have generally shown minute differences between the levels of knowledge acquisition effectiveness between both field trips. The results have also led to the conclusion that the students participating in the real field trip were more successful in their performance regarding the exercises they had been assigned, which included real objects serving as tools supporting the students in their observation and investigation endeavours. On the other hand, the students participating in the virtual field trip were more successful with regard to computer-assisted exercises, where they were able to access additional information on more complex processes. Key words: education, knowledge gain, lower secondary school, virtual field trip.

The purpose of this study was to measure the freshmen’s level of knowledge about genetics, evolution, human evolution, the nature of science, and opinions on evolution and the presence of non-scientific explanations among Czech, Slovakian, Slovenian and Turkish students. Determination of prior knowledge and pre-conceptions about these issues is important because they are filters to learning other related concepts. The results are going to be a starting point for developing teaching strategies concerning Darwinian evolution and preparing prospective science teachers for working with students in national and international contexts. A total of 994 first-year university students from the Czech Republic (276; 27.8%), Slovakia (212, 21.3%), Slovenia (217, 27.3%) and Turkey (235, 23.6%) participated in this study. The findings can be summarized as follows: knowledge especially that of the nature of science at the freshmen level was seriously flawed. Non-scientific explanations were present in high percentages. Both were regarded as barriers towards scientific reasoning and acceptance of general human evolution especially for students expressing orthodox religious beliefs. Key words: evolution, genetics, human evolution, nature of science, non-scientific explanations.

There is no doubt any more that virtual worlds are suitable for school environment. It was shown by various researchers that they can contribute in supplying students with additional information, help them to visualise subjects, respond with answer on demand or even in some cases supplement the real materials. Based on the real experience, the virtual field trail Walk on Maribor Island was developed for biology and natural science classes in lower secondary school. The trail is presented through eight exercises that differentiate not only in theme, but also in difficultness, fun, background idea etc. In spring 2011, 133 eighth grade students worked on the virtual field trail during the biology class. After the work on exercises, students were asked to analyse the exercises regarding the level of difficultness, level of interest and level of proficiency. The main aim of the study was to present the tendency in biology virtual field trips that should be taken into consideration before the development of new exercises. Key words: biology, education, field work, virtual field trips.

Over years of growing peas Gregor Mendel set the basis of modern genetics. When he was comparing different peas he used problem based activities and practical work. All these methods can be described as key activities for developing competences. With these activities students tend to gain more knowledge and the teachers do not have to worry that students would be under challenged. While it is hard to expect that teachers will turn classes into gardens to grow peas, the virtual experiments are far more reachable. The cooperation between Sinergise and Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics results in developing interactive virtual environment that will stimulate students to actively learn about science. With the exercise Mendelian Genetics students have to solve problems that they are introduced to and consequently at the same time learn new terms connected with Mendelian genetics. The virtual exercise was created to stimulate the development of various competences, important in natural sciences. In the paper we presented the virtual exercise, which was initially tested on 31 students in second grade of lower secondary school. Results show that students did not come across extraordinary difficulties while working on it. When working on the explanation of the problem, the exercise helped the students with less knowledge.