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The purpose of this study is to develop a scale to determine secondary school students' conceptions of learning biology and conduct the reliability and validity study of the scale. A total of 997 students from two independent samples attending 9th-12th grades participated in this research. The research data is obtained from the 5-point Likert type scale with 41 items. The results of the explanatory factor analysis (EFA) indicated that the factorial structure of the scale includes 5 subscales with 29 items. It has been found that overall Cronbach Alpha for the scale is .78 and .76, .71, .65, .73, .82 for the subscales respectively. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the factor structure fit the data. It is concluded that Conceptions of Learning Biology Scale (CLBS) produces reliable and a valid results for measuring the conceptions of learning biology of secondary school students.

Because science begins by asking questions and then seeking answers, asking and answering questions has always had a pivotal role in science learning and teaching. The purpose of this study is to probe biology teachers' salient characteristics regarding the five aspects of the question-answer process (the source of questions, the taxonomy of questions, respondents of questions, teacher feedback, and authority of answers). Twenty-one biology teachers from different high schools participated in this study, with the data being gathered through interviews and observations using the Instrument of the Question-Answer Process (IQAP). Our findings reveal the majority of participants to assumed the source of questions to be students. The frequencies for the dimensions of remembering and understanding were found to be far higher than the other query forms concerning the taxonomy of questions. Biology teachers stated choosing volunteer students mainly to answer their questions; however, they tried to select non-volunteer students, thinking these students may sometimes be shy. Regarding teacher feedback, biology teachers tend to tell students immediately whether their responses are correct or not when providing feedback; however, they also claim to encourage other students to incorporate new ideas. The participants indicated that the instructor/teacher and students together agree on the correct response and best solution concerning the authority of questions. This study can provide a portrait of the process of asking and answering verbal questions in biology class. Making observations in more biology teachers' classrooms is suggested for being able to interpret the results in more detail.

Learning progressions, as one of the evidence-based models, are based on the careful design and testing of hypotheses related to the curriculum, and have recently gained popularity in terms of supporting students' core scientific concepts and designing instructional materials to increase their literacy in that area. This review study, which is related to learning progression in science education, has been carried out with the aim of increasing the accessible resources in Turkish literature and attracting more researchers and practitioners while the research, development and examination studies on the subject are progressing rapidly. In this context, this review study includes (a) the definition, general features and potential uses of learning progressions, (b) development, validity and revision of learning progressions, (c) the relationship between learning progressions and assessment and (d) names of previously developed science learning progressions. It is hoped that the study will encourage using learning progressions both in designing professional programs and aligning curriculum, instruction and assessment by looking curricula with a relatively new perspective.