Basic concepts of cell biology are essential for scientific literacy. However, because many aspects of cell theory and cell functioning are quite abstract, students experience difficulties understanding them. In this study, we investigated whether diverse teaching resources such as the use of replicas of Leeuwenhoek’s microscope, visualization of cells using an optical microscope, construction of three-dimensional cell models, and reading of a comic book about cells could mitigate the difficulties encountered when teaching cell biology to 8th-grade primary school students. The results suggest that these didactic activities improve students’ ability to learn concrete concepts about cell biology, such as the composition of living beings, growth, and cicatrization. Also, the development of skills was observed, as, for example, the notion of cell size. However, no significant improvements were observed in students’ ability to learn about abstract topics, such as the structures of subcellular organelles and their functions. These results suggest that many students in this age have not yet concluded Piaget’s concrete operational stage, indicating that the concepts required for the significant learning of abstract subjects need to be explored more thoroughly in the process of designing programs that introduce primary school students to cell biology. 1. Introduction Cell theory is a unifying concept in all domains of biology. The idea that all living beings are formed of one or more cells and that all new cells develop from preexisting ones completely changed the way humans understood the living world, its constitution, and its functioning. Although the cells were first described by Robert Hooke in 1665, understanding that cells are the morphological and functional unit of living things took 200 years to be achieved. The cell theory was only developed between 1840 and 1855 by Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, Robert Remak, and Rudolf Virchow [1]. Furthermore, the extraordinary growth of knowledge in molecular and cellular biology over the past decade has made a basic comprehension of cell biology fundamental to scientific literacy. The central concepts of cell biology allow us to manage available information effectively and to make better decisions in our everyday life as regards health, disease prevention and treatment, nutrition, and reproduction. These notions also permit a broader understanding of the world and the ecological relationship between life forms and their roles in nature. Considering the importance of these basic biological concepts, teaching
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