iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

6/7 winners have been decided in the @rsb.org.uk Biology Week Spelling Bee 2025. Four year groups went to tiebreaks! The highest score was 54 in two minutes, phenomenal! #Biolobee @chatbiology.bsky.social

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

This week we have the tiebreakers for the Biology Week Spelling Bee sponsored by @rsb.org.uk There have been loads of phenomenal scores from across the UK! It’s definitely the high mean score since the competition started! #Biolobee @chatbiology.bsky.social

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

I imagine so, I like the phases of colours

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Yeah, the interesting bit was that the purple leaving first, leaving an entirely green leaf. Unexpected.

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Testing Transcendia for starch. Worked nicely @saps-news.bsky.social

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

Currently over 150 schools are signed up to the @royalsocbio.bsky.social sponsored #SpellingBee to celebrate #BiologyWeek2025 Any secondary schools in the UK, IoM or CI can take part and win prizes app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/dundee/bio... #SciTeachUK #ChatBiology #Science #Biolobee

A spider really enjoying the Biology Week Spelling Bee

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Cool, thanks hopefully the cooler evenings will be better for moths soon.

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Is this one a many lined wainscot?

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

#SciTeachUK Registration is open for this year’s @royalsocbio.bsky.social Biology Week Spelling Bee! It’s free for any teachers of students aged 11-18 years old to enter, there are prizes! app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/dundee/bio... please share widely!

app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk

Biology Week Spelling Bee 2025

Online surveys is a powerful, easy to use tool for creating online surveys. Run by Jisc, online surveys is used by over 300 different organisations in the UK...

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Reposted by Jon M Hale

The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 03/07/2025

You can also explore the Young Researcher Zone, where schools and colleges will be showcasing their exciting Royal Society-funded #PartnershipGrants projects, from daffodil diversity to the whiffs of worms! See more here: royalsociety.org/science-even... #SummerScience

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Reposted by Jon M Hale

Malcolm Macaulay @malcolmacaulay.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

One of the coolest exhibits at the @royalsociety.org Summer Science Event! LEGO model of @nanoporetech.com sequencing! Well done @jmhale.bsky.social #partnershipgrants

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Thank you, that was me on the other place. I wasn’t sure which platform you’re using. Sorry.

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

@mothiduk.bsky.social could you help confirm some IDs, 5 in total

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

I helped a neighbouring school with some microscopy today, daffodil chloroplasts Genuine awe and wonder (sorry for the shaky hands)

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Let me tell you about the Daffodil DNA Project…

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I think it would be great to do more on the warfare between microbes

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I love bioprospecting too, discovering how venoms and toxins work and the potential therapeutic value. Captopril is a great example, but pharmacology is full of great stories

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I do love a good Hodgkin and Huxley giant squid axon

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

How cool is it that bacteria have an adaptive immune response that then lead to CRISPR-cas9 utilisation

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Nanopore sequencing has to be up there. The story of the idea, simply fantastic

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Reposted by Jon M Hale

Christian Moore-Anderson @cmooreanderson.eurosky.social · 18/03/2025

Absolutely delighted by this impartial review of my book published in the journal, School Science Review (open access): www.ase.org.uk/system/files... #EduSky #UKEd #SciTeachUK #iTeachBio

In the 20+ years that I have been teaching biology I have come across many texts that purport to transform classroom practice and improve student outcomes. However, rarely have I been so convinced by the power of a new theoretical underpinning for a pedagogical technique such as the one presented here. Moore-Anderson provides detailed discussions of systems theory, cybernetics and variation theory and their relevance to the biology classroom. Alongside the explanations, he provides concrete examples grounded in the classroom and over 40
diagrams that can be used to teach key topics.

The book starts with explanations of the underpinning theories he has applied to his teaching. This can, at times, be heavy going, and although the ‘key ideas’ are highlighted it can feel like there is a lot of information to absorb. However, as the book continues the scaffolding becomes clear and the reader can see how these ideas build towards coherent classroom strategies. It may be tempting to skip the theory at the beginning of the book and jump to using the diagrams in lessons; however, to be most effective it is important to understand the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ behind these.

Although this book is specifically about teaching biology, there are ideas that are relevant to teaching all science disciplines and it may have benefited from a collation of the ‘key ideas’ and ‘assumptions’ presented as they apply to teaching and learning of all sciences or all classroom settings.

Overall, Moore-Anderson presents a well-reasoned and compelling argument for the application of cybernetics and variation theory to the classroom. This is not an easy read, but, in my opinion, it is a thought-provoking read and a book that biology teachers should invest time in, to consider the theories, key ideas and diagrams, and how they could apply these in their own classroom.

Helen Darlington Faculty Progress Leader for Science at South Wirral High School

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

It started like this. I’ll try get a finished one photographed on Monday

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I was really happy of how eukaryotic gene control panned out yesterday too

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

At this point in the year, lots pulling on prior knowledge from prokaryotic structure, protein synthesis, globular proteins, enzymes, transport across membranes, respiration, carbohydrates, cell signaling, induced-fit. There’s then only the concept of an operon that’s new, but they see how and why

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

The compare and contrast, along with the evolutionary benefit makes it “click” very quickly. They were able to do the “what if”flawlessly too.

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

This was the starting point. All the labels and processes built up with the lesson.

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Can everyone in the world please complete this survey about genome-editing crops forms.office.com/e/b7RJQ726w6 for the amazing @ljcompton.bsky.social and her undergrad @chatbiology.bsky.social @saps-news.bsky.social @associationscied.bsky.social please share #SciTeachUK #Science

forms.office.com

Microsoft Forms

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Jon M Hale @jmhale.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

How’s it not on the spec? You’re joking

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