Other practical activities

Practical classroom activities, such as role-play exercises or simulations where several players are defined, may be up to 12 sides in length. Because of the diverse nature of these exercises it is not possible to prescribe a precise format for them, but the following information should be included:

  • Aim of the exercise;
  • Educational objectives;
  • Age and/or ability range to which the exercise is suited;
  • Instructions for carrying out the exercise;
  • Text-based materials e.g., role descriptors or briefing documents for carrying out the exercise;
  • An indication of the illustrations (if any) required for the exercise, with sketches where appropriate;
  • An indication of any special precautions that should be taken by teachers e.g., where sensitivity to religious, health or cultural issues may be required.

Refereeing process for all practical activities

Initial selection of papers will be done by the Editor and if appropriate, the Associate Editors. Practical protocols that are deemed inappropriate for publication in Bioscience Explained (e.g., because they are too complex, specialised, unsafe or expensive for school use) will be returned to the author without review.

Where possible, practical exercises that pass this first stage will be laboratory-tested. Where necessary, procedures will be translated into English. Authors will then be advised as to whether the procedure has been accepted for publication by the Journal, whether revision or additional information is requested before publication, or if the article is unsuitable for publication in Bioscience Explained.

The Editor will try to give as much guidance as possible where revision has been requested. Re-submitted, revised articles should be accompanied by a brief note describing the alterations that have been made to address the reviewers' concerns. Where the author has chosen to ignore the reviewers' comments, a justification must be provided.

Proofs will be sent to the author as Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files for comment before publication. Please note that the Editor's decision regarding publication is final.