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1.
Joel K. Abraham Eli Meir Judy Perry Jon C. Herron Susan Maruca Derek Stal 《Evolution》2009,2(3):393-404
Although evolutionary theory is considered to be a unifying foundation for biological education, misconceptions about basic
evolutionary processes such as natural selection inhibit student understanding. Even after instruction, students harbor misconceptions
about natural selection, suggesting that traditional teaching methods are insufficient for correcting these confusions. This
has spurred an effort to develop new teaching methods and tools that effectively confront student misconceptions. In this
study, we designed an interactive computer-based simulated laboratory to teach the principles of evolution through natural
selection and to correct common student misconceptions about this process. We quantified undergraduate student misconceptions
and understanding of natural selection before and after instruction with multiple-choice and open-response test questions
and compared student performance across gender and academic levels. While our lab appeared to be effective at dispelling some
common misconceptions about natural selection, we did not find evidence that it was as successful at increasing student mastery
of the major principles of natural selection. Student performance varied across student academic level and question type,
but students performed equally across gender. Beginner students were more likely to use misconceptions before instruction.
Advanced students showed greater improvement than beginners on multiple-choice questions, while beginner students reduced
their use of misconceptions in the open-response questions to a greater extent. These results suggest that misconceptions
can be effectively addressed through computer-based simulated laboratories. Given the level of misconception use by beginner
and advanced undergraduates and the gains in performance recorded after instruction at both academic levels, natural selection
should continue to be reviewed through upper-level biology courses. 相似文献
2.
College students do not come to biological sciences classes, including biological anthropology, as “blank slates.” Rather,
these students have complex and strongly held scientific misconceptions that often interfere with their ability to understand
accurate explanations that are presented in class. Research indicates that a scientific misconception cannot be corrected
by simply presenting accurate information; the misconception must be made explicit, and the student must decide for him or
herself that it is inaccurate. The first step in helping to facilitate such conceptual change among college students is to
understand the nature of the scientific misconceptions. We surveyed 547 undergraduate students at the University of Missouri-Columbia
on their understanding of the nature and language of science, the mechanisms of evolution, and their support for both Lamarckian
inheritance and teleological evolution. We found few significant sex differences among the respondents and identified some
common themes in the students’ misconceptions. Our survey results show that student understanding of evolutionary processes
is limited, even among students who accept the validity of biological evolution. We also found that confidence in one’s knowledge
of science is not related to actual understanding. We advise instructors in biological anthropology courses to survey their
students in order to identify the class-specific scientific misconceptions, and we urge faculty members to incorporate active
learning strategies in their courses in order to facilitate conceptual change among the students. 相似文献
3.
Natural selection is an important mechanism in the unifying biological theory of evolution, but many undergraduate students
struggle to learn this concept. Students enter introductory biology courses with predictable misconceptions about natural
selection, and traditional teaching methods, such as lecturing, are unlikely to dispel these misconceptions. Instead, students
are more likely to learn natural selection when they are engaged in instructional activities specifically designed to change
misconceptions. Three instructional strategies useful for changing student conceptions include (1) eliciting na?ve conceptions
from students, (2) challenging nonscientific conceptions, and (3) emphasizing conceptual frameworks throughout instruction.
In this paper, we describe a classroom discussion of the question “Are humans evolving?” that employs these three strategies
for teaching students how natural selection operates. Our assessment of this activity shows that it successfully elicits students’
misconceptions and improves student understanding of natural selection. Seventy-eight percent of our students who began this
exercise with misconceptions were able to partially or completely change their misconceptions by the end of this discussion.
The course that this activity was part of also showed significant learning gains (d = 1.48) on the short form of the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection. This paper includes all the background information,
data, and visual aids an instructor will need to implement this activity. 相似文献
4.
In North America, public understanding and acceptance of evolution is alarmingly low. Moreover, acceptance rates are declining,
and studies suggest that even students who have taken courses in evolution have the same misunderstandings as the general
public. These data signal deficiencies in our educational system and provide a “call to arms” to improve how evolution is
taught. Many studies show that student education can be improved by replacing lecture-based pedagogy with active learning
approaches—where the role of students changes from passive note taking to active problem solving. Here, we describe changes
made to a second-year undergraduate evolution course to facilitate a shift to active learning and improve student understanding
of evolution. First, lectures were used only sparingly and were largely replaced by problem-solving activities. Second, standard
textbooks were replaced by “popular” books applying evolutionary thinking to topics students encounter on a daily basis. Lastly,
predefined laboratory exercises were replaced by student-designed and implemented research projects. These changes led to
increased student engagement and enjoyment, improved understanding of evolution and ability to apply evolutionary thinking
to biological problems, and increased student recognition that evolutionary thinking is important not only in the classroom
but also in their daily lives. 相似文献
5.
Cliff WH 《Advances in physiology education》2006,30(4):215-223
Most students enter the physiology classroom with one or more fundamental misconceptions about respiratory physiology. This study examined the prevalence of four respiratory misconceptions and determined the role of case analysis in the remediation of one of them. A case study was used to help students learn about oxygen transport in the blood and a conceptual diagnostic test was used to assess student understanding of the relation between Po(2) and hemoglobin saturation by probing for the corresponding (Sa/Po(2)) misconception. A 36% remediation of the Sa/Po(2) misconception was found to be associated with case analysis. This repair was selective since the frequency of three other respiratory misconceptions was found to be unchanged after classroom instruction about respiratory physiology in lectures and laboratories. Remediation of the Sa/Po(2) misconception before an instructor-led, in-class case review was superficial and temporary. Explanations provided by students who correctly answered the Sa/Po(2) conceptual diagnostic test showed improved conceptual understanding following case analysis. These results suggest that a learning strategy where students actively confront their faulty notions about respiratory physiology is useful in helping them overcome their misconceptions. 相似文献
6.
Evolution is a complex subject that requires knowledge of basic biological concepts and the ability to connect them across
multiple scales of time, space, and biological organization. Avida-ED is a digital evolution educational software environment
designed for teaching and learning about evolution and the nature of science in undergraduate biology courses. This study
describes our backward design approach to developing an instructional activity using Avida-ED for teaching and learning about
evolution in a large-enrollment introductory biology course. Using multiple assessment instruments, we measured student knowledge
and understanding of key principles of natural selection before and after instruction on evolution (including the Avida-ED
activity). Assessment analysis revealed significant post-instruction learning gains, although certain evolutionary principles
(most notably those including genetics concepts, such as the genetic origin of variation) remained particularly difficult
for students, even after instruction. Students, however, demonstrated a good grasp of the genetic component of the evolutionary
process in the context of a problem on Avida-ED. We propose that: (a) deep understanding of evolution requires complex systems
thinking skills, such as connecting concepts across multiple levels of biological organization, and (b) well designed use
of Avida-ED holds the potential to help learners build a meaningful and transferable understanding of the evolutionary process.
An erratum to this article can be found at 相似文献
7.
The goal of this research was to illuminate the relationship between students’ acceptance and understanding of macroevolution. Our research questions were: (1) Is there a relationship between knowledge of macroevolution and acceptance of the theory of evolution?; (2) Is there a relationship between the amount of college level biology course work and acceptance of evolutionary theory and knowledge of macroevolution?; and (3) Can college student acceptance of the theory of evolution and knowledge of macroevolution change over the course of a semester? The research participants included 667 students from a first-semester biology course and 74 students from the evolutionary biology course. Data were collected using both the MATE (a measure of the acceptance of evolutionary theory) and the MUM (a measure of understanding of macroevolution). Pre-instruction data were obtained for the introductory biology course, and pre- and post-data were obtained for the evolutionary biology course. Analysis revealed acceptance of evolution (as measured by the MATE) was correlated to understanding of macroevolution, and the number of biology courses was significantly correlated to acceptance and knowledge of macroevolution. Finally, there was a statistically significant change in students’ understanding of macroevolution and acceptance of evolution after the one-semester evolutionary biology course. Significance of these findings is discussed. 相似文献
8.
Regarding such an important issue as our origin, as well as the origin of all biological diversity, it is surprising to realize
that evolution still faces drawbacks in keeping its deserved notability as a unifying theory in biology. This does not happen
because evolutionism lacks validity as a scientific theory, but rather because of several misconceptions regarding evolutionary
biology that were and continue to be found in elementary and secondary education. Furthermore, mistaken evolutionary ideas
also affect some philosophical and social issues. The aim of the present study was to evaluate knowledge about evolution among
freshman students from distinct majoring areas at Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste do Paraná (UNICENTRO), Brazil. The
research was carried out based on a ten-question questionnaire about evolution with distinct levels of difficulty, comprising
the most observed misconceptions. In this study, 231 students attending classes in biological sciences (morning and evening
schedule), exact sciences (agronomy, physics, chemistry, and math), and human sciences (history, geography, and pedagogy)
were interviewed. The total average of right answers was 48.8%, and the highest average per course obtained was 58.7% from
the students attending biological sciences (evening schedule). Although evolutionary biology and ecology are supposed to represent
teaching guide issues according to the recommendations of the National Curricular Parameters for the Secondary School, the
data obtained suggest that the evidence for evolution, the role of natural selection and random events, as well as the sources
of variation, must be better focused at schools. 相似文献
9.
Steven M. Platek Glenn Geher Leslie Heywood Hamilton Stapell J. Ryan Porter Tia Y. Walters 《Evolution》2011,4(1):41-51
The learning of evolutionary theory typically takes place in the classroom or laboratory. Students of these traditional approaches
often leave with the notion that applications of evolutionary theory have little bearing on their lives. The Evolutionary
Studies Consortium (EvoS; ) has been extremely successful in overcoming these barriers and demonstrating the bridges across academic areas that can
be created with the principles of evolution as a guide. While this is a fantastic means through which to educate students
about the intricacies of evolution, we believe that the full potential of this approach has yet to be realized. Applications
beyond strict academic contexts are still waiting to be mined. Here, we outline an approach that proposes the implementation
of a nutrition and physical fitness program, alongside classroom pedagogy, as a means of helping students learn about evolution
and how it can be used to increase their own quality of life. 相似文献
10.
《Journal of biological education》2012,46(5):477-491
ABSTRACTThe impact of evolutionary processes in understanding human health and disease is an important idea for future health professionals to understand. These students, however, typically receive little to no formal instruction in the role of evolution in not only understanding human health, but its impact on how to treat human diseases. To address this issue, we developed and implemented a case-study based learning module designed with a learning cycle implementation as part of a larger evolution across the curriculum program. The module focused on the evolution of skin color to illustrate that natural selection occurs in humans, and that the process of evolution involves tradeoffs (a balance of costs and benefits). Student understanding of the tradeoffs of natural selection was assessed through a pre- post- test design, with students answering a set of questions before instruction and again after. The modules helped improve student comprehension of natural selection, particularly for lower-performing students who were not biology majors, and for those whom reported less interest in evolution. 相似文献
11.
Joshua Rosenau 《Evolution》2012,5(4):582-584
Exploring life??s diversity and geography??s effect on it was central to Darwin and Wallace??s parallel discoveries of evolution. Those discoveries required the two to overcome their own misconceptions about species and biology. By helping students to see the world through the eyes of explorers and placing life??s diversity into a geographic context, teachers can help students overcome those same barriers to the acceptance of evolution and deepen students?? appreciation of biodiversity. 相似文献
12.
《Journal of biological education》2012,46(3):143-144
The objective of this naturalistic study was to explore, model and visualise the learning progress of 13-year-old students in the domain of evolution theory. Data were collected under actual classroom conditions and with a sample size of 107 learners, which followed a teaching unit on Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Before and after the teaching sequence, the students wrote texts that explained an evolutionary phenomenon. Their explanations for evolutionary change were analysed and categorised into nine different patterns. Furthermore, we contrasted these explanation patterns with the corresponding scientific conceptions. This resulted in five conceptual frontiers, each of them marking one major learning task. The actual learning progress of the sample group was visualised as learning trajectories on a conceptual landscape. Our findings indicate that learning to explain evolution is a very individual process where the students depart from several distinct ideas and take different trajectories. The method of mapping a content-specific learning progress within a mental landscape may be advantageous for other domains of science teaching, too. 相似文献
13.
M. Elizabeth Barnes E. Margaret Evans Ashley Hazel Sara E. Brownell Randolph M. Nesse 《Evolution》2017,10(1):7
Background
How acceptance of evolution relates to understanding of evolution remains controversial despite decades of research. It even remains unclear whether cultural/attitudinal factors or cognitive factors have a greater impact on student ability to learn evolutionary biology. This study examined the influence of cultural/attitudinal factors (religiosity, acceptance of evolution, and parents’ attitudes towards evolution) and cognitive factors (teleological reasoning and prior understanding of natural selection) on students’ learning of natural selection over a semester-long undergraduate course in evolutionary medicine.Method
Pre-post course surveys measured cognitive factors, including teleological reasoning and prior understanding of natural selection, and also cultural/attitudinal factors, including acceptance of evolution, parent attitudes towards evolution, and religiosity. We analyzed how these measures influenced increased understanding of natural selection over the semester.Results
After controlling for other related variables, parent attitude towards evolution and religiosity predicted students’ acceptance of evolution, but did not predict students’ learning gains of natural selection over the semester. Conversely, lower levels of teleological reasoning predicted learning gains in understanding natural selection over the course, but did not predict students’ acceptance of evolution.Conclusions
Acceptance of evolution did not predict students’ ability to learn natural selection over a semester in an evolutionary medicine course. However, teleological reasoning did impact students’ ability to learn natural selection.14.
Meisel RP 《Evolution》2010,3(4):621-628
Evolution is the unifying principle of all biology, and understanding how evolutionary relationships are represented is critical
for a complete understanding of evolution. Phylogenetic trees are the most conventional tool for displaying evolutionary relationships,
and “tree-thinking” has been coined as a term to describe the ability to conceptualize evolutionary relationships. Students
often lack tree-thinking skills, and developing those skills should be a priority of biology curricula. Many common student
misconceptions have been described, and a successful instructor needs a suite of tools for correcting those misconceptions.
I review the literature on teaching tree-thinking to undergraduate students and suggest how this material can be presented
within an inquiry-based framework. 相似文献
15.
Accepting evolution 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
Poor public perceptions and understanding of evolution are not unique to the developed and more industrialized nations of the world. International resistance to the science of evolutionary biology appears to be driven by both proponents of intelligent design and perceived incompatibilities between evolution and a diversity of religious faiths. We assessed the success of a first-year evolution course at the University of Cape Town and discovered no statistically significant change in the views of students before the evolution course and thereafter, for questions that challenged religious ideologies about creation, biodiversity, and intelligent design. Given that students only appreciably changed their views when presented with "facts," we suggest that teaching approaches that focus on providing examples of experimental evolutionary studies, and a strong emphasis on the scientific method of inquiry, are likely to achieve greater success. This study also reiterates the importance of engaging with students' prior conceptions, and makes suggestions for improving an understanding and appreciation of evolutionary biology in countries such as South Africa with an inadequate secondary science education system, and a dire lack of public engagement with issues in science. 相似文献
16.
《Journal of biological education》2012,46(2):58-64
This paper reviews the question of why the presentation of evolution in class frequently does not achieve acceptance of the evolutionary theory. In general, problems are twofold. Firstly, students may come to this particular topic with strong preconceptions, often based on specific religious teachings. Secondly, teachers may or may not bring an informed and/or dedicated approach to the teaching of evolution, relating to what they themselves were taught. Additional to our review of this topic and its problems, we suggest the use of a simple ‘test’ formulated, not on trying to impose knowledge and belief of evolution on the student, but on directing students towards the application of information on evolution to material already familiar to them. In this process, it is hoped that students will naturally incorporate at least some of the ideas of evolution into their own belief systems. Students are thus encouraged to assess or reassess evolution in terms of what they already consider to be true from their own experiences. Preliminary results (two trial runs) using this questionnaire indicate that students readily apply information with which they are familiar to Darwinian principles, and vice versa. These results, including verbal and written comments, also suggest that this ‘test’ may be meaningful as a first step towards acceptance of evolutionary theory. Teachers may find our questionnaire useful in determining a student's ability to understand evolutionary theory, and in exploring connections between understanding of and belief in evolution. Reviewed by Will H. Blackwell 相似文献
17.
Perspective: Teaching evolution in higher education 总被引:7,自引:1,他引:6
Abstract.— In the past decade, the academic community has increased considerably its activity concerning the teaching and learning of evolution. Despite such beneficial activity, the state of public understanding of evolution is considered woefully lacking by most researchers and educators. This lack of understanding affects evolution/science literacy, research, and academia in general. Not only does the general public lack an understanding of evolution but so does a considerable proportion of college graduates. However, it is not just evolutionary concepts that students do not retain. In general, college students retain little of what they supposedly have learned. Worse yet, it is not just students who have avoided science and math who fail to retain fundamental science concepts. Students who have had extensive secondary-level and college courses in science have similar deficits. We examine these issues and explore what distinguishes effective pedagogy from ineffective pedagogy in higher education in general and evolution education in particular. The fundamental problem of students' prior conceptions is considered and why prior conceptions often underpin students' misunderstanding of the evolutionary concepts being taught. These conceptions can often be discovered and addressed. We also attend to concerns about coverage of course content and the influence of religious beliefs, and provide helpful strategies to improve college-level teaching of evolution. 相似文献
18.
Tree of life diagrams are graphic representations of phylogeny—the evolutionary history and relationships of lineages—and
as such these graphics have the potential to convey key evolutionary ideas and principles to a variety of audiences. Museums
play a significant role in teaching about evolution to the public, and tree graphics form a common element in many exhibits
even though little is known about their impact on visitor understanding. How phylogenies are depicted and used in informal
science settings impacts their accessibility and effectiveness in communicating about evolution to visitors. In this paper,
we summarize the analysis of 185 tree of life graphics collected from museum exhibits at 52 institutions and highlight some
potential implications of how trees are presented that may support or hinder visitors’ understanding about evolution. While
further work is needed, existing learning research suggests that common elements among the diversity of museum trees such
as the inclusion of anagenesis and absence of time and shared characters might represent potential barriers to visitor understanding. 相似文献
19.
Brian Alters 《Evolution》2010,3(2):231-235
Instructors’ apprehensions and the decisions instructors make about pedagogy are often linked when it comes to teaching evolution.
Whether it is the reticence of K-12 teachers that their instruction may affect their students’ religious beliefs detrimentally
or that they may become caught up in some administrative, media, parental, or school political turmoil or whether it is the
apprehension of college students who perceive that their religious beliefs are being explicitly challenged, such fears can
be reduced by understanding their roots and by honing pedagogy in ways that reduce perceived threats. This article describes
why it is prudent to address these often secretly held apprehensions and how to help instructors feel free to employ their
best pedagogical methods to teach evolution without lingering fear. Some suggestions are given for pre-college and college
instructors interested in combining effective pedagogy with as little perceived threat as possible. Methods are offered that
allow instructors to focus on underlying scientific misconceptions even if those misconceptions are ultimately facilitated
by non-scientific sources, while giving creationist or creationist-leaning students a chance to learn the appropriate scientific
conceptions without their religious beliefs being explicitly threatened in a science course. 相似文献
20.
In Tunisia, even though it is an Arab-Muslim country, the teaching of evolution is not forbidden. Nevertheless, the Muslim perspective makes learning about the biological basis of evolution difficult because of the harmony that exists between religion and science. Tunisian students have a mixed misconception: They explain the diversity of life as both a result of God’s works and a result of evolutionary processes at the same time. This paper presents the external evaluation that assesses the impact of an approach to teaching evolution designed to help students distinguish between theological and biological (scientific) explanations. The comparative analysis between the outcomes of the pre- and post-teaching interviews shows some success in helping students to distinguish between the two types of arguments and to develop better understanding of evolution as scientific knowledge. 相似文献