Conflict-reducing practices during evolution instruction have been recommended to increase students' perceived compatibility between evolution and religion, increase evolution acceptance, and decrease stereotypes about religious students in science. However, the efficacy of these practices has not been demonstrated in a randomized controlled…

Anthropogenic climate change (ACC) and evolution are examples of issues that are perceived differently by scientists and the general public. Within the scientific community, there are clear consensuses that human activities are increasing global temperatures (ACC) and that evolutionary mechanisms have led to the biodiversity of life on Earth…

Students regard evolutionary theory differently than science in general. Students' reported confidence in their ability to understand science in general (e.g., posing scientific questions, interpreting tables and graphs, and understanding the content of their biology course) significantly outweighed their confidence in understanding evolution. We…

To assess current trends of evolution instruction in high schools of the mid-South, we invited Arkansas high school biology teachers from across the state to respond to a survey designed to address this issue. We also asked students enrolled in a freshman-level, nonmajors biology course at a midsize public Arkansas university to recall their…

This study investigated the use of multimedia materials to enhance student learning in a large, introductory biology course. Two sections of this course were taught by the same instructor in the same semester. In one section, video podcasts or "vodcasts" were created which combined custom animation and video segments with music and…

In a sample of 107 biology teachers from Minnesota's public schools, most teachers claimed that they emphasize evolution and allocated little or no time to creationism in the classes. However, in a sample of 685 students from Minnesota's public schools, students claimed that their teachers allocated much less time to evolution and much more time…

The case presented in this article is an exploration of the process of natural selection using white clover ("Trifolium repens") as an example. In general, two forms of white clover can be found around the world in various habitats. One type has plain green leaves and the other type produces cyanide as a defense against herbivores and…

The evolution-related attitudes and actions of Minnesota high school biology teachers were studied to estimate the prevalence of creationism among biology teachers. Minnesota's high school biology teachers were questioned about the evolution education in public schools regarding the percentage of biology teachers who teach evolution, class-time…

Although most high school students want their biology classes to include evolution, most high school biology classes in Minnesota do not emphasize evolution. This lack of an emphasis on evolution defies state educational standards and is associated with most students (high school and college) having serious misconceptions about evolution. The…