Despite the importance of the theory of evolution (TE) to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among biology teachers. In this context, the first objective of this study was to identify the impact of professional development programme (PDP) on teachers' understanding of nature of science (NOS) and evolution and on…

Science museums often introduce plays to liven up exhibits, attract visitors to specific exhibitions, and help visitors to "digest" difficult content. Most previous research has concentrated on viewers' learning outcomes. This study uses performance and spectator analyses from the field of theater studies to explore the link between…

This paper investigates the cognitive experiences of four religious students studying evolutionary biology in an inner city government secondary school in Melbourne, Australia. The participants in the study were identified using the Religious Background and Behaviours questionnaire (Connors, Tonigan, & Miller, 1996). Participants were…

The primary objective of this research was to compare various groups of Greek university students for their level of knowledge of Evolution by means of Natural Selection (ENS). For the purpose of the study, we used a well known questionnaire the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) and 352 biology majors and non-majors students from…

Students' explanations of biological phenomena are frequently characterized by disconnects between levels and confusion of levels. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of a hands-on lab activity that aims at fostering the ability to reason across levels. A total of 197 students (18 years of age) participated in a randomized,…

A sample of 661 churchgoers from a range of Christian denominations in the United Kingdom was asked about Darwinian evolution (defined as the common origin of all species, including humans). Respondents were categorised as those who accepted the idea, those who rejected it, and those who were unsure or neutral. People in each category were given a…

The present study is the first to investigate the relationships between a multiple set of paranormal beliefs and the acceptance of evolution, creationism, and intelligent design, respectively, in Europe. Using a questionnaire, 2,129 students at secondary schools in Vienna (Austria) answered the 26 statements of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale…

This study explored interrelationships among high school students' views about nature of science (NOS), acceptance of evolution, and conceptual understanding of evolution, and the extent to which these may have shifted from pre- to post-instruction on evolutionary theory. Eighty-one students enrolled in ninth-grade Biology responded to…

This is a collective case study seeking to develop detailed descriptions of how programming an agent-based simulation influences a group of 8th grade students' model-based inquiry (MBI) by examining students' agent-based programmable modeling (ABPM) processes and the learning outcomes. The context of the present study was a biology unit on…

In this study, we explored some of the factors related to the acceptance of evolution theory among Greek university students training to be teachers in early childhood education, using conceptual ecology for biological evolution as a theoretical framework. We examined the acceptance of evolution theory and we also looked into the relationship…

This research examines the problems that religious Jewish science teachers in Israeli high schools have in coping with science subjects (such as geological time) which conflict with their religious beliefs. We do this by characterizing the philosophical approaches within Judaism that such teachers have adopted for dealing with such controversy.…

Science education currently has incomplete understandings of potential relationships between students' beliefs in Nature of Science (NOS) and evolution, and how these beliefs may be related to scientific understandings of evolution. Because of evolution's prominence in science education, curricula decisions, and the future of science teaching and…

Historians of science have pointed to essentialist beliefs about species as major impediments to the discovery of natural selection. The present study investigated whether such beliefs are impediments to learning this concept as well. Participants (43 children aged 4-9 and 34 adults) were asked to judge the variability of various behavioral and…

Spurred by students who felt conflicted accepting evolution and the tenets of their faiths, yet knowing their faiths supported science and evolution, we began a study to determine the views clergy espouse on issues related to evolution, creationism, science, and religion. The resulting study included structured interviews with eight clergy and a…

Reports results of an 18-item questionnaire mailed to all 730 school board presidents in the state of Ohio. Among the findings are that 52.8% of the presidents thought that "creation science" and 67.3% thought that evolution should be favorably taught in public schools. Only 13.7% thought that creation science was currently taught in…