This study based on cognitive and social semiotic theories investigates whether the influence of specific features of instructional representation from adolescent textbook images could last until adulthood in certain cultures. Two cultural groups, Indonesian (n = 61) and Taiwanese (n = 60) college students, were recruited from a public Taiwanese…

In an introductory geology course on vertebrate fossils, a new object-based classroom exercise was designed to enhance students' appreciation for evidence of evolution as a "tinkering" process, specifically in modern organisms with which everyone is familiar. During the dissection of a popular college late-night snack (barbeque-style…

A classroom exercise is described in which college students take part in creating and supporting an evolutionary hypothesis that explains effort grunting. The exercise holds their interest throughout and readies them to understand hypotheses of animal and plant evolution. It informs them about the dependence of cultural evolution upon biological…

Teaching biological evolution can be difficult on a number of levels, be it student confusion arising from prior conceptions and the controversy surrounding evolution, or simply because the material is complex. Games and simulations can help to convey complex topics and also to increase variety in teaching methods. Here I describe a card game that…

Too many students reject the theory of evolution because they view it as incompatible with their religious beliefs. Some have argued that abandoning religious belief is the only way to help religious individuals accept evolution. Conversely, our data support that highlighting faith/evolution compatibility is an effective means to increase student…

In this manuscript, three science educators describe strategies used to effectively communicate about religiously and culturally sensitive science content and share lessons learned from their experiences. Mark A. Bloom (2019-2021 Fellow) describes the challenges he overcame in teaching climate change science at an evangelical university by…

The phenomenon of industrial melanism (IM) became widely acknowledged as a well-documented example of natural selection largely as a result of H.B.D. Kettlewell's pioneering research on the subject in the early 1950s. It was quickly picked up by American biology textbooks starting in the early 1960s and became ubiquitous throughout the 1970s,…

Podcasts are digital files very popular in several and very distinct areas. In higher education, they have been explored in a multitude of ways mainly to support teaching and learning processes. The study here described focuses the integration of podcasts in Heredity and Evolution, a course from the Biology and Geology Degree Program at University…

For many students, preconceived notions about Darwin are among the most significant obstacles in learning about the theory of evolution by natural selection. I present an activity designed to eliminate this obstacle and encourage empathizing with Darwin, utilizing the history-of-science approach. Through the activity, students' negative thoughts…

The long geological time needed for landform development and evolution poses a challenge for understanding and appreciating the processes involved. The Web-based Interactive Landform Simulation Model--Grand Canyon (WILSIM-GC, http://serc.carleton.edu/landform/) is an educational tool designed to help students better understand such processes,…

This dissertation examined natural selection in westslope cutthroat trout ("Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi") and undergraduate learning in the subject area natural selection. Translocation--moving individuals to a new habitat to establish, re-establish or supplement a population--is a crucial management strategy for cutthroat trout. One of…

Some ability to comprehend deep time is a prerequisite for understanding macroevolution. This study examines students' knowledge of deep time in the context of seven major historical and evolutionary events (e.g., the age of the Earth, the emergence of life, the appearance of a pre-modern human, "Homo habilis"). The subjects were 126…

As perhaps the most encompassing idea in biology, evolution has impacted not only science, but other academic disciplines as well. The broad, interdisciplinary impact of evolution was the theme of a course taught at Marian College, Indianapolis, Indiana in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Using a strategy that could be readily adopted at other institutions,…

We invited 141 non-science major undergraduates to share and then challenge their preconceptions about evolution in a four-lesson inquiry lab unit that integrated diverse topics with rigorous assessment. Our experience suggests that an inquiring approach to evolutionary theory can be highly persuasive.

An anonymous survey instrument was used for a ten year study to gauge college student attitudes toward evolution. Results indicate that students are most likely to accept evolution as a historical process for change in physical features of non-human organisms. They are less likely to accept evolution as an ongoing process that shapes all traits…