Discusses the standards regarding evolution in grades K-12. Lists standards created by some states in response to creationist pressures to obscure or eliminate evolution from their standards. Presents another list of criteria about teaching evolution. (ASK)

Presents activities on evolution and describes how to integrate lessons on evolutionary biology. (YDS)

Explores various theories for the extinction of the great Ice Age mammals and Homo neanderthalensis. Presents an activity in which students research evidence for and against the various hypotheses, then meet in class to discuss the merits of each. (Author/ASK)

Foraging-and feeding-related behaviors across eumetazoans share similar molecular mechanisms, suggesting the early evolution of an optimal foraging behavior called area-restricted search (ARS), involving mechanisms of dopamine and glutamate in the modulation of behavioral focus. Similar mechanisms in the vertebrate basal ganglia control motor…

J. R. Kantor (1888-1984) developed and promoted an often underappreciated psychological system he called interbehaviorism that attempted to organize scientific values into a coherent system of psychology. Kantor insisted that in all scientific behavior the scientist needed to differentiate between constructs and events. If we were to develop…

A description on inquiry-based approach to teaching comparative vertebrate, skeletal morphology is presented that could be easily adapted to teach comparative morphology for any discipline, provided that sufficient physical models are available. This approach requires students to probe the material world for evidence that would allow them to…

A study is conducted to develop sound comprehension of natural selection theory by prompting students to use its concept to explain the evolutionary status of humans. In relation to the current existence of human it is stated that human populations currently undergo microevolutionary changes in allele frequencies due to natural selection and other…

A brief outline of the known or presumed initial environment and its changes over time is given to observe the connection between the origin and evolution of the metallomes of cells to the environment and its changes. The connection to the environment leads from the abundance and environmental availability of the elements and therefore gives an…

In this article, the authors take a very conservative view of the contribution of animal models to an understanding of human development. We do not think that homologies can be readily documented with even our most closely related relatives' behavior and psychological functioning. The major contribution of animal models is their provision of food…

Presents two case studies that describe attempts by legislators in Arkansas and Michigan to restrict the teaching of evolution and the responses of science educators. Demonstrates that the same discredited arguments that have been used elsewhere continue to recur and that those interested in promoting quality science education can respond with…

Selection theory requires multiple, distinct, simultaneously-actualized states. In cognition, each thought or cognitive state changes the "selection pressure" against which the next is evaluated; they are not simultaneously selected amongst. Creative thought is more a matter of honing in on a vague idea through redescribing successive iterations…

The term "random" is frequently used in discussion of the theory of evolution, even though the mathematical concept of randomness is problematic and of little relevance in the theory. Therefore, since the core concept of the theory of evolution is the non-random process of natural selection, the term random should not be used in teaching the…

Contemporary evolution biology has recognized the role of development in evolution. Evolutionarily oriented psychologists have similarly recognized the role that behavioral plasticity, particularly early in development, may have had on the evolution of species, harking back to the ideas of Baldwin (the Baldwin effect). Epigenetic theories of…

This article analyzes the power of ambiguous metaphors to present scientific novelty. Its focus is a series of papers by the prominent population biologist W. D. Hamilton in which he redefined the meaning of biological altruism. In particular, the article draws on Kenneth Burke's dramatistic pentad to examine why suggestions of motive are so…

The problem of misconceptions about science is not unique to evolution, of course. In the case of evolution, the problem is compounded because many students have been told that their personal belief systems will be challenged or undermined by engaging in learning about this subject. This concern underlies the angst and anger that some parents,…