Teaching and learning evolution is challenging. Biology education research shows that the underlying evolutionary concepts are poorly understood among students. This prevents a meaningful understanding of the central biological concepts. The instructional format of self-explanation prompts seems to be promising to respond to these difficulties.…

In this study we aim to find out whether a training program for secondary school science teachers which was organized based on the model of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), could improve their individual PCK for a specific scientific issue. The Evolution Theory (ET) and the Natural Selection (NS) were chosen as the scientific issues of…

Although the concept of "rural" is difficult to define, rural science education provides the possibility for learning centered upon a strong connection to the local community. Rural American adolescents tend to be more religious than their urban counterparts and less accepting of evolution than their non-rural peers. Because the status…

The concepts and paradigms "development", "evolution", and "developmental behavior genetics" target, in their statements, populations. The laws of genetics and evolution are supposed to apply to every single case in a population. It can be counted among the major contributions of Gottlieb (1992, 1995) to have pointed…

The Next Generation Science Standards emphasize the importance of developing students' abilities to effectively communicate science, including topics that are highly scrutinized in the American public sphere such as evolution. However, student attainment of "controversial communicative competence" (the ability to competently communicate…

Biology textbooks tend to assert the correctness of evolutionary concepts but mention very little of the evidence that supports them. This gives the impression that evolutionary theory is poorly supported, which discourages acceptance of the theory. A case in point is the age of the Earth. Biology textbooks usually mention that the planet is…

In Study 1, 72 internet documents containing creationism, ID (intelligent design), or evolution content were selected for analysis. All instances of proof cognates (the word "proof" and related terms such as "proven", "disproof", etc.) contained within these documents were identified and labeled in terms of the manner in which the terms were used.…

The evolution of complexity remains one of the most challenging topics in biology to teach effectively. We present a novel laboratory activity, modeled on a recent experimental breakthrough, in which students experimentally evolve simple multicellularity using single-celled yeast ("Saccharomyces cerevisiae"). By simply selecting for…

In this activity, students examine nine hominin skulls for specialized features and take measurements that will enable them to determine the relatedness of these species. They will ultimately place each specimen on a basic phylogenetic tree that also reveals the geological time frame in which each species lived. On the basis of their data, and…

Elementary teachers play a crucial role in breaking the cycle of continued evolution controversy. They have the capacity to introduce concepts at the same time students may first encounter antievolution messages. This study compares elementary education majors' religiosity, acceptance and understanding of evolution to other majors. Results…

For over a century and a quarter, the science of learning has expanded at an increasing rate and has achieved the status of a mature science. It has developed powerful methodologies and applications. The rise of this science has been so swift that other learning texts often overlook the fact that, like other mature sciences, the science of…

Recent research supports the benefit of students' construction of relevance through writing about the connection of content to their life. However, most such research defines relevance narrowly as utility value--perceived instrumentality of the content to the student's career goals. Furthermore, the scope of phenomenological and conceptual…

This study investigates classroom organisation and interaction focusing on phases of activity. The detailed in-depth case study is based on video recordings of 1 science unit consisting of 11 lessons about biological evolution in a Swedish ninth-grade class (aged 15). The study illuminates the temporality of student participation as a fundamental…

Harsh environments are known to predict deficits in children's cognitive abilities. Life history theory approaches challenge this interpretation, proposing stressed children's cognition becomes specialized to solve problems in fitness-enhancing ways. The goal of this study was to examine associations between early environmental harshness and…

"Evolution" is an area of the curriculum in which children show great interest and enthusiasm to learn more. They also bring considerable prior (though incomplete) knowledge from their informal "life worlds". Most children have encountered the term "evolution" from an early age and tend to define it in terms of…