Examines proposition that creationism is legitimate science, including philosophical basis of that claim and methods used to discredit contemporary scientific thought. Discusses creationist's arguments against scientific findings related to second law of thermodynamics, improbability of evolution, earth's age, geological record, fossil transitions…

Reviews the major points of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenge to the Arkansas bill "Unbiased Presentation of Creation Science and Evolution Science Bill." (SK)

Analyzes the current evolution/creationism controversy by reviewing court cases and what scientists and educators are doing to prevent creationism from being taught as science or included in school curricula. Includes viewpoints of scientists, educators, and creationists. (JN)

Ninety-three secondary school biology textbooks, identified in the appendix bibliography, were analyzed to determine the extent of emphasis of 44 topics concerned with the study of evolution. (HM)

Uses interviews and a written questionnaire to probe students' ideas on the origin of earth and life on earth. A significant number of commonly held misconceptions were prevalent in the sample (N=493). Provides guidelines to assist learners in challenging existing views. Contains 64 references. (DDR)

Discusses historical aspects of the Christian school movement in the past century as it evolved into one of the fastest-growing branches of private education in America. Compares and contrasts salient themes from Alan Peshkin's profile of a Fundamentalist academy in Illinois and Susan Rose's comparative analysis of a charismatic day school and a…

Reports on a study which was conducted to provide a sample of biology teachers an opportunity to describe their experiences and opinions regarding the controversial issue of evolution and creation as it relates to teaching about the origins of life. Provides the objectives, sample selection, an analysis, and a conclusion. (RT)

Discussed are the results of a test administered to nonmajor biology students on the topic of natural selection. The description of student conceptions, effects of instruction, and the effects of a belief in evolution are included. (KR)

Describes hands-on physical anthropology activities for teaching students about evolution. Using evidence found in hominid skulls, students conduct investigations that involve calculating ratios. Eight full-page photographs of skulls from the program Stones and Bones are included. (PR)

To equip young people to meet the challenges of the 21st century, educators must seek out the best understanding from current research on how humans learn before considering further school reform. A brain-friendly model of schooling would include smaller classes for young children, less formal instruction for adolescents, and learning integrated…

In order for students to understand genetics and evolution, they must first understand the structure of the DNA molecule. The function of DNA proceeds from its unique structure, a structure beautifully adapted for information storage, transcription, translation into amino acid sequences, replication, and time travel. The activity described in this…

We show how an interactive website can help first-year undergraduates acquire independent study skills, and provide a user-friendly way of approaching challenging material in introductory level evolution and ecology. Students embraced the opportunity to undertake self-assessment tasks online, which allowed them to gauge their understanding and…

Evolution is often equated with natural selection and is taught from a primarily functional perspective while comparative and historical approaches, which are critical for developing an appreciation of the power of evolutionary theory, are often neglected. This report describes a study of expert problem-solving in phylogenetic tree construction.…

This document is a collection of materials developed for the Smithsonian Institution/George Washington University Anthropology for Teachers Program. The program was established to encourage junior and senior high school teachers to integrate anthropology into their social studies and science classes. The materials include several bibliographies:…

A major synthesis of the latest research on early language acquisition, this book explores what gives infants the remarkable capacity to progress from babbling to meaningful sentences, and what inclines a child to speak. The book examines the neurological, perceptual, social, and linguistic aspects of language acquisition in young children, from…