Describes a heuristic inquiry process attempting to better understand and appreciate a major aspect of religion influenced culture in the southern United States which has an impact on science education. Examines the intellectual and emotional viewpoints of scientists, science educators, and science teachers regarding the relationship between their…

Describes an activity that uses paper airplanes to demonstrate natural selection and is preceded by a lesson on the fossil record to supply a foundation for the concept of evolution. (JRH)

In artificial life research, scientists use the principles of evolution to develop complex behaviors from simple elements. By creating lifelike processes, they are trying to understand real organisms and explore possibilities for life in other circumstances. Techniques used are diverse, including biological testing, robotics, and computer…

Describes how a film regarding a controversial issue (evolution education) can be used in the classroom to generate student interest and initiate excellent opportunities for teaching critical thinking skills in high school biology. Daily activities are provided to demonstrate how a lesson on evolution was built around this film. (ZWH)

Mysteries of the biological past that paleontologists are trying to solve are discussed. Topics include first seeds, fossils and computers, packrat middens, charcoal clues, soft parts, Burgess shale, halkieriids, toe count, whales with feet, long necks, and changing functions. (KR)

Discusses methods of assessing language comprehension in apes. Considers the possible effect of brain physiology on the differences between productive and receptive language skills. Examines the possibility that differences between synaptic transmission and volume transmission, or transmission across extracellular spaces, of neurological impulses…

Semistructured interviews with 15 masters-level biology students revealed that most proposed deterministic explanations of evolutionary processes, ignored the role of chance, seemed unaware of debates over deterministic versus probabilistic models of evolution, and confused evolutionary theory (a model) with the actual complex processes it…

Presented is an analysis of creationist styles of presentation from the viewpoint of a student of folklore. Folklore themes, and formulaic utterances are discussed. The roles of language development and culture are stressed. (CW)

Examines evolutionary trends, specifically trends in size, complexity, and fitness. Notes that documentation of these trends consists of either long lists of cases, or descriptions of a small number of salient cases. Proposes the use of random samples to avoid this "saliency bias." (SR)

Discusses evolutionary theory for the universal human tendency to produce art. Presents ideas on the biological basis for aesthetic qualities. (PR)

Examines the debate over creation and evolution in Wilmington, North Carolina's principal newspapers in order to consider the ways in which this debate exemplifies patterns of public discussion among academics and non academics, including conflicting attitudes about education, authority, and persuasion. Proposes ways to read and intervene in such…

Examines how the theory of evolution was received by the scientific community at the time of its inception to provide insight into some of the difficulties that students have in learning some important biological concepts. Contains 82 references. (DDR)

Discusses the educational and political aftermath of the 1968 Epperson v. Arkansas ruling that laws banning the teaching of evolution were unconstitutional, and made it unconstitutional to ban the instruction of one theory and not the other. Reviews past and present court rulings as well as the role of creationists in the United States. (CCM)

Argues that Ernst Haeckel's drawings of vertebrate embryos (1891), which have been widely used in biology textbooks to illustrate his "Biogenetic Law", are factually flawed. Discusses the problems with Haeckel's drawings and his theory. Contains 14 references. (WRM)

Explores the influence of offering different instructions to undergraduate students prior to their learning an expository text on evolutionary biology. Participants were asked to either explain, summarize, or listen to another's explanation. Overall, explainers outperformed summarizers. Moreover, the teach-through-explanation condition had the…