Evolution Education Re-considered: Understanding What Works

Description

This collection presents research-based interventions using existing knowledge to produce new pedagogies to teach evolution to learners more successfully, whether in schools or elsewhere. ‘Success’ here is measured as cognitive gains, as acceptance of evolution or an increased desire to continue to learn about it. Aside from introductory and concluding chapters by the editors, each chapter consists of a research-based intervention intended to enable evolution to be taught successfully; all these interventions have been researched and evaluated by the chapters’ authors and the findings are presented along with discussions of the implications. The result is an important compendium of studies from around the word conducted both inside and outside of school. The volume is unique and provides an essential reference point and platform for future work for the foreseeable future. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv The Present Status of Evolution Education (Ute Harms, Michael J. Reiss)....Pages 1-19 Evidence for the Success of a Quantitative Assessment Instrument for Teaching Evolution in Primary Schools in England (Loredana L. Buchan, Momna V. Hejmadi, Laurence D. Hurst)....Pages 21-40 Developing a Cross-Curricular Session about Evolution for Initial Teacher Education: Findings from a Small-Scale Study with Pre-service Primary School Teacher (Berry Billingsley, Manzoorul Abedin, Keith Chappell, Chris Hatcher)....Pages 41-57 Developmental Progression in Learning About Evolution in the 5–14 Age Range in England (Terry Russell, Linda McGuigan)....Pages 59-80 Teaching Evolution Along a Learning Progression: An Austrian Attempt with a Focus on Selection (Martin Scheuch, Jaqueline Scheibstock, Heidemarie Amon, Helene Bauer)....Pages 81-99 Inequitable Foundations? Educational Equality in Evolution (Jaimie L. Miller-Friedmann, Susan E. Sunbury, Philip M. Sadler)....Pages 101-115 Examining Teaching Assistants’ (TA) Experiences Facilitating Traditional Versus Active-Learning-Based Tree-Thinking Curricula: TA Perceptions, Student Outcomes, and Implications for Teaching and Learning About Evolution (Yi Kong, Nancy Pelaez, Trevor R. Anderson, Jeffrey T. Olimpo)....Pages 117-132 Utility of Context-Based Learning to Influence Teacher Understanding of Evolution and Genetics Concepts Related to Food Security Issues in East Africa (Timothy A. Goodale)....Pages 133-148 Bridging the Gap Towards Flying: Archaeopteryx as a Unique Evolutionary Tool to Inquiry-Based Learning (Alexandra Buck, Sofoklis Sotiriou, Franz X. Bogner)....Pages 149-165 Overcoming Motivational Barriers to Understanding and Accepting Evolution Through Gameful Learning (David C. Owens)....Pages 167-184 Using Human Examples to Teach Evolution to High School Students: Increasing Understanding and Decreasing Cognitive Biases and Misconceptions (Briana Pobiner, William A. Watson, Paul M. Beardsley, Constance M. Bertka)....Pages 185-205 Models and Modeling in Evolution (Kathy L. Malone, Anita M. Schuchardt, Zakee Sabree)....Pages 207-226 Cultural Diversity and Evolution: Looking for a Dialogical Teaching Perspective (A. A. Gómez Galindo, Alejandra García Franco, Leonardo Gonzáles Galli, José de la Cruz Torres Frías)....Pages 227-247 Transforming a College Biology Course to Engage Students: Exploring Shifts in Evolution Knowledge and Mechanistic Reasoning (Lisa O. Kenyon, Emily M. Walter, William L. Romine)....Pages 249-269 Improving Student Understanding of Randomness and Probability to Support Learning About Evolution (Ute Harms, Daniela Fiedler)....Pages 271-283 Evolution Learning and Creationism: Thinking in Informal Learning Environments (Jorge Groß, Kerstin Kremer, Julia Arnold)....Pages 285-305 Participating in an Object-Based Learning Project to Support the Teaching and Learning of Biological Evolution: A Case Study at the Grant Museum of Zoology (Jo Nicholl, Paul Davies)....Pages 307-330 What Now for Evolution Education? (Michael J. Reiss, Ute Harms)....Pages 331-343 Back Matter ....Pages 345-347