A Comparison of Online and In-Person Evolution Instruction That Includes Religious Cultural Competence

Abstract

Evolution is one of the most important concepts in biology, but it is rejected by a substantial percentage of religious students due to a perceived conflict with their religious beliefs. The use of religious cultural competence in evolution education (ReCCEE) has been shown to effectively increase evolution acceptance among religious students during in-person instruction, but there is no research that we know of that indicates the effectiveness of these practices during online instruction.

Evaluating the current state of evolution acceptance instruments: a research coordination network meeting report

“…To understand how to improve student evolution acceptance, evolution education researchers have extensively explored the extent to which students accept evolution (Barnes et al 2022b;Dunk et al 2019;Rice et al 2011) as well as the variables and interventions associated with higher levels of evolution acceptance (Barnes et al 2020;Bowen et al 2022;Dunk et al 2017;Fiedler et al 2019;Glaze et al 2014;Green and Delgado 2021;Lindsay et al 2019;Rutledge and Sadler 2011;Wiles 2014;Wiles and Alters 2011). However, even though evolution acceptance is a key construct in evolution education research, methods and recommendations for measuring evolution acceptance vary widely (Mead et al 2019;Nadelson and Southerland 2012;Nehm 2018, 2019;Smith 2010;, which can contribute to inconsistent results and conclusions from studies aimed at improving evolution acceptance (Barnes et al 2019).…”