Can a Biology Course Rooted in the Tree of Life Overcome Student Misconceptions?

Doudna, John W.

doi:10.1525/abt.2016.78.2.93

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…Another interesting finding was that 14 out of the 91 participating students held misconceptions, even though they had completed the course. Of course, the claim that biology instruction can be useful to address student misconceptions has also shown promising results in the USA (e.g., Doudna, 2016 ; Hawley & Sinatra, 2019 ; Sinatra and Danielson 2016 ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

STEM and Non-STEM Misconceptions About Evolution: Findings from 5 Years of Data

et al. 2023

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Even though it is widely held that the theory of evolution is one of the pillars of the biological sciences, as we begin the third decade of the twenty-first century, it is alarming how little we know about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and non-STEM majors’ misconceptions about evolution in countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Greece, to name a few. The situation is even more complicated if we acknowledge that contemporary educational approaches (e.g., student-centered learning) mean that students’ misconceptions are one of the multiple aspects that influence the construction of meaningful learning. Here, we present a picture of Colombian STEM/non-STEM majors’ misconceptions about evolution. Participants were 547 students from different STEM/non-STEM majors (278 females and 269 males, 16–24 years old). During 5 years (10 academic semesters), data were collected from students’ responses to an 11-item questionnaire administered in a Colombian university. We hypothesized that the academic semester within these 5 years in which each student completed the instrument as well as respondents’ age, gender, and/or major may influence their misconceptions about evolution. Results reveal that participants had a moderate understanding of evolution. Also, we found a limited understanding of microevolution among participants. Furthermore, cross-sectional analyses of differences in undergraduates’ responses across demographic variables showed that despite apparent differences, these were not reliable since the differences were not statistically significant. Implications for evolution education are discussed.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

STEM and Non-STEM Misconceptions About Evolution: Findings from 5 Years of Data

et al. 2023

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The teaching of evolutionary theory and the Cosmos–Evidence–Ideas model

Christina,

Penelope

2024

Evo Edu Outreach

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Evolutionary theory (ET), as many researchers have pointed out, is one of the cornerstones of Biology, whose understanding facilitates the study of all its other fields since it offers general and dominant explanations for the phenomena it examines. Thus, the intense research activity presented in relation to the teaching and learning of evolution is justified. Various methodological approaches attempt to conclude in an effective way how to overcome the barriers associated with the acceptance and understanding of ET. In the present research, the usefulness of the Cosmos–Evidence–Ideas (CEI) model as a tool for enhancing the effectiveness of selected activities for teaching ET is tested. Two different Teaching Learning Sequences (TLS) were designed, implemented, and evaluated, in one of which CEI was used as a design tool. Next, a comparison of the evaluation outcomes of the two TLSs was conducted. It was found that students from both groups increased their performance. This increase was slightly greater for the students who were taught evolution through the TLS, designed with the CEI model. An interpretation is given for the extent of that increase related to the model's characteristics, and suggestions for better improvement in the future are included. To sum up, there are indications that the CEI model might have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of a TLS for ET when used as a design tool.

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Can a Biology Course Rooted in the Tree of Life Overcome Student Misconceptions?

Cited by 2 publications

References 12 publications

STEM and Non-STEM Misconceptions About Evolution: Findings from 5 Years of Data

STEM and Non-STEM Misconceptions About Evolution: Findings from 5 Years of Data

The teaching of evolutionary theory and the Cosmos–Evidence–Ideas model

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