A Study Identifying Biological Evolution-Related Misconceptions Held by Prebiology High School Students

Abstract

Students bring a diverse array of ideas about natural events to their science classes, and many of these ideas are often at variance with the scientifically accepted views. Numerous studies have identified multiple biological evolution-related misconceptions held by select groups of students. Collectively, these studies repeatedly indicate that students with varying educational backgrounds have difficulties accurately understanding the concepts of evolution. Because scientific literacy in the field of biology necessitates a basic understanding of evolution concepts and theory, students' possession of biological evolution-related misconceptions is problematic. The focus of this study was to identify the types and prevalence of such misconceptions within a state's public high schools' prebiology students and to correlate those findings with demographic variables. Some 993 students enrolled in their initial high school biology course during the 2010-2011 academic years in one of 42 Oklahoma public high schools served as this study's unit of analysis. The Biological Evolution Literacy Survey which presents 23 biological misconception statements grouped into five categories, served as the research tool for identifying students' misconceptions, calculating conception index scores, and collecting demographic data. Multiple statistical analyses were performed to identify statistically significant (p < 0.05) relationships between variables related to students' number and types of misconceptions. Analysis revealed that participants possess a mean 43.9% rate of understanding of those biological evolution concepts presented in the BEL Survey combined with a 39.1% mean misconception rate. A statistically significant difference in participants' BEL Survey mean index scores when related to biological evolution knowledge self-rating was also disclosed. Strategies for identifying and eliminating students' misconceptions are offered. Misconceptions of biological evolution were prevalent within this student population and the findings corroborate the literature that reports a strikingly high prevalence of biological evolution-related misconceptions in students at all levels, from elementary pupils to university science

A Review of Students’ Common Misconceptions in Science and Their Diagnostic Assessment Tools

“…Mechanics (Foisy et al, 2015;Daud et al, 2015) Digital system (Trotskovsky & Sabag, 2015) Newton's Third Law (Zhou et al, 2016) Energy in five contexts: radiation, transportation, generating electricity, earthquakes, and the big bang theory. (Lancor, 2015) Chemistry Particle position in physical changes (Smith & Villarreal, 2015) Biology Particulate nature of matter (Kapici & Akcay, 2016) Nature of science (Leung et al, 2015;Wicaksono et al, 2018;Fouad et al, 2015) Digestive system (Istikomayanti & Mitasari, 2017;Cardak, 2015) Energy and climate change (Boylan, 2017) Biological evolution (Yates & Marek, 2015) Biology concept (Antink-Meyer et al, 2016)…”

Understanding Aspects of the Theory of Evolution Using Paleontology

“…Because they are configured in from the personal experience of each student, these perceptions are very much difficult to change [27]. Such misconceptions have been previously detected in students at all levels, and timely detection, eradication, and ultimately, replacement, should begin early and be a priority of science education programs and training programs for teachers at universities [28]. A positive result is that creationist perceptions are severely impaired and can be retreated significantly, when students come in contact with tangible testimonies and evidence such as fossils.…”

Biyoloji Öğretmen Adaylarının Evrim Teorisi Hakkındaki Kavram Yanılgıları

“…Research of misconceptions on evolution has examined various aspects. These studies indicate that most students understand the concept of evolution as scientific theory although somewhat various degrees of understandings and misconception were presented depending on their grade levels, gender difference, or major areas if it comes for high school or undergraduates (Seo and Clement, 2016;Yates and Marek 2015;Yates and Marek 2014;Heady and Sinatra, 2013). According to results of these study, student may hold many misconceptions about, the nature of scientific theories, and the testability of evolution.…”