Academic preparation in biology and advocacy for teaching evolution: Biology versus non‐biology teachers

Abstract

Despite considerable focus on evolution knowledge-belief relationships, little research has targeted populations with strong content backgrounds, such as undergraduate degrees in biology. This study (1) measured precertified biology and non-biology teachers' (n = 167) knowledge of evolution and the nature of science; (2) quantified teacher preferences for the teaching of creationism in schools; (3) examined the associations among knowledge and belief variables; and (4) contrasted the knowledge and beliefs of prospective biology teachers with those of non-biology teachers. Methodologically, teacher knowledge was quantified by using three measures and studied in relation to certification area, selfreported religiosity, personal conflict concerning science and religion, and completion of an evolution course. We found (1) generally low levels of knowledge of evolution and the nature of science-and high misconception magnitudes-in both biology and nonbiology teachers; (2) comparable antievolutionary positions in biology and non-biology teachers: nearly half of the teachers in both groups advocated for the inclusion of creationism in school; (3) weak association between knowledge and preference/belief variables; and (4) no difference in preference for teaching creationism between those teachers who had taken an evolution course and those who had not. Overall, biology and non-biology teachers were found to display "mixed" and "novice naturalistic" evolutionary reasoning patterns.

Exploring the influence of plant and animal item contexts on student response patterns to natural selection multiple choice items

“…Unfortunately, studies conducted over the past 25 years have indicated that students have a number of difficulties understanding this concept (Bishop and Anderson 1990;Gregory 2009;Nehm et al 2009;Shtulman 2006). For example, students may assign agency to organisms, suggesting that they can intentionally change themselves in response to changes in their environment, or they may confuse the concept of biological fitness with everyday meanings of the term (Bishop and Anderson 1990).…”

From Worldviews to Classrooms: Framing Evolution Acceptance in Pre-Service Science Teachers in the Southeastern United States

“…Those who had the greatest levels of acceptance of evolution based on their MATE scores were both above 95% on a 100% scale, which would imply greater knowledge and understanding of both evolution and the nature of science. Despite this, they held similar, if not the same, misconceptions as individuals at the other levels of acceptance (Nehm, Kim, & Sheppard, 2009). An interesting commonality within this group was the ability to separate scientific knowledge of evolution from personal religious beliefs.…”

The Relation of High School Students' Epistemological belief, Acceptance of Evolutionary Theory and Evolutionary Knowledge

“…(religiosity)과 진화수용, 진화지식, 진화흥미 등에 대해 연구한 바 있 으나 (Ha et al, 2012;Nehm et al, 2009) (Lord & Marino, 1993;Nehm & Schonfeld, 2007;Sinatra et al, 2003). 예를 들어, Sinatra et al(2003) …”