Biological Principles and Threshold Concepts for Understanding Natural Selection

Tibell, Lena; Harms, Ute

doi:10.1007/s11191-017-9935-x

Cited by 71 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 100 publications

(106 reference statements)

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“…The relationship between threshold concepts, key concepts and evolutionary principles, as suggested by Tibell and Harms (2017 Overview of the study design in Paper IV. 62 5.4 Distributions of responses to the closed-response item in Paper IV.…”

Section: 1mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bishop & Anderson, 1990;Anderson et al, 2002;Nehm & Reilly, 2007). Tibell and Harms (2017) use the term key concepts for these content-oriented concepts and organize them into three overarching principles: variation, inheritance and selection (cf. Godfrey-Smith, 2007).…”

Section: Research In Evolution Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, understanding the concept of evolution seems to depend on the mastery of several threshold concepts (Kinchin, 2010;Ross et al, 2010b). Based on previous work on threshold concepts in biology, Tibell and Harms (2017) propose four threshold concepts that are important for understanding natural selection. These are randomness, probability, spatial scale and temporal scale.…”

Section: Threshold Concepts In Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tibell and Harms suggest a two-dimensional model for organizing threshold concepts, key concepts and the three overarching evolutionary principles ( Fig. 2.1) (Tibell & Harms, 2017).…”

Section: Threshold Concepts In Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between threshold concepts, key concepts and evolutionary principles, as suggested by Tibell and Harms (2017).…”

Section: Fig 21mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolving germs – Antibiotic resistance and natural selection in education and public communication

Bohlin¹

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Bacterial resistance to antibiotics threatens modern healthcare on a global scale. Several actors in society, including the general public, must become more involved if this development is to be countered. The conveyance of relevant information provided through education and media reports is therefore of high concern. Antibiotic resistance evolves through the mechanisms of natural selection; in this way, a sound understanding of these mechanisms underlies explanations of causes and the development of effective risk-reduction measures. In addition to natural selection functioning as an explanatory framework to antibiotic resistance, bacterial resistance as a context seems to possess a number of qualities that make it suitable for teaching natural selection -a subject that has been proven notoriously hard to teach and learn. A recently suggested approach for learning natural selection involves so-called threshold concepts, which encompass abstract and integrative ideas. The threshold concepts associated with natural selection include, among others, the notions of randomness as well as vast spatial and temporal scales. Illustrating complex relationships between concepts on different levels of organization is one, of several, areas where visualizations are efficient. Given the often-imperceptible nature of threshold concepts as well as the fact that natural selection processes occur on different organizational levels, visual accounts of natural selection have many potential benefits for learning.Against this background, the present dissertation explores information conveyed to the public regarding antibiotic resistance and natural selection, as well as investigates how these topics are presented together, by scrutinizing media including news reports, websites, educational textbooks and online videos. The principal method employed in the media studies was content analysis, which was complemented with various other analytical procedures. Moreover, a classroom study was performed, in which novice pupils worked with a series of animations explaining the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Data from individual written assignments, group questions and video-recorded discussions were collected and analyzed to empirically explore the potential of antibiotic resistance as a context for learning about evolution through natural selection.Among the findings are that certain information, that is crucial for the public to know, about antibiotic resistance was conveyed to a low extent through wide-reaching news reporting. Moreover, explanations based on natural selection were rarely included in accounts of antibiotic resistance in any of the examined media. Thus, it is highly likely that a large proportion of the population is never exposed to explanations for resistance development ii during education or through newspapers. Furthermore, the few examples that were encountered in newspapers or textbooks were hardly ever visualized, but presented only in textual form. With regard to videos purporting to explain natural selec...

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Section: 1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research In Evolution Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Threshold Concepts In Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tibell and Harms suggest a two-dimensional model for organizing threshold concepts, key concepts and the three overarching evolutionary principles ( Fig. 2.1) (Tibell & Harms, 2017).…”

Section: Threshold Concepts In Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between threshold concepts, key concepts and evolutionary principles, as suggested by Tibell and Harms (2017).…”

Section: Fig 21mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolving germs – Antibiotic resistance and natural selection in education and public communication

Bohlin¹

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Lego Serious Play: Building engagement with cell biology

Garden

2022

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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A Lego Serious Play (LSP) -based exercise was developed to support student engagement with learning consolidation at the end of a first-year undergraduate cell biology course. The exercise was offered in addition to a regular revision session in preparation for the summative exam. Students were studying four-year BSc (Hons) degrees in: Animal Biology, Environmental Biology, Marine and Freshwater Biology, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology & Biotechnology in Scotland, UK. Although many students studied Human Biology at High School, in-depth cell biology was studied for the first time by the majority of students during this course. The LSP process was adapted for use in the classroom. Core concepts were identified from the twelve-week cell biology course as the basis for LSP build challenges and incorporated into LSP buildsharereflect cycles by students individually and then joined together by the group to explore the interconnected nature of cell biology processes. Student and lecturer evaluations were thematically analyzed to explore the impact of the technique on student engagement. Results indicate that the method supports student cognitive and affective engagement who report improved and understanding of the topic, and enjoyment and interest. In addition, behavioral engagement such as learner interaction, independence, and empowerment were revealed by the lecturer interview. Identified barriers to the adoption of LSP include perceived issues around creativity, play and exploration and scientific identity, together with a lack of evidence of efficacy. This study seeks to remedy that gap.active learning, cellular biology, learning techniques methods and approaches, teaching | INTRODUCTIONEvidence that Lego has been used as a teaching tool in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at advanced levels reaches back nearly two decades. 1,2 During this time its use has largely been restricted to robotic simulations to teach fundamental STEM concepts and computer programming, and literal model building (e.g., 3,4 ). The strength of Lego models for teaching dynamic concepts lie in their modifiability, for example for teaching evolution and development, 5 and the unmistakable effect this familiar toy has in eliciting the playful atmosphere of co-creation that supports student engagement in the classroom. 6,7 Indeed, there is

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yEvo: A modular eukaryotic genetics and evolution research experience for high school students

Taylor,

Warwick,

Skophammer

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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The resources for carrying out and analyzing microbial evolution experiments have become more accessible, making it possible to expand these studies beyond the research laboratory and into the classroom. We developed five connected, standards‐aligned yeast evolution laboratory modules, called “yEvo,” for high school students. The modules enable students to take agency in answering open‐ended research questions. In Module 1, students evolve baker's yeast to tolerate an antifungal drug, and in subsequent modules, investigate how evolved yeasts adapted to this stressful condition at both the phenotype and genotype levels. We used pre‐ and post‐surveys from 72 students at two different schools and post‐interviews with students and teachers to assess our program goals and guide module improvement over 3 years. We measured changes in student conceptions, confidence in scientific practices, and interest in STEM careers. Students who participated in yEvo showed improvements in understanding of activity‐specific concepts and reported increased confidence in designing a valid biology experiment. Student experimental data replicated literature findings and has led to new insights into antifungal resistance. The modules and provided materials, alongside “proof of concept” evaluation metrics, will serve as a model for other university researchers and K − 16 classrooms interested in engaging in open‐ended research questions using yeast as a model system.

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Biological Principles and Threshold Concepts for Understanding Natural Selection

Cited by 71 publications

References 100 publications

Evolving germs – Antibiotic resistance and natural selection in education and public communication

Evolving germs – Antibiotic resistance and natural selection in education and public communication

Lego Serious Play: Building engagement with cell biology

yEvo: A modular eukaryotic genetics and evolution research experience for high school students

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