Evolutionary Trees from the Tabloids and Beyond

Thanukos, Anastasia

doi:10.1007/s12052-010-0290-5

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…Helping students make connections between the subject matter they are learning and personal experiences or "real-world" examples can result in deeper learning of many subject domains (e.g., National Research Council 2009). Incorporating compelling examples of practical applications of evolution that are relevant to students' lives and familiar social issues may increase their motivation to learn and retain evolutionary concepts (Beardsley 2011;Hillis 2007;Scharmann 1990;Thanukos 2010). Adolescents are keenly interested in themselves and in their own development, so there may be no more relevant examples to use than those from human evolution (Pobiner 2012(Pobiner , 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using human case studies to teach evolution in high school A.P. biology classrooms

Pobiner

Beardsley

Bertka³

et al. 2018

Evo Edu Outreach

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Background: While recent research indicates that using human examples can be an engaging way to teach core evolutionary concepts such as natural selection and phylogenetic thinking, teachers still face potential conflicts and challenges that arise from cultural barriers to teaching and learning about evolution. The "Teaching Evolution through Human Examples" (TEtHE) project developed (1) a set of four curriculum mini-units for advanced placement (A.P.) biology that use human examples to teach evolutionary principles (Adaptation to Altitude, Evolution of Human Skin Color, Malaria, and What Does It Mean To Be Human?), and (2) a cultural and religious sensitivity (CRS) teaching strategies resource that includes background materials and two in-class activities to help teachers create a classroom environment to increase student willingness to engage the topic. Methods: This paper reports on the development and field test of the TEtHE materials in A.P. biology classes in 10 schools in 8 states during the 2012-2013 school year using a design-based research framework (cf. Anderson and Shattuck in Educ Res 41:16-25, 2012). We chose A.P. classrooms to study the potential impacts of the materials in a "best case scenario" and analyzed data about understanding and acceptance of evolution from pre-post assessments in the 10 classrooms separately to mitigate potential validity concerns arising from the design (Anderson and Shattuck in Educ Res 41:16-25, 2012; Shadish et al. in Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2002). These data were treated as a secondary source of formative data to add additional perspective to teacher self-reports, observations, student and teacher questionnaires, teacher interviews, and student focus groups. Results: Results indicate that the use of the three curriculum mini-units which focus on natural selection and the CRS classroom activities generally increased A.P. biology students' understanding and acceptance of evolution. Students whose teachers used one of the CRS activities showed generally larger increases in understanding of evolution than those whose teachers did not use one of the CRS activities. Conclusions: Although the utility of using human examples to teach evolution in college-level classes has been demonstrated in a few previous studies, this is the first national project of which we are aware to systematically explore the effect of a similar approach in high school biology classes. While we recognize that the results may be mitigated by the limitations of design-based research, particularly the absence of a comparison or control group, the general effectiveness of this approach suggested by qualitative and quantitative data in increasing student understanding and acceptance of evolution suggests that using human examples and explicitly creating a classroom environment to help students engage the topic of evolution are worth considering for further development and more robust testing.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using human case studies to teach evolution in high school A.P. biology classrooms

Pobiner

Beardsley

Bertka³

et al. 2018

Evo Edu Outreach

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“…Incorporating compelling examples of personal and practical applications of evolution that are relevant to students’ lives and basic social issues may increase their motivation to learn and retain evolutionary concepts (Scharmann, ; Hillis, ; Thanukos, 2010a; Nelson, ; Pobiner, ; Heady and Sinatra, ; Infanti and Wiles, ; Borgerding et al, ; Pobiner et al, ). Examples of evolution related to humans that focus on current topics and everyday experience, such as public and personal health and medicine (the origins of disease and genetic conditions, such as the common cold, sickle cell anemia, malaria, cancer, Huntington's chorea, and human immunodeficiency virus, disease transfer between species such as avian and swine flu, testing pharmaceuticals and skin care products on animals, vaccine development, antibiotic resistance, and the function and prevention of spread of viruses and pathogens); the evolution of high altitude adaptation and lactose tolerance; the evolution of human skin color; the evolution of running; the role of genes in human behavior; genetic engineering; agricultural practices, including the potentially catastrophic impact of a disease on strains of plants and animals that lack diversity, such as the potato famine; how animal hormones can influence biological systems and mechanisms in humans; global climate change, conservation, and species’ vulnerability to extinction; and using evolutionary analyses such as DNA fingerprinting in forensic science to detect crimes or catch criminals can highlight the relevance and applicability of evolutionary theory (McKeachie et al, ; Chuang, ; Scharmann, ; Evans, ; Sinatra et al, ; Varlese, 2008; Werth, ; Pugh et al, ; Thanukos, ; Wiley, ; Andrews et al, 2011; Miekle and Scott, ; Nelson, ; Pobiner, ; Southerland and Nadelson, ; Infanti and Wiles, ; Nadelson and Hardy, ; Pobiner et al, ; Rice et al, ) and the idea that humans are still evolving (Shields, ; Balter, ; Pritchard, ; Andrews et al, ; Pobiner et al, ). Examples that are relevant to students’ lives have been documented to increase students’ attitudes toward evolution, particularly with regard to their perceptions of its relevance (Infanti and Wiles, ; Pobiner et al, ).…”

Section: Opportunities For Teaching (Human) Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accepting, understanding, teaching, and learning (human) evolution: Obstacles and opportunities

Pobiner

2016

American J Phys Anthropol

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Questions about our origin as a species are universal and compelling. Evolution-and in particular human evolution-is a subject that generates intense interest across the world, evidenced by the fact that fossil and DNA discoveries grace the covers of major science journals and magazines as well as other popular print and online media. However, virtually all national polls indicate that the majority of Americans strongly reject biological evolution as a fact-based, well-tested, and robust understanding of the history of life. In the popular mind, no topic in all of science is more contentious or polarizing than evolution and media sources often only serve to magnify this polarization by covering challenges to the teaching of evolution. In the realm of teaching, debates about evolution have shaped textbooks, curricula, standards, and policy. Challenges to accepting and understanding evolution include mistrust and denial of science, cognitive obstacles and misconceptions, language and terminology, and a religious worldview, among others. Teachers, who are on the front lines of these challenges, must be armed with the tools and techniques to teach evolution in formal education settings across grades K-16 in a straightforward, thorough, and sensitive way. Despite the potentially controversial topic of human evolution, growing research is demonstrating that a pedagogical focus on human examples is an effective and engaging way to teach core concepts of evolutionary biology. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:S232-S274,

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“…Evolutionary trees are crucial in modern biology (4). Biologists utilize evolutionary trees to study biological phenomena ranging from genes to biogeography (5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Evolutionary Tree Concept Inventory

Kummer

Whipple

Bybee

et al. 2019

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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Despite the importance of tree-thinking and evolutionary trees to biology, no appropriately developed concept inventory exists to measure student understanding of these important concepts. To address this need, we developed a multiple-choice concept inventory consisting of 24 pairs of items, and we provide evidence to support its use among undergraduate students. A set of learning outcomes was developed to guide the creation of the concept inventory. The learning outcomes, student interviews, and student responses were used to develop and revise inventory items. Supporting evidence was gathered from traditional item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, traditional reliability analyses, and comparisons to alternative assessments. Appropriate implementation and utility of the concept inventory are discussed.

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Evolutionary Trees from the Tabloids and Beyond

Cited by 9 publications

References 24 publications

Using human case studies to teach evolution in high school A.P. biology classrooms

Using human case studies to teach evolution in high school A.P. biology classrooms

Accepting, understanding, teaching, and learning (human) evolution: Obstacles and opportunities

Development of an Evolutionary Tree Concept Inventory

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