Opportunities to engage students with evolution

Robert M. RossPaleontological Research Institution

is biological evolution differentfrom other public contoversies

about science?

Gallup ® – June 1 2012

Gallup ® – June 1 2012

Pew Research Center, 2015, comparing general public to AAAS members

VCU Poll 2005(%)

Harris Poll 2005(%)

CCD poll 1987(%)

NBC poll 1981(%)

Creationism only 21 23 11 10

ID only 5 4

Creationism + ID only

4

Combination incl. evolution

43 55 68 76

Evolution only 15 12 11 8

Don’t know/NA 12 6 10 6

“Regardless of what you may personally believe, which of these do you believe should be taught in public schools?”

Berkman and Plutzer, 2010, Evolution, creationism, and the battle to control America’s classrooms.

evolution in K-12 education

• is more prominent in NGSS

• long history of attempts to diminish teaching evolution, add non-scientific alternatives– e.g., Intelligent Design– the science standards of a number of states say students should

critically analyze/discuss evolutionary theory and its evidence

Understand the audience Commonly, students....

•hold blend of science-based and religion-based views

•have no direct experience with nature of science or study of evolution

•take years to change conceptions

Scientific obstacles

Insufficient understanding

Affective obstacles

Religious Psychological Political/social

Allmon 2011 Evolution Education and Outreach

Reasons for not “accepting” evolution are diverse

Public opinion may change....

....when pushed to consider practical issues regularly.

•health implications:– disease and antibiotics

•economic implications: – agriculture, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals

•environmental implications

...too abstract or technical in the case of evolution?

Practical considerations that don’t always receive attention....

avoiding extended confrontation

Understanding social groupsis important, but be carefulabout assumptions....

(e.g., quoting a Pope’s views on evolution does not impress an evangelical Christian)

Innocent humor to some may be perceived as disrespect by others

Rich history of evolutionary thought before and especially after Charles Darwin

Likewise, if you choose to address students’ existing

Creationist existing conceptions, try placing them in a historical

contextCreationism has not been overlooked or ignored by science.

- leading hypothesis until well into 1800s

Students may carry variety of ideas within Creationism, which has its own history

• For example,– young Earth vs. old Earth– one creation (“special”) vs. many

(“sequential”)– non-humans vs. humans– Intelligent Design (“ID”)

Do you have other favorite examples?

Some of the issues are described in this short book

Many great resources are available throughthe National Center for Science Education.

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”

Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975)- Geneticist & Evolutionary

Biologist

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”

How do we engage students in local or current evolutionary issues beyond “classic” textbook examples?

What is that does make sense in light of evolution?….

• 1) Biogeography

• 2) Fossil record

• 3) Classification

• 4) Comparative anatomy

• 5) Observed small-scale changes

• 6) Genetics

What makes sense is….

If this biological evidence is all around us,

why do people perceive that there is limited evidence for

evolution?

“Evolution in Your Backyard”

“Evolution in Your Backyard”

1. Imagine you took your students into a natural environment near the school.

2. You want to show your students evidence of past evolution from observations theycan make of animals or plants around them.

3. Describe the activity you would use. Share it with your neighbor.

4. What would be the primary challenges?

In other words, “How has evolution influenced why these organisms look or behave the

way they do?”

Take 3 minutes or so....

organisms are a product of....characters passed on through

descent

with

modification,

often local adaptations

organisms are a product of....characters passed on through descent

withmodification,

often local adaptations

In education we often focus on adapation and natural selection,

though it’s conserved traits that tell us

about evolutionary history

Evolution in the fossil record

If paleontological evidence is so extensive,why do people perceive that there is limited evidence for evolution?

misconception promoted by the media: •there are few evolutionary “links” •new finds are unexpected and generally controversial to interpret