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Assessment of the teaching of evolution by natural selection through a hands-on simulation

Given the expense, time and considerable teacher effort required to perform hands-on activities in the classroom, their consequences for student learning need to be evaluated. This study takes one example of student-active learning, students collecting and analyzing their own data, and asks whether the physical act of collecting data increases students’ learning of natural selection and affects their enjoyment of science activities. On both pre- and post-tests the number of correct responses on multiple choice questions was low in both treatments, although the number of equivocal responses did increase over time. Essay question responses were generally poor and similar across pre- and post-tests in both groups; however, after the simulation, students in the activity group showed a more sophisticated understanding of the inheritance of adaptive traits. Overall, the generally poor performance indicates that the three weeks designated for students to learn evolution as an isolated topic within the Philadelphia curriculum is probably not an adequate amount of time and should be expanded. Our strongest finding is that participation in the simulation activity caused students to have a much more positive assessment of science activities. We propose that teachers should take advantage of this and purposefully choose activities that will engender positive attitudes towards science while teaching content knowledge.
Associated files
Format
Resource Group TIEE
Resource Group Link https://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=SearchResults&F46=TIEE
Primary or BEN resource type
Secondary resource type
Discipline Specific Core Concepts
Life science discipline (subject)
Keywords evolution, adaptive ecology, Evolution
Audience
Intended End User Role
Language
Educational Language
Pedagogical Use Category
Pedagogical Use Description Overall, students in both treatments performed poorly on each type of content knowledge assessment, before and after the treatment. Although we did not find more correct answers after instruction, there was a trend for students in both groups to choose more equivocal answers on the post-test, indicating that they were less confident in their previously wrong answers. The generally poor performance indicates that the 5 days of instruction between pre- and post-assessments and the week of instruction on evolution before the pre-test is not sufficient. Though disheartening, this result is not surprising. Evolution by natural selection is a complex topic, and students at all levels, high school through undergraduate, struggle with it (Alters and Nelson 2002; Bishop and Anderson 1986, 1990; Nehm and Reilly 2007). We feel that the three weeks designated for students to learn evolution as an isolated topic within the Biology Core Curriculum, at the level required by the Pennsylvania State Standards, is probably not an adequate amount of time. We recommend that the teaching of evolution be started in earlier grades (National Research Council 1996), be taught for an extended length of time (Passmore and Stewart 2002; Robbins and Roy 2007), or be linked to topics continually using resources such as Evolution Plug-Ins Across the Curriculum (www.projectdragonfly.org/masters/EPI/index.htm; University of Missouri in Collaboration with Miami University). Repeated exposure to the implications of evolution and the mechanisms by which it occurs will hopefully not only increase students’ understanding but also encourage them to recognize the role of evolution as a powerful and unifying theory in all of biology (Dobzhansky 1973).
Aggregation Level
Structure
Url http://tiee.esa.org/vol/v6/research/spindler/abstract.html
Full Name of Primary Author n/a
Primary Author Controlled Name
Primary Author Affiliation Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Primary Author email lori.spindler@gmail.com;
dohertyjh@gmail.com;
Added By Id
  • educationintern
Rights Copyright 2009 - Lori H. Spindler and Jennifer H. Doherty and the Ecological Society of America
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Publisher
Review type
Drought and Water Ecosystem Services Collection Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection Off
Big Data Collection Off
Editors Choice No
Resource Status
Date Of Record Submission 2011-03-07
I Agree to EcoEdDL's Copyright Policy & Terms of Use No
Date Of Record Release 2011-08-24 16:15:51
Last Modified By Id
  • educationintern
Date Last Modified 2018-07-25 14:36:30
Release Flag Published

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