Classroom activities to promote a deep understanding of evolution among biology majors in introductory courses

Montana State University, Bozeman MT

Investigators

Abstract

Biological Sciences (61). Evolution is the central unifying theory of biology, but is poorly understood by many students. A large body of evidence shows that evolution is an inherently difficult theory to learn, in part because 1) students often lack the conceptual background to understand evolution, and have misconceptions about it, 2) evolution can be difficult to observe, and 3) evolution is often taught in large lecture-based classes. Three decades of research have charted a clear path for overcoming these obstacles. In particular, instructors can 1) design instruction to address student misconceptions, 2) illustrate evolutionary changes as concretely as possible, 3) emphasize scientific thinking, 4) give students multiple examples of key concepts, and 5) incorporate active learning exercises into lectures. This project is addressing these recommended ways to improve instruction of evolution at the undergraduate level through development of a series of 20 research-based classroom activities for teaching evolution to biology majors in introductory undergraduate biology courses. Development of the activities is being guided by evidence-based principles for effective course design. Each activity is being carefully evaluated through student interviews, video recordings of students working, student surveys, and comparison of student conceptions before and after instruction. Validated standardized tests are also being used to measure student learning across the entire course. Descriptions of the classroom activities and results from the evaluations are being disseminated through a series of peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations and workshops. In addition, videos of the classroom activities are being made available through an online database of teaching videos for use by potential adopters of the materials. Intellectual merit Reviews of undergraduate biology education in the United States have repeatedly called for the kinds of classroom activities that are being developed in this project. A novel feature of these activities is that they are being designed to bring recent discoveries in genomics into the classroom, for the purpose of engaging students and as an effective strategy for dispelling common misconceptions regarding how natural selection occurs. Broader impacts The primary impact of this project is on improving undergraduate education about evolution in the United States, both by creating classroom activities that other instructors can use, particularly in large enrollment introductory courses, and by providing instructors with a model of exemplary teaching practices, from which they can create their own activities. This project is being co-funded by funds from the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Emerging Frontiers Division.