Evolution Teaching Resources

A Teaching Evolution Resource Kit was produced for the Evolution Workshop 2006, and is available here as pdf.  It includes many, but not all, of the resources listed below in a downloadable format.

      We welcome additions and corrections to this page. E-mail changes and new material to Lena Struwe (struwe@aesop.rutgers.edu).

See separate web page for Research and Course Topic Examples.

________________________________________________________

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS OF EVOLUTION

·                   Evolution is “only a theory”

o                    A common public perception is that a theory is characterized by tentative or unsubstantiated ideas.  It is important to recognize that ‘evolution’ in a narrow sense simply means that life has changed over time, and this is taken as fact by most scientists.  If by the ‘theory of evolution’, one is focusing on issues like common descent and natural selection , then the field does have active areas of scientific debate.

 ·                  Evolution is a “change in traits” and “speciation and evolution are the same thing”

o                    The change that occurs during evolution is not literally a change of one kind of organism into another.  Rather it is the accumulation of change in the proportion of traits that are present in a population.  Understanding this will move students  away from the commonly held notion that evolution acts on species, rather than individuals..  In addition it is important to recognize that evolution need not imply speciation.

 ·                   “Humans descended from monkeys”

o                    Statements like these reflect a lack of understanding about common ancestry and phylogeny; discussions about macroevolution and phylogenetic inference can aid in clarifying notions of common descent.  Humans did evolve from apelike ancestors, and we share these ancestors with chimpanzees.

Mechanisms of evolution (a few notable examples):

·                     Natural selection acts “for the good of the species”

o                    Adaptation mostly results from selection on genes and on organisms - Selection on species also occurs, and it is often debated how much this can lead to complex adaptations.  It is also important for individuals to recognize that adaptations do not arise because organisms “needed them” and that adaptations are not strictly a product of chance, but rather are the result of chance mutations and deterministic forces of natural selection.

·                     Natural selection acts randomly and is the sole driving force of evolution.  Sometimes conceived as the environment alone produces changes.

o                    These ideas reflect a lack of understanding of the genetic variation integral to natural selection or the processes by which populations can change in the absence of natural selection.  In addition, natural selection is not random but a process by which variation in form is sorted out according to reproductive/survival success in that particular environment. In addition, there is a tendency to suggest that environmental change alone causes organismal change; lacking an understanding that the environment affects reproduction/survival after the traits arise within a population.

·                     Natural selection and evolution began after the first organisms, or cells, arose.

o                    The predominant theory is that cells and organisms evolved by natural selection from some kind of early replicator or gene

·                     Natural selection and evolution leads directly to more advanced organisms.

o                    Over long periods of time, evolution has lead to more complex organisms.  But evolution often leads to less complex forms – e.g. parasites are usually less complex than their ancestors

Recommended scholarly articles on misconceptions about and the teaching of evolution:

Article: Alters, B.J., & C.E. Nelson, “Perspective: Teaching evolution in higher education”, Evolution 56: 1891-1901.

Article: Wilson, D.S., “Evolution for everyone: How to increase acceptance of, interest in, and knowledge about Evolution”, PLoS Biology 3: 2058-2065.

 R. Firenze’s works as regular contributions to the Reports of the National Center for Science Education.

________________________________________________________

Accessible, informative, apparently mostly accurate, web-based resources on evolution:

The TalkOrigins Archive The central clearing-house for web-based articles on creationism and evolution.  This site offers specific commentary about the current controversy, and is a good site to direct those who wish to explore the scientific response to creationism as science, and the “inconsistencies” of evolutionary theory. Most discussions in the newsgroup center on the creation/evolution controversy, but other topics of discussion include the origin of life, geology, biology, catastrophism, cosmology and theology.

EvoWikki  This URL takes you to an interactive directory of a cross-referenced encyclopedia.  Similar to “TalkOrigins” (above), it confronts creationist inconsistencies.

Understanding Evolution  - UC Berkeley An excellent accessible site with an online course, examples, and materials for K-12 Educators.  This is “Evolution 101”, and will help you and your students bone up on the foundations of evolution theory, its relevance, and history.  Includes projects, evolution in the news, and presents the evidence for evolution.
Also at UC Berkeley is a “Phylogenetics Resources” page with quick links to Societies, Publications, and databases.  Particularly extensive is the “software link” where virtually every program imaginable is made available.

AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science): Evolution Resources This site has some nice pages on current issues and perspectives, including essays, state standards, and classic texts.

AIBS: Evolution This site opens with a directory on “issues in evolution”, including essays on evolution theory, new discoveries about species, the fossil record, evolution in action, human evolution and religious beliefs.

Arizona State University, Institute for Human Origins: Becoming Human [broadband multimedia site, Flash software needed] This site includes a documentary on human origins.  There are lesson plans and multimedia exercises, and also a dictionary of terms.

EvoNet.org  A Worldwide Network for Evolutionary Biologists.  Search through lists of all the people doing evolutionary research in New Jersey, for example, or find expertise on caddisflies.  Has a site on education, including curricula.

Wisconsin Center for Educational Research (Natural Selection modeling) Lesson plans, learning outcomes, and roadblocks to understanding natural selection.

The National Center for Science Education - A valuable resource for teachers, students, and citizens, with a Teachers Resources page and Links page to many useful websites. Links include sites on the Burgess Shale Fossils, Harvard’s evolution site, the Miocene Mammal Mapping Project, Introduction to Ichnology, The e-Skeletons Project, the Paleontology Portal, The complete work of Charles Darwin online, and many museum websites.

PBS Evolution website An exceptional television documentary covering evolution and controversies.

NTSA (National Science Teachers Association): Evolution Resources This site includes the NTSA position statement on teaching evolution, and a Q&A section.

________________________________________________________

Areas of Controversy and Debate

Topics of frequent scientific debate

·          How do species form?  Is complete separation of populations required before the evolution of reproductive isolation?  Or not?

·          How did life arise?

·          What is the best theory for the evolution of ageing (senescence)?

·          What is the best way to identify species (or define “species”)?

·          How and why do eukaryote genomes have introns?  Did they arise early in the origin of longer genes, or later?

·          How did eukaryotes (organisms with cells with the DNA in a nucleus) evolve?

·          Why did sex and recombination evolve?

·          What features of large genomes are the result of natural selection, and what are the results of genomic parasites and chance factors?

·          What is the true structure of the evolutionary tree of life?  (e.g. which major groups of animals are each others closest relatives?).

·          Are major evolutionary advances (adaptations) taken in big steps,  or lots of little ones?  Does evolution take big jumps?

Note these areas of debate are distinct from areas of public debate.

Common areas of public debate on the role of evolution

·          Nature versus Nurture Debates

o            What human behaviors have evolved?

o            Questions on validity or viability of ‘Evolutionary Psychology’.

o           Which of the apparent differences observed between men and women are the result of natural selection?

o            Did language evolve, or is it the byproduct of a larger brain (Chomsky vs. Pinker).

·           Debates on Origins

o             Does the theory of evolution leave a role for God, and if so where?

The Evolutionary Origins of Complex Traits  - How does ‘design’ evolve?

One of the frequent gaps in evolutionary education is on the evolution of complex aspects of organisms.  How did ribosomes or human language evolve?  How did eyeballs, or rotating flagella evolve? Many biologists teach about complex features of organisms or cells but do not delve into how those things might have evolved. 

On the evolution of things that seem to have been ‘designed’:

The evolution of irreducibly complex systems by Don Lindsay

“A reducibly complex mousetrap” by John Mcdonald

 “Behe and the Blood Clotting Cascade” by George Acton

“The Flagellum Unspun” by Kenneth Miller

Addressing Creationist/ Intelligent Design Controversies:
Importance of evolution to society

* Evolution will help solve biological problems for mankind

* social interactions, human behavior

* agriculture, pest control, plant breeding, disease resistance,

* medicine, vaccines, drug-resistance, evolution of diseases

* invasive species, conservation of biodiversity

WWW: Review of evolution’s relevance: UC Berkeley.

Additional Resources

WWW: TalkOrigins Usenet newsgroup devoted to the discussion and debate of biological and physical origins. Most discussions in the newsgroup center on the creation/evolution controversy, but other topics of discussion include the origin of life, geology, biology, catastrophism, cosmology and theology.

Booklet: National Academy of Sciences, Science and Creationism

Book: E. Scott, Evolution vs. Creationism, University of California Press, 2004.

WWW: M. Behe, Design for Living, New York Times opinion article on Intelligent Design, Feb 7, 2005 (article proposing intelligent design)

WWW: H. A. Orr, Devolution: Why intelligent design isn’t, The New Yorker, 30 May 2005.

Book: K. Miller’s Finding Darwin's God: a scientist's search for common ground between God and evolution: Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1999

Book: M. Young &  T. Edis (eds.), Why Intelligent Design Fails, Rutgers University Press

WWW: Astronomy Education Review:  "The Challenge of Creationism and Intelligent Design: An Introduction" by A. Fraknoi (The Astronomy Education Review 1(4): 90-94, 2005) [includes great bibliography and list to links, especially about the age of the universe]

________________________________________________________

Textbooks and student literature

 Evolution textbooks recommended by university faculty for use in undergraduate courses:

Freeman, S. & J. C. Herron, Evolutionary Analysis, 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 2003.

Futuyma, D. J., Evolution, Sinauer Associates, 2005.

Ridley, M., Evolution. 4th ed., Blackwell Science, 2004.

Smith, J. M., Evolutionary Genetics, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1998.

Stearns, S. & R. Hoekstra, Evolution: an introduction, Oxford University Press, 2005.

Wiley, E.O, D. Siegel-Causey, D.R. Brooks, & V.A. Funk.  The Compleat Cladist.  A work of phylogenetics, available as a pdf.

Consider using popularized texts for your courses:

Burne, D., Get a grip on evolution, Barnes & Noble Books, 2003. [small easy-read book with non-serious layout explaining evolutionary concepts with detail and accuracy]

Dawkins, R., The Ancestor’s Tale: A pilgrimage to the dawn of evolution, Mariner Books, 2005.

Dawkins, R., The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design,  W. W. Norton, 1996.

Dobzhansky, T., 1973, Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution, American Biology Teacher 35: 125-129.

Gould, S. J., The structure of evolutionary theory, Belknap, 2002.

Mayr, E., What Evolution Is, Basic Books, New York, 2001.

Some thoughts from a university professor:

"The Ancestor's Tale" would make a great text for a basic introduction to evolution.  The book goes through the phylogenetic tree of life starting with humans and tells a "tale" about evolutionary biology at each node in the tree, usually relating to the organism that joins. The end result is that he covers most of the basic principles of evolutionary biology without a lot of math and in a clear and entertaining manner.  I have thought this would be a good way to introduce freshman majors and non-majors to evolution by assigned readings and discussions of the readings.”

Jim Smith, Boise State Univ., jfsmith@boisestate.edu  (quoted with permission)

________________________________________________________

What do your students understand and how do you know this?

Many faculty wait until the summative examination to determine that their students do not understand a particular concept.  Consider instead providing assessment prior to the exam, or even prior to instruction.  This can be as easy as giving your students your test at the beginning of the unit.  There are several ideas for Classroom Assessment Techniques (see reference below).  There are also specific types of assessment tools like the CINS—Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (referenced below).

Once we know what our students do not understand, how can we change their conceptions?  This can be difficult.

Some general strategies that you might want to consider:

1. Increasing the relevance of the material—draw connections between a fuzzy concept and one students understand clearly.

2. Encourage students to make predictions about an outcome, instead of being passive observers—have the students predict outcomes that would occur if their conception were supported by evidence and be sure to incorporate reflective abstraction where learners can think about their thinking.

3. Stress consistency in thinking across several tasks—this will allow them to develop a method for thinking (metacognition, see teaching articles below)

An expansion of the ideas above might be a type of problem-based learning—for this you would pose a problem that is somewhat fuzzy and allow students to suggest means to address the problem. This will allow them to discuss their current conceptions. Have them list and prioritize strategies.  Have them conduct investigations, and analyze the result.  Reinforce this by having them present their result and self-assess.

The 5E method

Also popular is the 5E method.  To see an example of how this strategy is used, go to: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/course/session6/index.html

Engage—generate a question or have them state a conception; assess their understanding.  

Explore—allow students to interact with the material in a loosely guided format; provide them with opportunities that allow them to consider different angles of the problem. 

Explain—a step when students can begin to make sense of their conceptions based on their exploration.  Between exploring and explaining, students are challenging their own conceptions.  If they’ve properly set up the exploration, then their explanations are likely to be evidence-based.  If students are moving too far off track, guided inquiry might be more appropriate. 

Elaborate— a phase when the student is able to apply the learning and reinforce  newly held conceptions. 

Evaluate—occurs when the student and instructor assesses performance and moves with a new plan of action. 

The key here is that students establish thinking strategies that allow themselves to articulate and test their own conceptions in a self-correcting process through which the instructor is able to guide the student to a more widely accepted, evidence-based notion. 

General References on Undergraduate Teaching and Conceptual Change

D’Avanzo, C. 2003. Research on learning potential for improving college ecology teaching. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 10: 533-540.

D’Avanzo. C. 2003. Application of research on learning to college teaching: ecological examples. Bioscience 53: 1121-1128.

Handelsman J, et al. 2004. Scientific teaching. Science 304: 521-522.

Ebert-May D, et al. 2004. Pathways to scientific teaching. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6(2): 323.

Ebert-May D, et al.. December, 2003. Disciplinary research strategies for assessment of learning. Bioscience 53(12): 1221-1228.

Assessment tips:

Angelo, T.K. & P. Cross. 1993. Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. Jossey-Bass.

CINS:

Anderson, D.L. et al. 2002. Development and evaluation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection.  Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39: 952-978

 ________________________________________________________

K-12 Evolution Education Resources

We have only listed a limited amount of resources here, please see Resources above for additional resources.

Resources: 

WWW: Treehouses on the Tree of Life, pages designed for K-16 learners, teachers and the young at heart. Tree of Life is a collaborative effort of biologists from around the world. The project provides information about the diversity of organisms on Earth, their evolutionary history (phylogeny), and characteristics.

WWW: Lesson plans in Evolution: UC Berkeley.

WWW: New Jersey Department of Education: Core Curriculum Content Standards, Science, grade K-12.