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Intentions and beliefs in students' understanding and acceptance of biological evolution

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We examined the intersection of students' understanding and acceptance of evolution and their epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions. Based on previous research, we hypothesized there would be a relation between understanding and acceptance. We also hypothesized that students who viewed knowledge as changing and who have a disposition toward open-minded thinking would be more likely to accept the scientific explanation of human evolution, and that beliefs and dispositions would not be related to acceptance of a topic that is generally perceived as noncontroversial. Ninety-three undergraduate students enrolled in a nonmajors biology class completed measures of their (a) content knowledge of evolution and photosynthesis and respiration; (b) acceptance of theories of animal evolution, human evolution, and photosynthesis; and (c) epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions. Although our findings did reveal a significant relation between knowledge and reported acceptance for photosynthesis, there was no relation between knowledge and acceptance of animal or human evolution. Epistemological beliefs were related to acceptance, but only to the acceptance of human evolution. There was no relation between students' epistemological beliefs and their general acceptance of animal evolution or photosynthesis. Three subscales, Ambiguous Information, Actively Open-Minded Thinking, and Belief Identification, were significantly correlated with understanding evolutionary theory. We argue these findings underscore the importance of intentional level constructs, such as epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions, in the learning of potentially controversial topics. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 510–528, 2003

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... Nowadays, it is evident that several factors are considered constituents of conceptual ecology for biological evolution (CEBE), such as knowledge of evolutionary theory, understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS), and dispositional thinking (Demastes et al. 1995a, b;Deniz et al. 2008). The composite of many other factors on CEBE has received attention from researchers as a factor that can hinder or enhance conceptual change (Demastes et al. 1995a, b;Sinatra et al. 2003). Park (2007) also confirmed that some factors on CEBE significantly limited or enhanced learning effectiveness. ...
... Furthermore, the relationship between knowledge and acceptance in the present investigation needed to be stronger, as Rutledge and Warden (2000) and Athanasiou et al. (2012) reported. Several studies have demonstrated a link (Deniz et al. 2008;Lawson and Worsnop 1992;Trani 2004), and studies have refuted these findings (Bishop and Anderson 1990;Demastes et al. 1995a, b;Sinatra et al. 2003). ...
... Furthermore, a high level of evolution acceptance did not represent more open-minded students, as described by Sinatra et al. (2003) and Deniz et al. (2008). Perhaps this could also explain the unchanged acceptance of evolution and low knowledge acquisition after teaching. ...
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Muslim students have a high perceived conflict between religion and evolution. For this reason, constructivist teaching was implemented to emphasise the balance of the nature of science (NOS) on evolution and creationism theory within the conceptual ecology for biological evolution (CEBE) framework. This study explored changes in students’ CEBE and how perceived conflict, NOS, and religion contributed to the evolution of acceptance during the course. This research followed a one-group pre-test and post-test design to gather data. Data collection tools used in this study included a questionnaire and a reflective essay. The study group consisted of third-year undergraduate biology students aged 20–22 from Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang in Indonesia. Questionnaire responses were analysed using statistical methods, including paired t-tests, correlation, and hierarchical regression, while reflective essays were analysed using content analysis. The study found that students’ acceptance increased after the course and was correlated with their knowledge, religiosity, understanding of NOS, and perceived impact. The understanding of NOS was the primary factor influencing the acceptance of the theory of evolution, while perceived conflict has the least impact. In addition, reflective essays showed that while most students had a naive knowledge of evolutionary reasoning, they could explain the nature of science. The students were able to establish a complex relationship between science and religion using the chimpanzee-human relationship explanation. This study has provided an example of a learning method to minimise students' perceived conflict in the evolution course.
... While the precise definition of what it means for a student to "accept evolution" has been debated within evolution education research (Smith and Scharmann, 1999;Southerland et al., 2001;Sinatra et al., 2003;Ingram and Nelson, 2006;Smith, 2010;Wiles, 2014;Smith and Siegel, 2016), some common themes and similar definitions have emerged. One common theme is that acceptance of evolution is distinct from understanding of evolution in that understanding of evolution pertains to one's awareness of factual information about evolution, while acceptance is about whether one agrees that the theory of evolution is the best available explanation for the development of life on Earth (Southerland et al., 2001;Sinatra et al., 2003;Ingram and Nelson, 2006;Wiles, 2014;Kuschmierz et al., 2020b). ...
... While the precise definition of what it means for a student to "accept evolution" has been debated within evolution education research (Smith and Scharmann, 1999;Southerland et al., 2001;Sinatra et al., 2003;Ingram and Nelson, 2006;Smith, 2010;Wiles, 2014;Smith and Siegel, 2016), some common themes and similar definitions have emerged. One common theme is that acceptance of evolution is distinct from understanding of evolution in that understanding of evolution pertains to one's awareness of factual information about evolution, while acceptance is about whether one agrees that the theory of evolution is the best available explanation for the development of life on Earth (Southerland et al., 2001;Sinatra et al., 2003;Ingram and Nelson, 2006;Wiles, 2014;Kuschmierz et al., 2020b). As such, studies have found that some students can accept the theory of evolution as being generally true despite displaying misconceptions about how evolution works (Sinatra et al., 2003;Kuschmierz et al., 2021), while other students can score well on measures of evolution understanding despite rejecting the veracity of evolutionary theory (Sinatra et al., 2003;Ingram ad Nelson, 2006). ...
... One common theme is that acceptance of evolution is distinct from understanding of evolution in that understanding of evolution pertains to one's awareness of factual information about evolution, while acceptance is about whether one agrees that the theory of evolution is the best available explanation for the development of life on Earth (Southerland et al., 2001;Sinatra et al., 2003;Ingram and Nelson, 2006;Wiles, 2014;Kuschmierz et al., 2020b). As such, studies have found that some students can accept the theory of evolution as being generally true despite displaying misconceptions about how evolution works (Sinatra et al., 2003;Kuschmierz et al., 2021), while other students can score well on measures of evolution understanding despite rejecting the veracity of evolutionary theory (Sinatra et al., 2003;Ingram ad Nelson, 2006). ...
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Researchers who study student acceptance of evolution rely on surveys that are designed to measure evolution acceptance. It is important for these surveys to measure evolution acceptance accurately and in isolation from other constructs, so that researchers can accurately determine what leads to low acceptance. The Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance (I-SEA) and the Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation (GAENE) are two surveys that were developed to improve upon the limitations of earlier surveys. Yet neither survey has been extensively tested for response process validity, which can assess the extent to which students use constructs other than their acceptance of evolution to answer survey items. In this study, we examined the response-process validity of the I-SEA and GAENE by conducting cognitive interviews with 60 undergraduate students. Interviews revealed that both surveys retain certain response-process issues. The I-SEA conflated knowledge about and acceptance of evolution for a subset of students. The GAENE measured evolution acceptance inconsistently because students interpreted "evolution" in different ways; it also measured willingness to advocate for evolution in addition to acceptance. Researchers can use these findings to better inform their survey choice when designing future studies, and to further improve the measurement of evolution acceptance.
... As knowledge becomes more differentiated, diverging perspectives on evolution might not be compatible anymore. Then, the decision to accept evolution, understand religious and biological views as Non-Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA; Gould 1999), or reject evolution seems almost inevitable (Sinatra et al. 2003). ...
... Evolution: Education and Outreach (2023) 16:9 Especially for people with insufficient knowledge about evolution in our sample, there are indications that not only increasing knowledge about evolution is vital to increase acceptance. Other studies imply that a learner's willingness to overcome controversial views on evolution might be more important in increasing acceptance of evolution than knowledge (Sinatra et al. 2003). Taking this idea into consideration, not only the direct effect of the personal religious faith or denomination but also the effect mediated by the perception of conflict between personal religious faiths and the science-based perspective on evolution could impact the acceptance or rejection of evolution. ...
... This should be explicitly avoided. Instead, approaches to promote acceptance of evolution in the sense of developing the willingness to learn about evolution could be to support students to reconcile their religious attitudes with the scientific view of evolution (e.g., agnostic evolution; Barnes et al. 2020b;Sinatra et al. 2003). In our sample, Protestants showed a relatively strong correlation between the use of key concepts when reasoning about natural selection and acceptance while showing an average level of personal religious faith. ...
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Background The theory of evolution serves as an overarching scientific principle for all areas of biology. Hence, knowledge about and acceptance of evolution are indispensable for holistic education. However, the levels of knowledge about and acceptance of evolution vary greatly. It is supposed that insufficient knowledge and lack of acceptance are associated with high personal religious faith and affiliated denominations. Therefore, it is fundamental to examine knowledge about and acceptance of evolution, personal religious faith, and denomination. Results We conducted an exploratory study with German upper secondary school students (N = 172). Firstly, the results showed a weak to moderate correlation between knowledge about and acceptance of evolution. Secondly, students of different denominations differed in their knowledge about evolution, use of key concepts, acceptance of evolution, and personal religious faith but not in their use of misconceptions. Thirdly, the findings revealed that a student’s denomination predicts knowledge level, whereas personal religious faith predicts acceptance. Conclusions Our exploratory study indicates that, in addition to the strength of personal religious faith, the denomination may be critical to knowledge about and acceptance of evolution.
... Previous research suggests the association between students' epistemological beliefs and their understanding of evolutionary theory (Cho et al., 2011;Kizilgunes et al., 2009;Sinatra et al., 2003). This indicates that the investigation of the interrelationship of epistemological beliefs and conceptual understanding of evolution is an important issue for research. ...
... This indicates that the investigation of the interrelationship of epistemological beliefs and conceptual understanding of evolution is an important issue for research. However, existing research on students' epistemological beliefs and understanding of evolution by natural selection is rare, and the results are inconclusive (Athanasiou & Papadopoulou, 2015;Borgerding et al., 2017;Deniz et al., 2008;Sinatra et al., 2003;Southerland et al., 2001;Southerland et al., 2005;). That means that more research is needed in this field . ...
... Additional student misconceptions about the theory of evolution by natural selection include the following: organisms change because of the use or disuse of organs or because acquired traits can be transmitted to offspring (Kampourakis & Zogza, 2008); organisms change because of need (Shtulman, 2006;Sinatra et al., 2003;Sinatra et al., 2008); all mutations are harmful (Nehm & Reilly, 2007); sources other than mutations and recombinations are responsible for genetic diversity (Hallden, 1988); humans are not subject to evolution (Sinatra et al., 2003). These misconceptions are often very resistant to learning about evolution (Ferrari & Chi, 1998;Gregory, 2009;Jensen & Finley, 1995;Kampourakis & Zogza, 2008;Nehm & Reilly, 2007;Spindler & Doherty, 2009). ...
Article
This study researches relationships between 12th-grade students’ epistemological beliefs towards science and their conceptual understanding of evolution by natural selection. Forty-two 12th-grade students in a suburban high school in Cyprus, who participated in a biology course, completed measures of their: (a) epistemological beliefs towards science before the intervention of being taught evolution n (b) conceptual understanding of evolution by natural selection after evolution intervention, (c) epistemological beliefs towards science after evolution intervention. Based on previous research, we hypothesised there would be a significant relationship between students’ epistemological beliefs and their conceptual understanding of evolution by natural selection after the evolution intervention. We also hypothesised that inquiry-based intervention on evolution by natural selection would foster students’ epistemological beliefs. Our results indicate that participants’ initial epistemological beliefs predict very modestly and statistically non-significant learning achievements on conceptual understanding of evolution by natural selection. However, our results show a significant improvement in participants’ epistemological beliefs after engagement in an inquiry-based intervention on evolution by natural selection. The educational significance of this and its implications are discussed.
... Previous studies have sought to resolve evolution acceptance issues by promoting knowledge of evolutionary concepts. Although some studies have found significant correlations between evolution knowledge and acceptance (Carter and Wiles 2014), others have found weak or no links between knowledge and acceptance, particularly when considering other variables such as the student's epistemological beliefs, tolerance of uncertainty, and disposition towards open-minded thinking (Demastes et al., 1996;Sinatra et al., 2003). Evolution acceptance within the different fields of evolution is not without obstacles either, with certain studies focusing on acceptance around ideas of macroevolution, acknowledging that many students demonstrate acceptance of microevolution but not macroevolution (Barnes et al. 2017(Barnes et al. , 2020a(Barnes et al. , b, 2022. ...
... A number of studies have sought to identify the major players in students' conceptual ecology for evolution. Although Sinatra et al. (2003) did not find a significant relationship between students' epistemological sophistication and their understanding of evolution, they did find relationships between disposition, epistemological beliefs, and evolutionary knowledge. One epistemological subscale the researchers measured included Ambiguous Information related to the knowledge of evolution, and the results suggested that students who reported a dislike for ambiguity had less evolutionary knowledge. ...
... Results suggest that while they showed an increase in their knowledge of evolutionary concepts, their views on teaching non-scientific origins of biological diversity remained unchanged. The question of knowledge vs. acceptance can also be viewed bi-directionally (Sinatra et al. 2003). It is logical to presume that instruction including the overwhelming evidence supporting evolution would lead to an increase in knowledge and, subsequently, acceptance. ...
... Some researchers have found little or no correlation between knowledge and acceptance in college students not majoring in biology (Bishop and Anderson 1990;Demastes, Settlage, and Good 1995;Nehm, Kim, and Sheppard 2009), biology majors (Nehm, Kim, and Sheppard 2009) and high school students (Lawson and Worsnop 1992;Sinatra et al. 2003). In contrast, other studies have found that knowledge is correlated with acceptance for non-majors (Carter, Infanti, and Wiles 2015;Johnson and Peeples 1987;Laidlaw et al. 2022;McKeachie, Lin, and Strayer 2002;Romine et al. 2017;Sbeglia and Nehm 2018), biology majors (Sbeglia and Nehm 2018), and high school biology teachers (Rutledge and Mitchell 2002;Rutledge and Warden 2000). ...
... Research has shown that biology instructors can conflate student evolution understanding with student evolution acceptance, thinking that if a student does not accept evolution they just do not understand evolution (Barnes and Brownell 2016). However, understanding and acceptance are two distinct domains (Sinatra et al. 2003;Smith 2010). Evolution understanding refers to the extent to which one has accurate knowledge of evolution and may be measured by the extent to which they can correctly answer questions testing their understanding of evolutionary theory (Weisberg et al. 2018;Barnes et al. 2021b;Nadelson and Southerland 2009). ...
... Most quantitative studies find correlations between acceptance and understanding of evolution (Dunk et al. 2017;Barnes et al. 2019;Glaze et al. 2014;Rutledge and Warden 1999;Trani 2004;Wingert et al. 2022;Carter and Wiles 2014), while a few studies have found little or no relationship between the two constructs (Sinatra et al. 2003;Bishop and Anderson 1990;Brem et al. 2003;Lawson 1983;Ingram and Nelson 2006). What can explain these differential results across studies? ...
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Background Some of the most consistent factors associated with college students’ evolution acceptance are how much they know about evolution (understanding), and the extent to which they identify as religious (religiosity). However, few studies explore how the relationship between understanding and acceptance can be impacted by student religiosity levels. Further, students show different levels of acceptance of evolution depending on the scale of evolution and context of evolution, but few studies explore how evolution understanding is related to acceptance at different scales and in different contexts. In this study, we analyzed survey responses from 11,409 college biology students sampled from across the United States. Using linear mixed models, we explored the relationship between students’ understanding and acceptance of evolution and how their religiosity impacted that relationship. We also explored how these relationships changed based on scale and context of evolution. Results We found evidence of six different scales or contexts of evolution ranging from acceptance of microevolution to accepting that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor. We found that students were most likely to accept microevolution while they were the least likely to accept the common ancestry of life. Interactions between student religiosity and understanding of evolution were significant predictors of their acceptance of macroevolution, human evolution within the species, human common ancestry with other apes, and the common ancestry of life. Notably, among highly religious students, how much they understood about evolution was not related to how much they accepted the common ancestry of life. Conclusions This study provides evidence for six different scales or contexts of evolution for which college students have different levels of acceptance. Students accepted the common ancestry of life the least indicating that this might be important to expand upon in future research. Further, we provide evidence that the relationship between evolution acceptance and understanding depends on scale and context of evolution as well as student religiosity levels. These results indicate that acceptance of evolution among college students is more multifaceted than previously thought and that highly religious students may find it particularly difficult to translate their understanding of evolution to their acceptance.
... More than that, NOS has been found to be a more important factor in evolution acceptance than knowledge, or even religiosity (Dunk et al., 2017). Other studies, on the other hand, have shown no clear correlation between evolution knowledge and acceptance (Coleman et al., 2015;Nadelson & Southerland, 2010;Sinatra et al., 2003). ...
... W. Rice et al., 2015;Weisberg et al., 2018). On the other hand, other studies have concluded that there is no clear-cut correlation between evolution acceptance and knowledge, and that the situation is a complex one (Nadelson & Sinatra, 2010;Sinatra et al., 2003). For example, a posttest analysis of preservice teachers using Web based tutorials related to evolution, indicated that the lessons prompted a certain shift in acceptance of evolution, but had no effect on understanding of situations or knowledge of evolution (Nadelson & Sinatra, 2010). ...
... One reason for inconsistency in measurement of evolution acceptance is likely due to the different definitions that researchers use to create evolution acceptance measures (Ingram and Nelson 2006;National Academy of Sciences 1998, 2008Sinatra et al. 2003;Smith 1994;Smith and Scharmann 1999;Southerland et al. 2001;Southerland and Sinatra 2003;Wiles 2014) and multiple researchers have suggested that if we are to measure evolution acceptance in a way that provides valid inferences and reliable comparisons between studies, the field needs to agree on a consensus definition of evolution acceptance Beniermann et al. 2023). As of now, the published definitions of evolution acceptance that underly current measures (Table 4) have not been reviewed by a large network of evolution acceptance experts. ...
... 75-78) and if definitions among instruments vary substantially, this could lead to inconsistencies in the measurement of evolution acceptance between instruments. Researchers have used different definitions of "evolution acceptance, " many of which have been distinguished from "believing in evolution" (Ingram and Nelson 2006;National Academy of Sciences 1998, 2008Sinatra et al. 2003;Smith 1994;Smith and Scharmann 1999;Southerland et al. 2001;Wiles 2014). Believing in evolution implies a subjective judgement based on faith similar to believing in religion. ...
Article
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Hundreds of studies have explored student evolution acceptance because evolution is a core concept of biology that many undergraduate biology students struggle to accept. However, this construct of “evolution acceptance” has been defined and measured in various ways, which has led to inconsistencies across studies and difficulties in comparing results from different studies. Many studies and essays have offered evaluations and perspectives of evolution acceptance instruments, but publications with a focus on consensus building across research teams is still needed. Further, little attention has been paid to how evolution acceptance instruments may be interpreted differently by students with varied religious backgrounds. Funded by a Research Coordination Network in Undergraduate Biology Education grant from the National Science Foundation, we gathered 16 experts from different disciplinary and religious backgrounds to review current evolution acceptance instruments and create a guide to the strengths and weaknesses of these instruments, including appropriate contexts for using these instruments and their potential weaknesses with different religious populations. Finally, in an attempt to move the field forward, we articulated a consensus definition of evolution acceptance that can be used to guide future instrument development.
... Students have great difficulty comprehending and explaining evolution, and misconceptions often persist despite explicit instruction (Bishop and Anderson, 1990;Nehm and Reilly, 2007;Sinatra et al., 2008;Bray Speth et al., 2009;Catley and Novick, 2009;Morabito et al., 2010;Smith, 2010aSmith, , 2010bNehm and Ridgway, 2011). Some studies have suggested that students are also less likely to retain concepts related to evolution than noncontroversial topics such as photosynthesis (Sinatra et al., 2003;Nehm and Schonfeld, 2007;Glaze and Goldston, 2015). Developing conceptual understanding of evolutionary concepts is further inhibited by the presence of lexically ambiguous terms (e.g., pressure, purpose, cause, adapt; Scott, 2010a, 2010b;Rector et al., 2013). ...
... Such trends are seen even among college-educated adults (Brenan, 2019). Many studies that have explored students' acceptance of human evolution have shown that students reason differently in human versus nonhuman animal contexts (Atran, 1998;Atran et al., 2001;Nettle, 2010) and that acceptance of evolution increases when the organism in question is farther in evolutionary distance from humans (Sinatra et al., 2003;Evans, 2008). ...
Article
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Evolution is foundational to understanding biology, yet learners at all stages have incomplete and incorrect ideas that persist beyond graduation. Contextual features of prompts (e.g., taxon of organism, acquisition vs. loss of traits, etc.) have been shown to influence both the learning process and the ideas students express in explanations of evolutionary processes. In this study, we compare students' explanations of natural selection for humans versus a nonhuman animal (cheetah) at different times during biology instruction. We found "taxon" to be a significant predictor of the content of students' explanations. Responses to "cheetah" prompts contained a larger number and diversity of key concepts (e.g., variation, heritability, differential reproduction) and fewer naïve ideas (e.g., need, adapt) when compared with responses to an isomorphic prompt containing "human" as the organism. Overall, instruction increased the prevalence of key concepts, reduced naïve ideas, and caused a modest reduction in differences due to taxon. Our findings suggest that the students are reasoning differently about evolutionary processes in humans as compared with nonhuman animals, and that targeted instruction may both increase students' facility with key concepts while reducing their susceptibility to contextual influences.
... Mayoritas mahasiswa memiliki persepsi awal yang positif, temuan ini menarik karena menandakan bahwa proses pembelajaran di tingkat SMA yang mereka alami telah memberikan kesan positif. Kesan positif ini penting karena dapat membangun pemikiran yang lebih terbuka (open-minded), menurutSinatra et al., (2003)danAthanasiou et al. (2016) faktor terpenting untuk menerima teori evolusi adalah disposisi berpikir serta mahasiswa yang pemikirannya yang lebih terbuka (open-minded thinking). Sedangkan untuk mahasiswa yang masih ragu (41%) dan tidak percaya (4%) masih ada peluang untuk diarahkan disposisi berpikirnyaa, agar setelah pembelajaran nanti mereka dapat lebih menerima dan mempercayai teori evolusi. ...
Article
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Penerimaan terhadap teori evolusi merupakan salah satu isu menantang dalam dunia Pendidikan di Indonesia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan persepsi awal mahasiswa terkait teori evolusi sebelum mempelajari mata kuliah evolusi. Pada penelitian melibatkan 99 orang mahasiswa Pendidikan Biologi sebagai subjek penelitian. Data dikumpulkan melalui angket berisi open-ended dan closed-ended questions. Ditemukan bahwa 54,6% mahasiswa percaya dengan teori evolusi, 41,4% ragu-ragu dan 4% tidak percaya. Persepsi mahasiswa yang mengatakan ragu-ragu dan tidak percaya teori evolusi karena (1) menyadari kurangnya pemahaman mereka tentang evolusi; (2) teori evolusi bertentangan dengan keyakinan mereka; (3) adanya keraguan terhadap teori Darwin; (4) bukti terkait evolusi masih belum cukup memadai atau kurang meyakinkan. Adapun persepsi mahasiswa yang menerima teori evolusi dengan landasan sebagai berikut (1) evolusi dapat dibuktikan melalui bukti ilmiah; (2) mereka harus mampu menilai teori evolusi secara ilmiah dan terlepas dari perspektif agama; (3) menyadari bahwa teori evolusi perlu ditinjau dengan berbagai informasi dari berbagai perspektif. Temuan ini dapat dijadikan acuan serta memberikan rekomendasi pendekatan bagi dosen dan para pendidik untuk melaksanakan pembelajaran evolusi.
... Finally, open-minded thinking has also been found to be significantly correlated with the acceptance of human evolution (Sinatra et al., 2003), implying that a positive correlation has been found between characteristics of open-minded thinking and evolution acceptance. This means that evolution acceptance can be higher among pre-service teachers whose cognitive flexibility and openness to belief of the evolution theory are higher (Athanasiou et al., 2012). ...
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Since knowledge about evolution—and especially human evolution—is insufficient, we aimed to design three student centered online activities. These activities deal with human evolution and are intended to expose high school biology students and pre-service science teachers to issues concerning human evolution in order to enhance their knowledge of evolution and human evolution whilst also potentially enhancing their acceptance of evolution. The activities deal with lactose tolerance, celiac disease and starch consumption affecting diabetes. Additionally, we describe the principles that guided the design of these three activities: issues connecting to students’ lives; noncontentious topics regarding human evolution; human evolution examples that occurred in the not-too-distant past; unambiguous genetic frame stories including simple genetic mutations that affect known traits; and examples that expose students to basic bioinformatics tools for facing authentic scientific issues dealing with genetic evidence of evolution. Furthermore, we present the results of pre-service science teachers’ experiences with one of the activities, which demonstrate that a significant proportion of these teachers used more evolution key concepts after experiencing the activity. Notably, a significant proportion of these teachers showed an increase in evolution acceptance. In-service teachers who experienced one of the activities recommended the introduction of genetic evidence of human evolution via the activity and did not predict opposition among their students. Thus, we recommend the use of these activities among high school biology students since dealing with a relevant topic that includes clear and straightforward evidence of evolution may lead to better knowledge, a greater acceptance of evolution and human evolution, and the improved negotiation of evolution related socioscientific issues (SSIs).
... The relationship between understanding and acceptance of evolution is contradictory according to the literature. Some studies suggest that there is a positive correlation between academic performance and acceptance of the theory (Hawley et al., 2011;Scharmann et al., 2005;Shtulman & Calabi, 2012), while others indicate that there is no significant correlation (Ingram & Nelson, 2006;Sinatra et al., 2003). As mentioned above, students derive their knowledge about development from school environments and family, peers, and the media (Bramschreiber, 2013;Moore et al., 2011). ...
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Over the years, there has been a growing emphasis in scientific research on uncovering students' alternative conceptions or interpretations of fundamental concepts and principles within the field of biology. This endeavor has yielded a wealth of valuable international bibliographic data, particularly about the teaching and reception of the theory of evolution among respondents. Specifically, this paper addresses the theory of evolution, investigating alternative perspectives held by honors graduate students from the third Lyceum for Biology, who are enrolled in medical school. Additionally, the study explores how gender influences participants' viewpoints. To achieve these objectives, a comprehensive multiple-choice questionnaire was administered to students, inquiring not only about their background knowledge in biology, including gender, age, and level of interest measured on a Likert scale but also about their understanding of the fundamental tenets of evolutionary theory. A subsequent analysis of the data collected was conducted to determine if there were any correlations between gender and the percentages of correct and incorrect responses, as well as whether these responses were indicative of gender-based patterns or statistical deviations. According to the statistical analysis of the collected data, many honors students within our educational framework hold alternative viewpoints about biological concepts. Furthermore, there was no correlation between misconceptions identified in the questionnaire and variables such as grade in the Panhellenic exams, gender, or interest in biology courses. The findings of this study hold implications for the enhancement of science education, curriculum development, and the ongoing professional development of educators in the field.
... Students could additionally engage with uncertainty, work to socially resolve that uncertainty, wrestle with the limits of science (Kienhues et al., 2020), and work to understand the limits of science, as well as the importance of morals and ethics when considering STS issues (Gould, 2011). In support of improved discernment of STS issues, incorporating NOS into science instruction generates interest in science (Colwell et al., 2020;Tobias, 1991), improves content understanding (Matthews, 2014), reduces resistance to controversial topics (Sinatra et al., 2003), is correlated with taking action on environmental issues (Herman, 2018), and promotes appreciation for social justice issues (Hansson & Yacoubian, 2020). ...
Article
The goals of science education must be sufficiently broad to support learners navigating changing scientific, social, and media landscapes. This position paper builds upon existing scholarship to articulate a set of constructs useful for navigating the modern information landscape including constructs with a long history in science education (e.g., science content knowledge, science practices, nature of science) as well as those still relatively uncommon in science education (e.g., domain‐general epistemological beliefs, science disciplinary literacy, socioscientific reasoning, science media literacy, nature of technology, and critical consciousness). The paper first defines each construct, discusses how each construct supports navigating the modern information landscape, and explores research concerning the teaching and learning of each construct. Then, in the section “Application of Constructs to the Modern Information Landscape”, the paper succinctly explains how the constructs collectively combat particular struggles people may encounter. In addition to defining and articulating the constructs' utility, we explore strategies educators can use to integrate these constructs into their science teaching. Finally, we discuss implications for teaching, teacher education, and future research.
... In support of the discrepancies revealed in NOS, other researchers (e.g. Abd-El-Khalick, 2001;Khishfe, 2017;Sandoval & Morrison, 2003;Sinatra et al., 2003) have also found that learners hold different NOS conceptions across different domains or topics. Moreover, the findings of Fowler and Zeidler (2010) support the discrepancies observed in the learners' utilisation of argumentation across different SSI. ...
... Students use prior knowledge of the biological scale levels of organization to actively engage through computation in general stages (simple through complex). Research exists on the acceptance, epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions (Sinatra et al. 2003) around biological evolution. Age appropriate evolution related misconceptions held by both biology teachers and students (Yates and Marek 2014) may require conceptual change (Heddy and Sinatra 2013). ...
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Research on exploring the relationship between computational thinking and domain specific knowledge gains (i.e. biological evolution) are becoming more common in science education research. The mechanisms behind these relationships are not well understood, particularly between computational practices and biological evolution content knowledge. Increased computational complexity (i.e. simple to complex) may support a greater comprehension of scales or levels of biological organization (i.e. micro to macro) within the context of biological evolution learning. We made use of quantitative methods from qualitative work in the form of coding and relational analysis to identify which biological levels of organization students addressed, how students made connections between these levels and the level of computational complexity displayed during evolution learning with the use of two computational interventions. The aim of this study was not only exploring the biological levels and biological level connections made during the computational thinking interventions, but also analysis of the differences between these two interventions. The results illuminated that use of specific biological levels, biological level connections and differences in computational complexity were distinguishable and there were significant differences between the interventions. These factors may contribute to better understanding of biological evolution knowledge gains.
... Understanding what factors influence evolution acceptance is complicated because there are many variables that influence evolution acceptance. For example, some studies have found that evolution knowledge, cognitive dispositions, epistemological beliefs, and open-mindedness have been shown to predict evolution acceptance in some studies (Dunk et al. 2017;Ingram and Nelson 2006;Nadelson and Sinatra 2009;Sinatra et al. 2003), but lacked statistical significant in other studies (Bishop and Anderson 1990;Dunk et al. 2017). In this study, we focus on three evolution acceptance predictors that when compared to other factors, explain more variance in evolution acceptance models: religiosity, nature of science, and perceived conflict between religion and evolution (Barnes et al. 2021a, b;Dunk et al. 2017;Manwaring et al. 2015). ...
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Evolution is one of the controversial topics in biology primarily because of the perceived conflict between religion and evolution. Religiosity is one of the biggest predictors of evolution acceptance, i.e., the more religious an individual, the less accepting they are of evolution. Most students in the United States are religious, so how evolution is taught in the classroom is essential for a more inclusive experience. However, educators do not have a way to measure what factors influence students' evolution acceptance. We developed a survey instrument with validity evidence called the "predictive Factors of Evolution Acceptance and Reconciliation" (pFEAR). Using this measure, with data from eight religiously affiliated institutions in the United States, educators can understand how their religious and scientific worldview factors influence their students' views on evolution acceptance. Our study showed that religious influence was the most statistically significant predictor of evolution acceptance among religious students by a factor of 2, when compared to students scientific worldviews and the perceived conflict between science and religion. It also showed that perceived conflict between science and religion and being influenced by science were significant positive predictors of evolution acceptance. Further, this study identifies ways educators can use the pFEAR in the classroom to better understand their student's views and better modify how they approach teaching evolution in their classroom.
... A common theme in research is whether knowledge or acceptance of evolution should be the goal of education, with differences noted between goals for K-12 education and post-secondary education (Barnes and Brownell 2016;Glaze 2017;Meadows 2009;Smith and Seigel 2016). While the literature finds little agreement on whether and to what extent knowledge impacts acceptance, it is clear that there is a disconnect between the two that does not follow the logical pattern shown in other topics (Bertka et al. 2019;Sinatra et al. 2003). As a result, subsequent studies often begin with at least a cursory exploration of evolution content knowledge or acceptance levels of students and teachers to establish baselines or explore groups compared to others. ...
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Background Human evolution is a topic that is largely excluded from K-12 classrooms for a variety of reasons, including the inability, unwillingness, or lack of preparedness of educators to teach a topic that has been seen as controversial. This study explored how engagement in professional development infused with 3D printing and ways of knowing discussion influenced science teachers' self-efficacy for teaching human evolution. The professional development opportunity was designed to empower teachers and provide them with the tools necessary to incorporate human evolution into their curriculum. During this workshop, participants learned about paleontology and human origins, spoke with professional paleoanthropologists, discussed implementation strategies with evolution educators, and developed lesson plans centered around human evolution. To explore the role of this professional development on teachers’ self-efficacy and perceptions of the teaching of evolution, we used a previously validated survey that was employed in the pre-test and post-test format and semi-structured focus group interviews. Results The results of this study indicate that the workshop positively impacted teacher perceptions of the teaching of evolution with significant improvements on two of the three tested factors and the third factor almost reaching significance. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that a three-day workshop can successfully impact teachers' perception dof the teaching of evolution and, in turn, increase the implementation of human evolution in K-12 classrooms. By specifically structuring the workshop content in a way that addressed many of the previously indicated obstacles in teaching evolution, we were able to positively impact educators and provide them with the information and tools necessary to add human evolution into their curricula.
... U většiny ve skupině uvěření se však právě při otázce na porozumění objevovalo vyzdvihování faktických znalosti (srov. Sinatra et al., 2003). Jedna participantka řekla, že "si můžu něco myslet, ale nemám dostatek znalostí, abych mohla tvrdit, nakolik tomu rozumím" a další participant odpověděl, že "jsou to všechno moje teorie, takže asi nula, nemám nic potvrzené." ...
Thesis
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This thesis examines through mixed-method exploratory research the processes of understanding and believing when exposed to an information with an emphasis on unclearness. It focuses on methodology and operationalization based on the most influential research in the field. Presented research consists of inducing unclearness by reading a text about the Fermi paradox and processuality through repeated questions on believing or understanding and a subsequent reflective interview. The main questions are the possibilities of inducing processes, their forms, specifics and differences manifested in the reflections of the participants. The thematic analysis suggests a significant relationship between familiarity, approach to the text, the construction of the problem space and the resulting attitude.
... Proponents of relying on intuitive explanations as a pedagogical strategy argue that this may facilitate learning because these construals meet learners' spontaneous cognitive and affective needs (e.g. Carey, 2000;Kattmann, 2005 see also : Feynman et al., 2011) and allow educators to align with the way of thinking of scientific novices (Carey, 2000;Evans, 2001;Harrison, & Treagust, 2006;Sinatra et al., 2003; see also Talanquer, 2013). This didactic approach may therefore function as a bridge between formal scientific and intuitive reasoning (e.g. ...
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Research reveals that teachers regularly refer to intuitive construals (IC) in formal science education. Only a few studies, however, have investigated why teachers refer to them. Alarmingly, these studies suggest didactic consideration is not the main reason for this. Instead, teachers introduce IC unintentionally or due to a lack of expertise. A possible explanation for an unconsidered reference to IC – a part of lack of expertise – is that teachers spontaneously align their language with the students’ perspective as a form of implicit didactisation. We asked fifty prospective primary teachers to explain a basic scientific phenomenon of inanimate nature to fictitious recipients of varying expertise (a science expert and a student). We reasoned that if lack of knowledge was the reason for using IC, explanations should be equally intuitive for all addressees. If spontaneous language didactisation is the reason, only the explanations for students should contain intuitive elements. Results show that the majority of participants use IC exclusively when addressing students and not when addressing experts. In a substantial minority, however, lack of knowledge is a more likely cause. We conclude that there might be a tendency towards language didactisation even outside didactic professional knowledge. Implications for teacher training are discussed.
... Research in cognitive psychology and science education has shown that the relationships between understanding, acceptance, belief, knowledge, and preference are complex, poorly understood, and controversial (Smith 1994;Southerland 2000), and this is the case for the acceptance of ΕT too. Most studies in the field link ET acceptance with knowledge (Bishop and Anderson 1990; Lawson and Worsnop 1992;Meadows et al. 2000;Sinatra et al. 2003;Scharmann 2005;Rice et al. 2011Rice et al. , 2015Hermann 2012;Kahan 2015), religiosity (Plutzer and Berkman 2008;Masci 2009;Athanasiou and Papadopoulou 2012;Ha et al. 2012;Rissler et al. 2014), and trust in science (Nadelson and Hardy 2015). Teaching and comprehending the nature of science (NOS) has been proposed as a way to deal with the resistance to acceptance (Athanasiou et al. 2012;Bramschreiber 2014;Cofre et al. 2018;Nelson et al. 2019) without, however, being certain that this will also improve understanding (Crawford et al. 2005;Nehm and Schonfeld 2007). ...
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Evolutionary theory (ET), as many researchers have pointed out, is one of the cornerstones of Biology, whose understanding facilitates the study of all its other fields since it offers general and dominant explanations for the phenomena it examines. Thus, the intense research activity presented in relation to the teaching and learning of evolution is justified. Various methodological approaches attempt to conclude in an effective way how to overcome the barriers associated with the acceptance and understanding of ET. In the present research, the usefulness of the Cosmos–Evidence–Ideas (CEI) model as a tool for enhancing the effectiveness of selected activities for teaching ET is tested. Two different Teaching Learning Sequences (TLS) were designed, implemented, and evaluated, in one of which CEI was used as a design tool. Next, a comparison of the evaluation outcomes of the two TLSs was conducted. It was found that students from both groups increased their performance. This increase was slightly greater for the students who were taught evolution through the TLS, designed with the CEI model. An interpretation is given for the extent of that increase related to the model's characteristics, and suggestions for better improvement in the future are included. To sum up, there are indications that the CEI model might have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of a TLS for ET when used as a design tool.
... AOT has also shown negative relationships with the use of heuristics (West, Toplak, and Stanovich (2008) and prior beliefs in various types of reasoning tasks (Campitelli & Gerrans, 2014;Heijltjes et al., 2015;Macpherson & Stanovich, 2007). Finally, those who score high in AOT have reported a higher acceptance of counterintuitive ideas (Sinatra et al., 2003). However, one area that that has rarely been directly investigated is the relationship that AOT has with mental well-being as it relates to PWB. ...
... (Anderhag et al., 2016); How do children/pupils/students learn to understand proportional reasoning? (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958;Vanluydt et al., 2020) or the concept of evolution (Sinatra et al., 2003)?; How do teachers prevent racism and handle controversial political, religious and other issues in classrooms? ...
... Evolution, in particular, can be very challenging for undergraduate students to understand (Ziadie & Andrews, 2018). While some research indicates that many students reject evidence supporting evolution due to a perceived conflict with their religious beliefs (Dagher & BouJaoude, 1997;Sinatra et al., 2003), other studies demonstrate an overall acceptance of the theory, but a lack of understanding of the mechanism behind it. Undergraduates often only associate evolution with "survival of the fittest." ...
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Here, we present a ten-year assessment of core concept retention, with an emphasis on evolution, by senior biology majors at a small, private liberal arts college. For concepts that are regularly revisited throughout the biology curriculum, we found that knowledge retention was robust. However, for concepts that are encountered only during the introductory sequence of the freshman year, retention was weak. Furthermore, while our students seem to accept evolution as the source of biological adaptation, their understanding of the concept of natural selection is inconsistent.
... Fenner ( Overall, comparative studies in Germany demonstrate an increase in positive correlations between acceptance and understanding from school students to undergraduates and in-service biology teachers (Beniermann, 2019), which reflects the assumption of Sinatra et al. (2003) that the relationship's strength increases the higher the educational level. Furthermore, it is in line with the theoretical framework of Smith and Siegel (2016) that (1) understanding leads to acceptance, and (2) understanding requires knowledge. ...
Article
Evolution understanding is often positively connected with magnitudes of evolution acceptance, whereas religiosity mostly interferes negatively. However, comparisons between studies and countries must be treated cautiously due to the diversity of used instruments and samples. This study aims to generate new evidence concerning the interplay of evolution acceptance, evolution understanding, and religious belief by comparing the results of preservice biology teachers, school students, and self‐identified creationists answering several acceptance instruments (i.e., ATEVO, GAENE, I‐SEA, and MATE) while using the same measurement for understanding and belief. Results of our regression analysis indicate that belief and understanding were significant predictors but often diminished after including the interaction term of belief and understanding. When gender is included in the model, this variable is often significant. The interaction term of belief and understanding was only significant for two instruments in the group of school students. For the creationists, gender appeared as the essential term. While relationship patterns of preservice biology teachers seldom seem to be impacted by the choice of acceptance instruments (at least in correlations and regressions using only belief and understanding), this is not true for our school students and creationists. Our findings indicate that the magnitude of understanding may not mutually be the exclusive factor for (non‐)acceptance. Other factors, such as gender or religiosity, might be more prominent in people's attitudes toward (controversial) topics. Our study creates new insights into the interplay of acceptance, understanding, and belief, and we encourage researchers to carefully consider their choice of instruments.
... Los alumnos, incluidos a veces los universitarios, "aceptan" como válida la explicación darwiniana pero en realidad mantienen creencias lamarckianas (Sinatra et al, 2003), ya que de hecho no diferencian unas explicaciones de otras. Del mismo modo, aceptan los principios de la mecánica newtoniana, e incluso son capaces de realizar cálculos más o menos sofisticados mediante la ecuación fundamental de la dinámica, pero cuando se les presentan situaciones cotidianas (como dar cuenta de las fuerzas que están actuando sobre una moneda lanzada al aire cuando aún está ascendiendo) se muestran más bien aristotélicos, o partidarios de la teoría medieval del ímpetus, y equiparan fuerza y movimiento (Pozo y Carretero, 1992;Pozo y Gómez Crespo, 1998). ...
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1 E.M. nº 74 Mayo-Agosto 2023 CONFERENCIAS CÉLEBRES Continuamos esta sección de la revista, dedicada a Conferencias célebres impartidas en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid a lo largo de su historia, bien como Lecciones inaugurales de curso académico, o bien impartidas en su investidura por Doctores Honoris Causa nombrados por esta universidad. Se trata por tanto de conferencias con importantes contenidos relacionados con la ciencia y el progreso del conocimiento, e impartidas por personalidades ilustres del mundo académico, científico o social. En esta ocasión publicamos la Lección inaugural de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid del Curso académico 2018-2019, pronunciada por Presidente del Consejo Social y miembros del equipo de gobierno, Miembros de la comunidad universitaria, Señoras y señores: Quisiera comenzar expresando mi agradecimiento al Rector y a todo su equipo por la generosidad de invitarme a impartir hoy esta lección en un curso además tan especial para la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, en el que, en la peculiar cronología que mide su edad, pasa, a los 50 años, de la juventud a una madurez consolidada. Es para mí un gran honor y responsabilidad disponer de estos minutos para compartir con ustedes algunas aportaciones de una ciencia también joven pero madura, la Psicología. Centraré mi exposición, como no puede ser de otra manera, en mi área de especialidad, la Psicología del Aprendizaje, pero lo haré desde la convicción de que el aprendizaje es una prioridad no solo para quienes nos dedicamos a investigarlo y desentrañarlo, sino para toda la comunidad universitaria presente hoy en este acto. Dado que una de nuestras primeras ocupaciones es enseñar, es decir, ayudar a otros a aprender, el aprendizaje, como actividad social pero también psicológica, nunca nos puede ser ajeno. De hecho, si queremos avanzar hacia esa sociedad del conocimiento tantas veces invocada, debemos, entre otras muchas cosas, repensar las formas de aprender y de ayudar a otros a aprender. Sobre ello versará mi presentación. 1. LAS NUEVAS DEMANDAS DE APRENDIZAJE PARA LA SOCIEDAD DEL CONOCIMIENTO En su última obra, Enlightenment now, el reconocido psicólogo cognitivo Steven Pinker (2018) sostiene que el desarrollo general del conocimiento científico y humanístico ha dado lugar a tecnologías y prácticas sociales, pero también a creencias y valores, que han mejorado de modo objetivo la calidad
... While at first glance, it may seem that giving people more information about a domain must lead to more pro-environmental behavior, it is often argued that trying to address knowledge deficits per se is unlikely to succeed. People often reject information offered when it conflicts with other beliefs or values and motivations (e.g., Azjen, Joyce, Sheikh, & Cote, 2011;Sinatra, Southerland, McConaughy, & Demastes, 2003). For instance, people are likely to resist accepting the news of invisible harms from their lawn care efforts because doing so would require rejecting their commitment to the beauty of a perfect lawn as well as going against the social norm. ...
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Threats to the health of our environment are numerous. Much research in science and engineering is devoted to documenting, understanding, and attempting to mitigate the harm itself. The root challenge for sustainability, however, is human behavior. As such, changes to human behaviors and the internal processes that drive them are also essential. Critical to understanding sustainability-related behaviors is the individual's conceptualization of the natural world and its components and processes. The papers in this topiCS issue address these conceptualizations by drawing from anthropological, linguistic, educational, philosophical, and social cognitive perspectives as well as traditional psychological approaches to the study of concepts and their development in children. They engage with many domains bearing on environmental sustainability including climate change, biodiversity, land and water conservation, resource use, and design of the built environment. They coalesce around four broad themes: (a) What people know (or believe) about nature broadly and about specific aspects of nature, and how they acquire and use this knowledge; (b) how knowledge is expressed and shared via language; (c) how knowledge and beliefs interact with affective, social, and motivational influences to yield attitudes and behaviors; and (d) how members of different cultures and speakers of different languages differ in these ways. The papers also point to lessons for advancing sustainability via public policy and public messaging, education, conservation and nature management, and design of the built environment.
... A starting assumption might be that the more people know about insects, the more they will care about them. However, studies in many science and conservation domains suggest that exposure to factual information often is not the determining factor in attitudes and behaviors (e.g., Ajzen, Joyce, Sheikh, & Cote, 2011, Allum, Sturgis, Tabouraz, & Brunton-Smith, 2008Sinatra, Southerland, McConaughy, & Demastes, 2003). People process information through the lenses of their values and beliefs, and their behavior is shaped by social groups and influencers ranging from religious leaders to politicians to social media content creators (e.g., Knupfer, Neureiter, & Matthes, 2023;Lord, Ross, & Lepper, 1979). ...
Article
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Domain knowledge is often considered a minor contributor to environmental attitudes, with social and motivational factors dominating. Yet, domains may differ. Declining insect populations are a critical conservation concern but are not prominent in public discourse, potentially reducing the impact of social and motivational variables. We present data on the relations of insect knowledge (both propositional and causal), associated emotional valences, and political orientation to concern for insect conservation, for samples of American college students and U.S. and U.K. Prolific workers. We asked whether concern for insect conservation is more associated with knowledge than emotional valence or political orientation, and whether this is especially so for U.K. residents, who have a reputation for a love of nature that is not linked to political identity. We found that U.K. participants did show greater overall concern, consistent with the national reputation. Causal knowledge mattered, but political orientation was the strongest predictor of concern for insect conservation for both U.S. and U.K. participants. Valence contributed for U.S. participants but not for U.K. participants. Our results suggest that politicized public discourse penetrates attitudes toward insects even when it does not explicitly concern insects, and knowledge variation has less impact. However, the emotional reaction has a reduced influence where relevant discourse is less polarized. Insects may often evoke negative emotions and motivations, but it is not impossible to love a bug.
... Evolusi merupakan salah satu konsep yang sulit dipelajari. Hal ini berkaitan dengan kompleksitas materi evolusi yang memuat konsep-konsep abstrak dan berkaitan dengan konsep lain (Sinatra, 2003). Konsep-konsep biologi lain yang berkaitan dengan materi evolusi, antara lain morfologi, anatomi, genetika, ekologi, dan taksonomi (Dobzhansky, 1973). ...
Article
Studens at Kabupaten Kubu Raya, Kalimantan Barat, have difficulty in understanding the material of evolution, this is an indication that students are getting misconception, so to solve the problem we need to do an analysis. One of the instruments that can be used to identify misconception is a Three Tier Test. These research aim, to analyze student misconception on evolution material using Three Tier Test at SMA and MA in Kabupaten Kubu Raya. The method that used is descriptive method with qualitative approach. The subjects of the research were students of grade 12 IPA SMAN 1 Sungai Kakap, SMAN 3 Sungai Kakap, MAN 1 Kubu Raya, and MA Al Mustaqim, 2016/2017 in academic year, which consists 144 students. Data collecting techniques that we used was three tier tests. Results show that in SMA the average percentage of students who misconception is 32,09%, in MA the average percentage of students who misconception is 40,46%. The highest percentage of misconception is in evolutionary mechanism concept, 44.86% at SMA students and 52,96% at MA student. Misconception on Darwin's theory of evolutionary concept is 32.35% at SMA students and 26,32% at MA student. On the concept of evidence for evolution is 19.06% at SMA student and 42,11% at MA student
... Finally, open-minded thinking has also been found to be significantly correlated with the acceptance of human evolution (Sinatra et al., 2003), implying that a positive correlation has been found between characteristics of open-minded thinking and evolution acceptance. This means that evolution acceptance can be higher among pre-service teachers whose cognitive flexibility and openness to belief of the evolution theory are higher (Athanasiou et al., 2012). ...
... It also may be that those with less education may be more likely to embrace the negative rhetoric about immigrants without probing the validity and/or reliability of this information. Moreover, education exposes people to diverse viewpoints (Sinatra et al. 2003), which may help the more educated individual to counter stereotypes about immigrants and immigration. We also found that older individuals were more inclined to support the elimination of the DVL program. ...
Article
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This study assesses contemporary attitudes toward the Diversity Visa Lottery program. Specifically, we examine the public’s views about the Diversity Visa Lottery, an immigrant visa program that was criticized by former President Donald Trump. Using a data set that approximates a nationally representative sample of U.S. residents, we found evidence that those who voted for Donald Trump in 2016, those who did not vote for president in 2016, those who identified as conservative/very conservative, and older citizens favor eliminating the Diversity Visa Lottery program. On the contrary, Blacks, the more highly educated, and those who identified as very liberal/liberal oppose eliminating the Diversity Visa Lottery program. The implications of our findings for group relations, policy, and future research are discussed.
... While having students read, write, and act like scientists is important, NOS asks students to reflect metacognitively about the work of scientists (Abd-El-Khalick, 2013) so they develop knowledge about "what science is, how it works, the epistemological and ontological foundations of science, how scientists operate as a social group and how society itself both influences and reacts to scientific endeavors" (Clough, 2006, p. 463). Increased understanding of NOS generates interest in science (Tobias, 1991), improves content understanding (Matthews, 2014), reduces resistance to controversial topics (Sinatra et al., 2003), is correlated with likelihood to take action regarding environmental issues (Herman, 2018), and even promotes appreciation for social justice issues (Hansson & Yacoubian, 2020). Clearly, accurate NOS views will support more thorough consideration of SSI (Priest, 2016), particularly with new conceptions of NOS that more explicitly articulate the way science interacts with political power structures and financial and economic systems (Irzik & Nola, 2011;Erduran & 3 DEVELOPING AND VALUING SOCIOSCIENTIFIC LITERACY Daughter, 2014). ...
Conference Paper
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In an effort to address the lack of broad scientific literacy addressed in schools, this study had four goals: (1) identify components of socioscientific literacy, (2) develop an instructional intervention to support preservice teacher development of socioscientific literacy, and (3) assess the efficacy of the intervention to help preservice teachers make sense of socioscientific literacy components, and (4) assess to what extent preservice teachers valued socioscientific literacy components after completing the instructional intervention. Findings from this study make clear that preservice teachers were mostly able to make sense of the components of socioscientific literacy. In particular, the preservice teachers excelled in making sense of questions related to science media literacy, critical consciousness, and socioscientific reasoning. Participants also included most all components of socioscientific literacy as important for their future students. However, preservice teachers were more likely to struggle with questions related to the nature of technology. Interestingly, participants tended to struggle more when asked how components of socioscientific literacy may help them make sense of socioscientific issues generally than they did when asked to explain components in context of the sociocientific issue presented (electric vehicles). Ways to better support preservice teacher learning of the nature of technology and abstraction of socioscientific literacy beyond the issue presented are explored.
... Finally, open-minded thinking has also been found to be significantly correlated with the acceptance of human evolution (Sinatra et al., 2003), implying that a positive correlation has been found between characteristics of open-minded thinking and evolution acceptance. This means that evolution acceptance can be higher among pre-service teachers whose cognitive flexibility and openness to belief of the evolution theory are higher (Athanasiou et al., 2012). ...
Chapter
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Addressing the complex and controversial problems we face today requires education to empower citizens with competencies in sustainability that allow them to contribute to more just and sustainable societies. Many sustainability problems are strongly linked to evolutionary processes. When complex problems can be informed by science, these are known as socioscientific issues (SSI). Educational approaches that explore SSI have been shown to contribute to the development of functional scientific literacy and character development. Together, this suggests that evolution education through the SSI approach may contribute to the development of key competencies in sustainability. To test this hypothesis and understand how evolution education has been explored through SSI approaches, we performed a systematic literature review to identify the key competencies in sustainability developed in papers addressing evolution through SSI. Our results indicate that a few studies have addressed evolution education through SSI and support the potential of this approach since all key competencies in sustainability were found in these studies; however, some of these competencies (e.g., strategic and anticipatory competencies) were not frequently observed. Our results also support the interest in this approach to evolution education since all evolution education dimensions were found. However, the analysed studies show little diversity in terms of the explored SSI, with the majority being related to biotechnology. The implications of these findings and important highlights for educational practices and research are discussed.
... Yet the relationship between understanding evolution and accepting evolution is not straightforward (Dunk et al. 2017). Some studies have found a positive correlation between the two (e.g., Shtulman and Calabi 2012) and some have not (e.g., Sinatra et al. 2003). It is possible for someone to understand evolution and not accept that it is true (e.g., Hermann 2012). ...
Chapter
While biological anthropology intersects with science education via numerous topics, and many practicing biological anthropologists are college or university faculty members, studies of biological anthropology pedagogical best practices at the undergraduate level are scarce. The purpose of this chapter is to (1) outline obstacles and opportunities in teaching two content areas in biological anthropology perceived as "controversial": human evolution and human variation (sometimes understood as "race") and (2) present evidence-based recommendations for pedagogical best practices and approaches that US college and university faculty members can use when teaching these topics in undergraduate classrooms.
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Views of the Nature of Science (NOS) among science students in higher education is investigated in a Norwegian university. The research utilizes the Views of the Nature of Science questionnaire version D+ (VNOS-D+), conducting a comprehensive analysis of NOS perspectives among 41 participants in STEM courses during the autumn semester of 2023. An overall decent understanding of NOS was found among all participating science students, regardless of gender, country of origin or study program. The mean values of the results for each aspect of NOS fluctuate between 1.39 and 2.68 on a scale from 0 (inadequate), 1 (naïve), 2 (transitional), to 3 (adequate) and are distributed rather homogeneously (x̄ = 2.02), although the aspect of law and theory stands out for its prevalence of naïve responses (x̄ = 1.39). No significant improvement in NOS understanding was observed with increased academic tenure in this study. The study shows promising usefulness of the VNOS-D+ questionnaire in higher education, as a valuable tool for gaining standardized insights into NOS perspectives. This research contributes to the discourse on science education by examining science students’ understandings of NOS in higher education in a previously rarely examined location.
Article
Le teorie sull'evoluzione biologica non sono accettate da molte persone nel mondo, con grandi differenze tra paesi. Ciò è dovuto a fattori come la religio-ne, l'osservazione dei fenomeni empirici e diverse visioni dell'attività scienti-fica. Si propongono i risultati di un'indagine sulla forza delle associazioni tra na-zionalità, religione e accettazione dell'evoluzione che ha coinvolto due cam-pioni rappresentativi di studenti Italiani e Brasiliani. I risultati dimostrano che i fattori socioculturali hanno una maggiore influen-za nell'accettazione dell'evoluzione, molto più di quelli religiosi. L'affiliazione religiosa non è dunque il fattore principale nel predire il livello di accettazione dell'evoluzione.
Article
The goal of the project is to determine the level of knowledge of primary school pupils in the field of reproduction of organisms by determining the correctness of their interpretation of key biological concepts related to the topic of reproduction. The basic knowledge of 355 pupils of the fourth, fifth and sixth grades of five elementary schools was determined using the questionnaire survey method. The average success rate of pupils was 53 %. Almost three-quarters of the questions (72 %) were most often answered correctly. Pupils made significant mistakes in the interpretation of terms related to the description and location of reproductive structures. There is no difference in the test results of boys and girls, or the test results of pupils of different age groups respectively. However, the average test score of pupils living in the village and those living in the city shows a significant deviation.
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The present study examines the relationships between 12th grade students’ epistemological beliefs toward science and their personal beliefs in plant evolution, animal evolution and human evolution, before biological evolution instruction. Epistemological beliefs toward science, refer to students’ (and other individuals’) beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing. Personal beliefs in biological evolution are considered to be personal truths or subjective views in biological evolution. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that there would be a relation between students’ epistemological beliefs toward science and their personal beliefs in biological evolution. Fifty-one (51) 12th grade students participated in the study. Participants’ epistemological beliefs and personal beliefs in biological evolution were assessed separately. A multiple regression analysis tested for relationships between students’ epistemological beliefs and their personal beliefs in biological evolution. Results showed that 12th grade students’ epistemological beliefs predicted their personal beliefs in plant evolution and animal evolution, but not in human evolution. In particular, students who held relatively sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the source of knowledge believed more in plant evolution and animal evolution than students with less sophisticated epistemological beliefs. Educational implications are discussed.
Conference Paper
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El uso de ejemplos humanos para la comprensión de la evolución biológica es del interés de los estudiantes, sin embargo, los profesores lo omiten por: tiempo, cobertura del tema en el currículo y libros de texto, así como el escaso conocimiento relacionado a su formación y la controversia que genera. En este artículo se presenta una revisión de 35 publicaciones en torno a la evolución humana, que se sistematizaron y agruparon en categorías. Se encontró que los años con más publicaciones fueron 2016 y 2018. Estados Unidos fue el país con mayor número de investigaciones publicadas. Sobresalen los trabajos relacionados con las estrategias didácticas y los recursos para la enseñanza de la evolución humana. La revisión permite identificar que las estrategias didácticas y materiales alternativos en la enseñanza de la evolución humana favorecen la comprensión del modelo evolutivo y en ocasiones el cambio de las concepciones del estudiantado. Palabras clave: Evolución humana, educación, enseñanza, estrategias, ciencias naturales. The use of human examples for understanding of biological evolution results interesting to students. However, biology teachers omit it arguing lack of time, the inclusion of the topic in the curriculum and textbooks, as well as the scarce knowledge related to their professional training and the controversy it generates. In this paper presents a revision of 35 publications around human evolution that were analyzed, systematized and grouped. We found that years with more publications were 2016 and 2018. The United States and Spain are the countries with the highest number of published research.Works related to didactic strategies and resources for teaching human evolution stand out. The review allows us to identify that didactic strategies and alternative materials in the teaching of human evolution favor the understanding of the evolutionary model and sometimes the change of the students' conceptions of the subject.
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This review of related literature provides understanding on experiential learning and scientific process skills. It serves as the foundation for the research design, methodology, and data analysis in the subsequent phases, contributing to the advancement and informing educational practices and policies. This highlights the studies obtained from the literature. The review assesses the scientific process skills in senior high school STEM students. Also, to bridge previous works on individual practices to group activities, and to explore the effectiveness of scientific process skills in science education. Furthermore, the review will explore any existing gaps or areas of contention within the literature. By critically evaluating the findings and methodologies of previous studies, the review aims to identify research gaps that this current study seeks to address. The gaps include specific populations or subject areas that have not been adequately explored, methodological limitations, or contradictory findings that require further investigation.
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Chapter
Beliefs about knowledge and knowing are referred to as epistemological beliefs. Scientific epistemological beliefs relate to the nature and acquisition of science knowledge and, are central to promoting deeper, meaningful learning. As gender performance gaps are evident for science achievement in UAE government schools, this study seeks to investigate the relative importance of science epistemological beliefs for 15-year-olds using data drawn from the PISA 2015 cycle. Results of mediation analyses for the whole group model, indicate that overall enjoyment of science and instrumental motivation to learn science are the strongest predictors of scientific literacy and these effects are partially mediated by students’ epistemological beliefs about science. Statistically significant differences between the male-only and female-only groups were observed for the hypothesised models employed in the study. For the male-only group, epistemological beliefs about science negated the negative relationship between science achievement and interest in science, and the direct effect of extrinsic motivation on science achievement was stronger than for females. These findings provide evidence relating to the importance of scientific epistemological beliefs for males and females and their associated peripheral attitudes and beliefs about learning. This chapter outlines the practical implications for science teaching methodologies in UAE schools.
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Much research in the last 2 decades has demonstrated that humans deviate from normative models of decision making and rational judgment. In 4 studies involving 954 participants, the authors explored the extent to which measures of cognitive ability and thinking dispositions can predict discrepancies from normative responding on a variety of tasks from the heuristics and biases literature including the selection task, belief bias in the syllogistic reasoning, argument evaluation, base-rate use, covariation detection, hypothesis testing, outcome bias, if-only thinking, knowledge calibration, hindsight bias, and on false consensus paradigm. Significant relationships involving cognitive ability were interpreted as indicating algorithmic level limitations on the computation of the normative response. Relationships with thinking dispositions were interpreted as indicating that styles of epistemic regulation can predict individual differences in performance of these tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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A sample of 349 college students completed an argument evaluation test (AET) in which they evaluated arguments concerning real-life situations. A separate regression analysis was conducted for each student predicting his or her evaluations of argument quality from an objective indicator of argument quality and the strength of his or her prior beliefs about the target propositions. The beta weight for objective argument quality was interpreted in this analysis as an indicator of the ability to evaluate objective argument quality independent of prior belief. Individual differences in this index were reliably linked to individual differences in cognitive ability and actively open-minded thinking dispositions. Further, actively openminded thinking predicted variance in AET performance even after individual differences in cognitive ability had been partialled out. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Epistemological questions about the nature of knowledge and belief underlie many of the controversial issues fundamental to research and practice in science teaching and learning. In an effort to bring some clarity to questions of knowledge and belief embedded within science education research and teaching, we first describe the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief in both philosophy and educational psychology, each of which have shaped the various definitions employed within science education. This discussion is followed by an examination of the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief employed by three groups of science educators: the traditional distinctions of the foundationalists that are co-opted by researchers focusing on teacher thinking/cognition, the nonfoundational epistemology of the fallibilists and the evolution educators working from this framework, and the radical constructivists who react to and attempt to move past the limitations of these other positions. In this analysis, we explicate the different ways in which knowledge and belief are understood and operationalized in a broad spectrum of research, we describe the theoretical and philosophical assumptions underlying these approaches, and we explore the important areas of contention (both theoretical and empirical) surrounding each of these distinctions.
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How is knowledge acquired and represented in memory? By what process do individuals come to change their ideas, conceptions, or knowledge? Although the first question has been central to cognitive psychologists' research agendas for many years, relatively less is known about the change process We examine 3 research literatures to broaden our understanding of the process of knowledge change. In particular, we draw on models of conceptual change from cognitive psychology social psychology, and science education. Each model adds a new perspective on the change process. Based on the literature from these models of change, we developed a new model that represents our reconceptualization of the change process. We describe the model and use it to point out new areas of research to be addressed.
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creation versus evolution conflict smolderson. Courts and curriculum committees haveclosed the issue repeatedly at national, stateand community levels, but the embers still glow.Occasionally, the controversy re-erupts into full flame.Parents band together and file suit against theirschool board claiming that the teaching of evolutionundermines their children’s worldview. State legisla-tures argue laws designed to de-emphasize the roleof evolution in the curriculum. University scientistsgather to champion the need for an uncompromisedapproach to the teaching of evolution in secondaryschools. Often, though, the controversy remains juston the brink of flare-up, a tension that biology teach-ers feel more than any other players in the conflict.Biology teachers face the demanding challenge ofcrafting a learning environment that mediates collid-ing agendas. They want students to deepen theirunderstanding of biological evolution in order tobecome scientifically literate citizens. At the sametime, they also want to support, rather than under-mine, the values of students, parents and communitieswhose worldviews can oppose the teaching of evolu-tion. On a private, and often unspoken level, manybiology teachers themselves must face their ownunresolved conflicts between biological evolution andtheir personal worldviews. Teachers from variousreligious and philosophical backgrounds face conflictsbetween their beliefs and biological evolution thatrange from simply thought-provoking to deeply dis-turbing. Is it possible for teachers to actually resolvethese conflicting ideas?
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This study examined the influence of people's beliefs about the certainty of knowledge, the strength of their beliefs about a controversial issue, and their tendency to enjoy effortful thinking on their interpretation of controversial information. Ninety-six undergraduates completed an epistemological beliefs questionnaire (M. Schommer; see record 1991-05940-001), the Need for Cognition Scale (J. T. Cacioppo, R. E. Petty, & C. F. Kao; see record 1984-30417-001), and indicated the degree to which they believed that HIV causes AIDS. They then read a text that presented two conflicting views regarding the HIV–AIDS relationship and wrote a concluding paragraph for the text. Regression analyses revealed that the less students believed in certain knowledge, the less extreme their initial beliefs, and the higher their need for cognition, the more likely they were to write conclusions that reflected the inconclusive nature of the mixed evidence they read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Investigators of students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, have generally assumed that epistemological beliefs are domain independent (i.e., they generalize across domains). The purpose of this research was to test this assumption. College students completed an epistemological questionnaire with a specific domain in mind (either social sciences or mathematics), read a passage (either social sciences or mathematics), answered a passage test, and completed another epistemological questionnaire with the alternative domain in mind. Results support the idea that individuals' epistemological beliefs tend to be domain independent. Mathematical epistemological factors correlated with the corresponding social science epistemological factors. Epistemological beliefs in both domains predicted passage comprehension similarly, and most students showed a consistent level of epistemological sophistication across domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This is an investigation of the development of secondary students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, and the influence that these beliefs have on academic performance. An epistemological questionnaire that assesses students' beliefs about simple knowledge, certain knowledge, quick learning, and fixed ability to learn was modified and administered to more than 1,000 high school students. Factor analysis of students' responses replicated the factor structure found in previous research. Differences in epistemological beliefs among students across the high school years and between genders were examined. Belief in simple knowledge, certain knowledge, and quick learning decreased from freshman to senior year. Girls were less likely to believe in quick learning and fixed ability. Students' GPA was regressed on epistemological factors. The less students believed in quick learning, the higher the GPA they earned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Need for cognition in contemporary literature refers to an individual's tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive endeavors. Individual differences in need for cognition have been the focus of investigation in over 100 empirical studies. This literature is reviewed, covering the theory and history of this variable, measures of interindividual variations in it, and empirical relationships between it and personality variables, as well as individuals' tendencies to seek and engage in effortful cognitive activity and enjoy cognitively effortful circumstances. The article concludes with discussions of an elaborated theory of the variable, including antecedent conditions; interindividual variations in it related to the manner information is acquired or processed to guide perceptions, judgments, and behavior; and the relationship between it and the 5-factor model of personality structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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The domain specificity and generality of belief-biased reasoning was examined across a height judgment task and a syllogistic reasoning task that differed greatly in cognitive requirements. Moderate correlations between belief-bias indices on these 2 tasks falsified an extreme form of the domain specificity view of critical thinking skills. Two measures of cognitive ability and 2 measures of cognitive decontextualization skill were positively correlated with belief bias in a height judgment task where prior knowledge accurately reflected an aspect of the environment and negatively correlated with belief bias in a height judgment task where prior knowledge was incongruent with the environment. Likewise, cognitive ability was associated with skill at resisting the influence of prior knowledge in the syllogistic reasoning task. Participants high in cognitive ability were able to flexibly use prior knowledge, depending upon its efficacy in a particular environment. They were more likely to project a relationship when it reflected a useful cue, but they were also less likely to project a prior belief when the belief was inefficacious. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Personality psychologists from a variety of theoretical perspectives have recently concluded that personality traits can be summarized in terms of a 5-factor model. This article describes the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO–PI), a measure of these 5 factors and some of the traits that define them, and its use in clinical practice. Recent studies suggest that NEO–PI scales are reliable and valid in clinical samples as in normal samples. The use of self-report personality measures in clinical samples is discussed, and data from 117 "normal" adult men and women are presented to show links between the NEO–PI scales and psychopathology as measured by D. N. Jackson's (1989) Basic Personality Inventory and L. Morey's (1991) Personality Assessment Inventory. The authors argue that the NEO–PI may be useful to clinicians in understanding the patient, formulating a diagnosis, establishing rapport, developing insight, anticipating the course of therapy, and selecting the optimal form of treatment for the patient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Background. Individuals' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, have been linked to their comprehension, meta-comprehension, persistence, and interpretation of information (e.g., Kitchener & King, 1981; Ryan, 1984; Songer & Linn, 1991). Little is known about the development of epistemological beliefs. Aims. This research examines the contributions of age and education to adults' epistemological beliefs. Sample. A total of 418 adults from all walks of life (e.g., homemakers, waitresses, teachers, farmers, carpenters, executives, and lawyers) participated in this study. Stratified random sampling was used to ensure that one-third of the sample had only a high school education, another third had some college undergraduate experience, and the other third had some graduate school experience. Method. Adults completed an epistemological questionnaire that assesses beliefs about the structure and stability of knowledge, and the speed and control of learning. Results. To ensure that the epistemological questionnaire was suitable for this sample, a factor analysis was carried out. Factor scores that were generated replicated a factor structure that had been found in earlier studies (Dunkle, Schraw & Bendixen, 1993; Schommer, 1990). Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that education predicted beliefs about the structure and stability of knowledge. Age predicted beliefs about the ability to learn. Conclusions. This evidence suggests that both age and education affect individuals' epistemological beliefs in unique ways. This may have implications for older adults who return to school eager to learn but with misunderstandings about the nature of knowledge, and younger adults who attend school with doubts about the malleability of the ability to learn.
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Using conceptual change as a theoretical lens, the purpose of this study is to describe the structure of a learner's conceptual ecology within a specific content area (biological evolution) and to illustrate how this ecology influences the process of conceptual change. Data were gathered using participant observations in a high school Biology II classroom as well as a series of 17 open-ended and structured interviews with each of four research participants. The interviews were designed to illustrate the participants' approaches to biology as well as to describe their changing conceptual frameworks for evolutionary theory. Interview techniques used include: concept mapping, drawing interviews, discussion of pre- and posttests, and sorting tasks. A learner's conceptual ecology for evolution was found to include prior conceptions related to evolutionary theory (both scientific and alternative), scientific and religious orientations, view of the biological world, and acceptance of evolutionary theory. However, the data demonstrate that the actions of these aspects of the conceptual ecology can vary among individuals and no single controlling mechanism was isolated. Most importantly, the data demonstrate that conceptual change has significant affective cornponents as evidence is evaluated by learners and this evaluation is often based on extralogical criteria. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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The work of Bishop and Anderson (1990) plays a major role in educators' understanding of evolution education. Their findings remind us that the majority of university students do not understand the process of evolution but that conceptual change instruction can be moderately effective in promoting the construction of a scientific understanding. The present article details two studies that represent an effort to focus on and define the limits of the Bishop and Anderson (1990) study. Study A describes a close replication of the work of Bishop and Anderson (1990) using the same conceptual-change teaching module to teach a unit on evolution to students enrolled in a biology course for nonmajors. Study B, a case of comparison, used the same evaluation instrument used in Bishop and Anderson (1990) and Study A, but high school students were the participants and the instruction was based on the inquiry approach to science. Like Bishop and Anderson (1990), Study A showed that the amount of prior instruction and students' beliefs in evolution were not found to be large factors in students' use of scientific conceptions. Unlike the original study, the students in Study A showed only a meager increase in their use of scientific conceptions for evolution. In Study B, students in the experimental group showed significant increases in their use of scientific conceptions. These findings suggest a need to investigate more closely the teachers' theories of learning, their reliance on instructional conversations, and the amount of time devoted to the topic of evolution as we study conceptual change in this area.
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There have been a number of research programs that have investigated students’ thinking and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing, including definitions of knowledge, how knowledge is constructed, and how knowledge is evaluated. However, these different research programs have pursued varying definitions and conceptual frameworks and used quite different methodologies to examine students’ epistemological beliefs and thinking. In the first section of this article, we provide a critical and comprehensive review of these different research programs. In the second part of this article, we identify nine crucial theoretical and methodological issues that need to be resolved in future research on epistemological theories. As these issues are addressed in future research, there will be more consensus regarding the nature of epistemological theories, and their relation to cognition, motivation, and learning will be made more explicit.
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Individuals' beliefs about knowledge (i.e., epistemological beliefs) have become the focus of inquiry in the educational and psychological literatures. Based on an analysis of those literatures, we first propose that epistemological beliefs are multidimensional and multilayered. That is, individuals possess general beliefs about knowledge, as well as beliefs about more specific forms of knowledge (e.g., academic knowledge). Second, we examine the relationship between epistemological beliefs and learning in order to understand why such beliefs are important to educators. Third, we question whether beliefs about academic knowledge are truly general (i.e., unwavering across academic domains) or have a character reflective of the domain to which they are associated (i.e., domain specific). Finally, we explore some of the common problems in the research and suggest topics for future study.
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The definition of epistemological beliefs takes on different shades of meaning from study to study; but, in general, researchers of personal epistemology are interested in what individuals believe about the source, certainty, and organization of knowledge, as well as the control and the speed of learning. Epistemological beliefs have been found to relate to reading comprehension, learning in complex and ill-structured domains, as well as learners' active participation and persistence in learning. Researchers are at odds on the issues of epistemological development and the roles that education and culture play in epistemological beliefs.
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There is a great need for effective evolution education. This paper reviews some of the evidence that demonstrates that need and analyzes some of the foundational semantic, epistemological, and philosophical issues involved. This analysis is used to provide a functional understanding of the distinction between science and non-science. Special emphasis is placed the scientific meaning of the terms theory, hypothesis, fact, proof, evidence, and truth, focusing on the difference between religious belief and acceptance of a scientific theory. Science is viewed as theologically neutral and as not mutually exclusive from religion. Finally, a number of practical recommendations to the classroom biology teacher are presented.
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What is intelligence? Can it be increased by teaching? If so, how, and what difference would an increase make? Before we can answer these questions, we need to clarify them. Jonathan Baron argues that when we do so we find that intelligence has much to do with rational thinking, and that the skills involved in rational thinking are in fact teachable, at least to some extent. Rationality and Intelligence develops and justifies a prescriptive theory of rational thinking in terms of utility theory and the theory of rational life plans. The prescriptive theory, buttressed by other assumptions, suggests that people generally think too little and in a way that is insufficiently critical of the initial possibilities that occur to them. However these biases can be - and sometimes are - corrected by education.
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There appears to be an almost universal commitment among science educators to promote the goal of student understanding of the nature of science. Recent disagreements among philosophers of science and between philosophers and other groups such as scientists and science educators about the nature of science, however, leave classroom teachers in a quandry: If experts disagree about the nature of science, how should we decide what to teach students? In this article, the authors first reconsider what level of understanding of the nature of science students should experience so that they can become both intelligent consumers of scientific information and effective local and global citizens. Second, based on an analysis of the literature, it appears that there is a general agreement among science education stakeholders regarding a set of descriptors that can be used to judge which questions or fields of study are more scientific or less scientific than others. Therefore, we propose that most precollege teachers should attempt to teach students how to use these descriptors to judge the relative merits of knowledge claims instead of teaching a set of rules that attempt to demarcate science completely from nonscience. Finally, we suggest two classroom activities based on this proposal and draw some implications for teacher preparation and future research. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Rokeach recently introduced a theory about different styles of belief systems that people have. The theory is an outgrowth of work on the Authoritarian Personality. The theory has not been utilized much in field studies because the primary measuring instrument, the “dogmatism” scale, contains 40 items. In this article, the authors recommend shorter versions of the dogmatism scale, indicating which items should be used to maintain the reliability of the measuring instrument. The short forms were developed from data collected in two field studies.
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The conceptual change model has two major components: the conditions that need to be satisfied for a person to experience conceptual change and the person's conceptual ecology that provides the context in which the conceptual change occurs. A literature review shows that the conditions have been used to analyse interview data and to plan instruction but not to interpret interactions in the classroom. An analysts of the ways in which students can and do produce evidence of meeting conditions shows that this only happens when they are able to monitor and comment on the scientific content of their conceptions. Implications that this conclusion has for classroom teaching are considered.
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The relationship among age, education, gender, syllogistic reasoning skill, epistemic beliefs, and moral reasoning in adults was examined. It was predicted that five epistemic dimensions would explain unique variance in moral reasoning over and above all other variables. This hypothesis was confirmed. Beliefs corresponding to simple knowledge, certain knowledge, omniscient authority, and quick learning each explained the significant variation in performance on the Defining Issues Test (Rest, 1979). Results showed that multiple epistemic assumptions play an important role in young adults' moral reasoning over and above other social and personal variables. Implications concerning the development of epistemic beliefs are discussed.
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Shock waves in reactive media create hot spots which undergo further temperature change (following creation) by means of: (1) chemical reaction, (2) thermal conduction, and (3) adiabatic effects resulting from pressure variation. A thermodynamic description of exothermic reaction under conditions of variable pressure is presented here. The reaction rate is assumed to be a function of temperature only, and of the Arrhenius form: the effect of variable pressure enters through its influence on temperature. Decreasing pressure significantly alters adiabatic thermal explosion times, and can, under nominal conditions, completely inhibit hot-spot reaction. This effect is discussed in terms of explosive initiation by unsustained shock waves.
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There appears to be an almost universal commitment among science edu- cators to promote the goal of student understanding of the nature of science. Recent dis- agreements among philosophers of science and between philosophers and other groups such as scientists and science educators about the nature of science, however, leave class- room teachers in a quandry: If experts disagree about the nature of science, how should we decide what to teach students? In this article, the authors first reconsider what level of understanding of the nature of science students should experience so that they can become both intelligent consumers of scientific information and effective local and global citizens. Second, based on an analysis of the literature, it appears that there is a general agreement among science education stakeholders regarding a set of descriptors that can be used to judge which questions or fields of study are more scientific or less scientific than others. Therefore, we propose that most precollege teachers should attempt to teach students how to use these descriptors to judge the relative merits of knowledge claims instead of teaching a set of rules that attempt to demarcate science completely from nonscience. Finally, we suggest two classroom activities based on this proposal and draw some implications for teacher preparation and future research. q 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 83:493- 509, 1999.
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As part of an investigation of the influence of a 3-week institute upon secondary biology and earth science teachers regarding their self-confidence with respect to the teaching of evolutionary principles, 19 inservice teachers participated in discussions of content presentations and instructional activities. The following research questions were proposed: (1) To what extent can a 3-week institute influence teachers' understanding of the nature of science, acceptance of the theory of evolution, and understanding of applied evolutionary principles? (measured by the Nature of Science Scale); (2) Can a 3-week institute reduce teachers' self-perceived anxieties regarding the teaching of evolution? (assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory); and (3) What concerns might teachers have regarding the potential use of a student-centered peer discussion as an instructional strategy to teach evolution? (measured by the Stages of Concern Instrument). At the conclusion of the institute, which was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, participants showed significant increases in acceptance of the theory of evolution and content understanding of evolution, as well as significant reduction in anxiety. Moderate to strong consideration of peer discussion technique was also apparent. (23 references) (KR)
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Presents the results of a survey on evolution given to 392 university students in western Pennsylvania. Concludes that, although nearly three-quarters of the students say they believe in the theory of evolution, most do not understand the mechanism behind it. (PR)
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This article examines the research literature on conceptual change, analyzes the different uses of the term "conceptual change," and discusses six other issues that have emerged from this literature. The second part of this study outlines a multidimensional framework for considering conceptual change events in the classroom and attempts to synthesize various perspectives of contemporary conceptual change research by proposing that changes in students' knowledge structures be viewed from epistemological, ontological, and social/affective perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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954 college students in a nonmajors biology course were pretested to determine the extent to which they held nonscientific beliefs in creationism, orthogenesis, the soul, nonreductionism, vitalism, teleology, and nonemergentism. To test whether hypothetico-deductive reasoning skills facilitate movement away from nonscientific beliefs, the degree to which those nonscientific beliefs were initially held and the degree to which they were modified during instruction were compared to Ss' reasoning level (intuitive, transitional, reflective). As predicted, less-skilled reasoners were more likely to initially hold the nonscientific beliefs and were less likely to change those beliefs during instruction. Less-skilled reasoners were also less likely to be strongly committed to the scientific beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Developed the Scale of Intellectual Development (SID) to measure W. G. Perry's (1970) scheme of intellectual-ethical development and administered it to 3,321 college freshmen. Results of factor analysis revealed 4 factors: Dualism, Relativism, Commitment, and Empathy. To test construct validity, an identity scale and a perceived-self questionnaire were administered in conjunction with the SID to subsamples of 300 and 2,707 Ss, respectively. SID scores correlated well with the other 2 student developmental instruments, but additional validation is needed. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
This article gives both the pedagogic and scientific thinking that guided the construction of a classroom role-play—The Great Evolution Debate. This role-play is about the publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species, which is supposed to be on trial for blasphemy. Historical characters are used to show the range of ideas which were current at that time. The literature on learning history, and on learning about the nature of science, is discussed, leading to an examination of historical empathy as a classroom objective. The reasons for including the various characters in the role-play are explained. The exercise has been used by 15 to 16-year-old students in British high schools with considerable success, and some tentative findings about learning from role-play are drawn from its observation.
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Pretests and posttests on the topic of evolution by natural selection were administered to students in a college nonmajors' biology course. Analysis of test responses revealed that most students understood evolution as a process in which species respond to environmental conditions by changing gradually over time. Student thinking differed from accepted biological theory in that (a) changes in traits were attributed to a need-driven adaptive process rather than random genetic mutation and sexual recombination, (b) no role was assigned to variation on traits within a population or differences in reproductive success, and (c) traits were seen as gradually changing in all members of a population. Although students had taken an average of 1.9 years of previous biology courses, performance on the pretest was uniformly low. There was no relationship between the amount of previous biology taken and either pretest or posttest performance. Belief in the truthfulness of evolutionary theory was also unrelated to either pretest or posttest performance. Course instruction using specially designed materials was moderately successful in improving students' understanding of the evolutionary process.
Article
Educators typically think that one teaches evolution to develop students' conceptual understanding of evolution. It is assumed that if students understand evolution they will believe it. From a constructivist perspective it can be argued that understanding and belief, though related, are distinct concepts and that each is a potential goal for instruction. Though there are good reasons why belief should not be an instructional goal, achieving conceptual understanding requires that issues of belief be addressed. The point is that students are not likely to gain much understanding of something that they dismiss outright as unbelievable. What counts as believable for an individual rests on that person's worldview. This article argues that instruction on evolution can profitably begin with a dialogue on what counts as believable based on a study of the cultural history of Darwinism. The purpose of this strategy is to create in the classroom a shared meaning that certain fundamental questions are worth discussing and that the biological principles of evolution can contribute to that discussion.
Article
If we are to be successful in teaching evolution, we must take into account our students' worldviews as well as their individual understandings and misconceptions. This article makes several recommendations for how this might be accomplished in a way that respects individual student backgrounds and beliefs but is also scientifically appropriate. It is important (a) to know our students—their cultures, personal histories, cognitive abilities, religious beliefs, scientific misconceptions, and so forth; (b) to take this opportunity to teach about the nature of science and its distinctions from nonscience; (c) to address directly the likely cultural/religious concerns with evolution and to do so early on so as to break down the barriers that keep many students from hearing what you say; and (d) to present evolution appropriately as conflicting with none but the most fundamentalist religious tenets that demand a literal translation of the Bible. I have also argued that the approach advocated by Cobern in the previous article that focuses on belief in evolution is ill-advised on several grounds, principally because students may understand the term belief as synonymous with faith, opinion, or conviction and not as equivalent to the scientist's meaning of the term acceptance.