LiteratureBase
Challenges with conceptualizations of evolution in biology education
Hanisch, S., & Eirdosh, D. (2020). Challenges with conceptualizations of evolution in biology education. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.26589.64484
Abstract
- Evolution education is, by default, the domain of biology education, and as such, historical conceptions of evolutionary change drawn from the Modern Synthesis strongly influence our conceptualization of what evolution is and how evolutionary analyses are to be conducted. There is a surface logic to this influence, however, it abstracts out a robust interdisciplinary scientific discourse that has been particularly productive during the 21st century. The continued conceptualization of evolution from the idealized, gene-centric, Modern Synthesis model may be problematic in terms of evolution understanding and acceptance. In this article, we take a closer look at some examples of current discourse, standards, educational materials, and assessment tools of evolution education and point out a number of challenges regarding how our field tends to frame the evolutionary analysis of, especially, human-related traits of behavior, cognition, and culture.
- Publication Type Preprint