Elucidating High School Biology Teachers’ Knowledge of Students’ Conceptions Regarding Natural Selection

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to explore and further elucidate secondary teachers’ knowledge of students’ conceptions (KOSC) on the topic of evolution by natural selection. Prior research has documented students’ natural selection conceptions, but allowing the opportunity for teachers to describe their own students’ conceptions can permit more novel dimensions of student conceptions to emerge, especially since teachers possess a specialized knowledge of their students. Using teacher interviews, student artifacts, and video-recorded classroom observations as data sources, the study employed a grounded theory approach to document the KOSC for natural selection from four biology teachers in a high-needs public high school in the southwestern United States. Results indicated the teachers identified student conceptions consistent with prior research, but also identified novel dimensions of KOSC including how students use their everyday experiences to think about natural selection. The teachers’ KOSC was then confirmed through classroom observations and student artifacts. The study’s findings provide an elaborated framing with which to better understand and leverage student conceptions—which are fundamental in reform-oriented instructional approaches.