Evolution as Part of the Bigger Picture

Abstract

In October 2011, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Research Council gathered secondary and postsecondary faculty, representatives of private and governmental funding agencies, and leaders of academic societies for a convocation entitled Thinking Evolutionarily: Evolution across the Life Sciences . Jackie Reeves-Pepin and I attended the one-and-a-half-day event, the goal of which was to begin a broad discussion on developing strategies to weave into the fabric of life science education at all levels. In the near future, a report stemming from the discussions will be produced by NAS that better reflects the breadth and depth of the discussions. Here, I can only relay to you the impressions with which I left the convocation and my thoughts on how NABT has promoted, and can continue to promote, the teaching of evolution. I am proud to say that early in the sessions, Dobzhansky's (1973) famous statement that Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution was displayed, reminding all of the history that NABT has in promoting education. But does the way in which we teach reflect Dobzhansky's statement? It's the first core concept in Vision and Change and Big Idea #1 in the AP BIOLOGY Curriculum Framework 2012–2013, but do we biology educators emphasize in our teaching as the process that underlies and explains the relationships among organisms, between organisms and the environment, or between structure …