Abstract
Recent research suggests a relationship between understanding of macroevolutionary principles (such as phylogenetics) and acceptance of evolution in biology majors. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively investigate the relationship between ability to interpret phylogenetic trees (tree thinking) and acceptance of evolutionary theory for 92 university non-science majors before and after a general education biology course. We found that the majority of students taking the course held strong religious affiliations but were still open to having their mind changed and accepted evolution as a valid scientific theory. Students started and ended the course with a relatively high acceptance of evolutionary theory, but the nature of their acceptance changed significantly and we documented several such shifts. Additionally, we found a significant increase in students’ tree thinking understanding after instruction and a slight, but significant, correlation between evolution acceptance and tree thinking understanding. Our investigation demonstrated that targeted evolution instruction using a tree thinking approach may alter students’ acceptance of evolution, even if the students initially hold strong anti-evolution ideas. By learning how college students understand and develop ideas about evolution using a visual approach, we can better target areas of confusion and begin forming guidelines for effective evolution instruction.
Highlights
IntroductionRecent research suggests a relationship between understanding of macroevolutionary principles (such as phylogenetics) and acceptance of evolution in biology majors
Recent research suggests a relationship between understanding of macroevolutionary principles and acceptance of evolution in biology majors
Students’ acceptance of evolution We hypothesized that there would be a low level of acceptance of evolution prior to the course (that is, below 60 on the scale of 20 to 100), since the course was held in the ‘Bible Belt’ of the American south and the majority of students claimed to hold strong religious beliefs
Summary
Recent research suggests a relationship between understanding of macroevolutionary principles (such as phylogenetics) and acceptance of evolution in biology majors. Evolution is a central organizing principle of the biological sciences (American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1993, 2011; Bybee 1997; Kagan 1992; National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) 2010; National Research Council (NRC) 1996), and provides explanations for practical phenomena such as antibiotic resistance, the artificial selection of domesticated animals and food plants, and the diversity and history of life (AAAS 2011). Acceptance is slightly higher among Americans with some college education, with 49% accepting evolution for plants and non-human animals (but only 22% accept human evolution) (Lovely and Kondrick 2008). It is critical to understand how and what students learn about evolution in general education biology courses and how/if this knowledge is related to their evolution acceptance
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