Focusing on the big ideas: Non-biology science teachers learning experiences on biological evolution

Marchee Tabotabo Picardal, Cebu Normal University, Philippines
Jay Pajanustan Picardal, Cebu Normal University., Philippines

 10.21831/cp.v42i2.44188

Abstract


Recognizing the ways teachers develop conceptual understanding of biological concepts bridges the gap between misconception and instruction.  This descriptive phenomenology explored the learning experiences of eight non-biology major science teachers on evolution. Thematic analysis revealed six emergent themes: (a) First exposure was faulty and insufficient; (b) Lack of content knowledge leads to advanced studies;  (c) Technology-supported learning resources facilitated learning process; (d) Rationalization of both old and new conceptions; (e) Application of concepts in different fields; and (f) Focusing on the big ideas. Overall, themes revealed that teachers developed a conceptual understanding of biological evolution through time and various means. Their adherence to the teleological beliefs leads them to experience confusion and misconceptions; however, as science teachers, they resolved the conflict to learning through content enrichment and professional development. A strong emphasis on the core principles of the Nature of Science and domains of biology in the curriculum across all levels and the teacher education program is imperative. Teachers can enhance their conceptual understanding and teaching efficacy through professional development and content enrichment.

Keywords


science teachers; learning experience; conceptual understanding; biological evolution learning; phenomenology

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abenes, F. M. D., & Caballes, D. G. (2020). Misconceptions of science teachers in evolution. CiiT International Journal of Biometrics and Bioinformatics, 12(2). 0974- 9675/CIIT–IJ- 8045/08 /$20/$100

Adedoyin, O. (2010). An investigation of the effects of teachers' classroom questions on the achievements of students in mathematics: A case study of Botswana community junior secondary schools. European Journal of Educational Studies, 2(3).

Alters, B. J., & Nelson, C. E. (2002). Perspective: Teaching evolution in higher education. Evolution, 56(10), 1891-1901.

Andrews, T. M., Price, R. M., Mead, L. S., McElhinny, T. L., Thanukos, A., Perez, K. E., ... & Lemons, P. P. (2012). Biology undergraduates’ misconceptions about genetic drift. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 11(3), 248-259. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-12-0107

Athanasiou, K., Katakos, E., & Papadopoulou, P. (2016). Acceptance of evolution as one of the factors structuring the conceptual ecology of the evolution theory of Greek secondary school teachers. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 9(1), 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2011.586072

Borgerding, L. A., Klein, V. A., Ghosh, R., & Eibel, A. (2015). Student teachers’ approaches to teaching biological evolution. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 26(4), 371-392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-015-9428-1

BouJaoude, S., Asghar, A., Wiles, J.R., Jaber, L., Sarieddine, D. & Alters, B. (2011). Biology professors’ and teachers’ positions regarding evolution and evolution education in a Middle Eastern society. International Journal of Science Education, 33(7), 979–1000. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2010.489124

Brem, S. K., Ranney, M., & Schindel, J. (2003). Perceived consequences of evolution: College students perceived negative personal and social impact in evolutionary theory. Science Education, 87, 181– 206. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10105

Buckberry, S., & Da Silva, K. B. (2012). Evolution: improving the understanding of undergraduate biology students with an active pedagogical approach. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 5(2), 266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-012-0416-z

Chuang, H. C. (2003). Teaching evolution: attitudes & strategies of educators in Utah. The American Biology Teacher, 669-674. https://doi.org/10.2307/4451592

Clores, M. A., & Limjap, A. A. (2006). Diversity of students' beliefs about evolution. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 26(1), 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188790600607960

Cofré, H., Cuevas, E., & Becerra, B. (2017). The relationship between biology teachers' understanding of the nature of science and the understanding and acceptance of the theory of evolution. International Journal of Science Education, 39(16), 2243-2260. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1373410

Colaizzi P (1978) Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In Vale RS, King M (Eds) Existential - Phenomenological Alternatives for Psychology. Oxford University Press, New York

Coleman, J., Stears, M., & Dempster, E. (2015). Student teachers' understanding and acceptance of evolution and the nature of science. South African Journal of Education, 35(2), 1079-b1079. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v35n2a1079

Cotner, S., Thompson, S., & Wright, R. (2017). Do biology majors really differ from non– STEM majors?. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 16(3), ar48. https://doi:10.1187/cbe.16-11-0329

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Los Angeles: University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Donnelly, L. A., Kazempour, M., & Amirshokoohi, A. (2009). High school students’ perceptions of evolution instruction: Acceptance and evolution learning experiences. Research in Science Education, 39(5), 643-660. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-008-9097-6

Deniz, H., Donnelly, L. A., & Yilmaz, I. (2008). Exploring the factors related to acceptance of evolutionary theory among Turkish preservice biology teachers: Toward a more informative conceptual ecology for biological evolution. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 45(4), 420-443. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20223

Fail, J. (2008). A no-holds-barred evolution curriculum for elementary and junior high school students. Evolution: Education and outreach, 1(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-007-0018-3

Fischer, J., Jansen, T., Möller, J., & Harms, U. (2021). Measuring biology trainee teachers’ professional knowledge about evolution—introducing the Student Inventory. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 14(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-021-00144-0

Frasier, T. R., & Roderick, C. (2011). Improving how evolution is taught: facilitating a shift from memorization to evolutionary thinking. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 4(2), 298. doi:10.1007/s12052-011-0327-4

Giorgi, A. (1997). The theory, practice, and evaluation of the phenomenological method as a qualitative research procedure. Phenomenological Psychology, 28(2), 235-260.

Glaze, A., & Goldston, J. (2019). Acceptance, understanding & experience: Exploring obstacles to evolution education among advanced placement teachers. The American Biology Teacher, 81(2), 71-76. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2019.81.2.71

Groenewald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 3(1), 42-55. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F160940690400300104

Hermann, R. S. (2011). Breaking the cycle of continued evolution education controversy: on the need to strengthen elementary level teaching of evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 4(2), 267-274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-011-0325-6

Hermann, R. S. (2018). Preservice elementary teachers' willingness to specialize in science and views on evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 11(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0081-y

Holt, E. A., Ogden, T. H., & Durham, S. L. (2018). The positive effect of role models in evolution instruction. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 11(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0086-6

Hoy, A, Davis, H, & Pape, SJ. (2006). Teacher knowledge and beliefs. In P.A. Alexander & P.H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (pp. 715–737). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Jacob, S. A., & Furgerson, S. P. (2012). Writing interview protocols and conducting interviews: Tips for students new to the field of qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 17(42), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1718

Kosasia, A. J. & Sikolia, S. F. (2015). Biology students’ perceptions towards evolution: case of teaching techniques on learning in Kakamega Central Sub-county, Kenya. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, 3(10), 33-41.

Macugay, E. B., & Bernardo, A. B. (2013). Science coursework and pedagogical beliefs of science teachers: The case of science teachers in the Philippines. Science Education International, 24(1), 63- 77. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0076-8

Manwaring, K. F., Jensen, J. L., Gill, R. A., Sudweeks, R. R., Davies, R. S., & Bybee, S. M. (2018). Scientific reasoning ability does not predict scientific views on evolution among religious individuals. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 11(1), 1-9.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0076-8

Nehm, R. H., Kim, S. Y., & Sheppard, K. (2009). Academic preparation in biology and advocacy for teaching evolution: biology versus non‐biology teachers. Science Education, 93(6), 1122- 1146. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20340

Nouri, N., Saberi, M., McComas, W. F., & Mohammadi, M. (2021). Proposed teacher competencies to support effective nature of science instruction: A meta-synthesis of the literature. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2020.1871206

Orbe, J. R., Espinosa, A. A., & Datukan, J. T. (2018). Teaching chemistry in a spiral progression approach: Lessons from science teachers in the Philippines. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 43(4),17-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n4.2

Partosa, J. D. (2018). Evolution education in the Philippines: A preliminary investigation. In H. Deniz& L.A. Borgerding (Eds.), Evolution education around the globe (pp. 391-405). Springer

Picardal, M. T. (2019). Does the conceptual change process of instruction promote scientific understanding of biological evolution?. Liceo Journal of Higher Education Research, 15(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.7828/ljher.v15n2.1326

Plutzer, E., Branch, G., & Reid, A. (2020). Teaching evolution in US public schools: A continuing challenge. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 13(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-020-00126-8

Scharmann, L. C. (2018). Evolution and nature of science instruction. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 11(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0088-4

Smith, M. U. (2010). Current status of research in teaching and learning evolution: II. Pedagogical issues. Science & Education, 19(6), 539-571. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-009-9216-4

Tanner, K., & Allen, D. (2005). Approaches to biology teaching and learning: understanding the wrong answers—teaching toward conceptual change. Cell Biology Education, 4(2), 112-117. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.05-02-0068

Tidon, R., & Lewontin, R. C. (2004). Teaching evolutionary biology. Genetics and Molecular Biology, 27(1), 124-131. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-47572004000100021

Vosniadou, S. (2001). Conceptual change research and the teaching of science. In Behrendt, H., Dahncke, H., Duit, R., Gräber, W., Komorek, M., Kross, A., & Reiska, P. (Eds.). Research in science education-past, present, and future (pp. 177-188). Springer.

Yates, T. B., & Marek, E. A. (2015). A study identifying evolution-related misconceptions held by prebiology high school students. Creative Education, 6(8), 811-834. http://www.evolution-outreach.com/content/7/1/7

Yasri, P., & Mancy, R. (2016). Student positions on the relationship between evolution and creation: What kinds of changes occur and for what reasons?. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(3), 384- 399. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21302




DOI: https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v42i2.44188

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


 

Social Media:

     

 

 Creative Commons License
Jurnal Cakrawala Pendidikan by Lembaga Pengembangan dan Penjaminan Mutu Pendidikan UNY is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/cp/index.

Translator
 
 web analytics
View Our Stats