Secondary school students’ reasoning about evolution

This study examined age differences in young people's understanding of evolution theory in secondary school. A second aim of this study was to propose a new coding scheme that more accurately described students’ conceptual understanding about evolutionary theory. We argue that coding schemes adopted in previous research may have overestimated students’ grasp of evolutionary concepts. A total of 106 students aged 12, 14, and 16 took part in individual interviews investigating their understanding of evolution. Using the new coding scheme, we found that while 16‐year olds were more likely than 12‐year olds to endorse scientific concepts when answering a question about finches, their understanding of natural selection, however, did not generalize to the other four questions. Furthermore, students began to incorporate relevant terminology (e.g., adapt, evolve, etc.) and structure their explanations using relevant language at around age 14. Students often used relevant terminology without having a more advanced understanding of evolutionary theory. Instead, they used the relevant terms in a colloquial rather than a scientific sense. Implications of the current findings for teaching and theory are discussed. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of National Association for Research in Science Teaching. J Res Sci Teach 54: 247–273, 2017     

Understanding collaborative language learning in novice-level foreign language classrooms: perceptions of teachers and students

This study explored the congruence and disparities among three groups of foreign language (Chinese, French, and German) students’ and teachers’ perceptions of collaborative/cooperative language learning (CLL) strategies in novice-level classroom contexts. A total of 168 participants from a university in the USA took part in this mixed-method study. The quantitative findings from a 10-item CLL questionnaire suggested that while the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of CLL strategies were generally consistent and positive, some disparities emerged in terms of their perceptions towards pair work, 3–6 as a group work, interview, and role playing. The qualitative findings from interviews and classroom observations provided some possible explanations to the differences discovered. The quantitative findings also revealed that foreign language type was not a factor differentiating students’ and teachers’ perceptions of CLL strategies. Some practical implications are provided for the effective implementation of CLL strategies in novice-level foreign language classrooms.     

Teachers’ ability to identify and explain students’ actions in near and far figural pattern generalization tasks

The purpose of this paper is to explore middle school in-service mathematics teachers’ ability (1) to identify and explain students’ actions in pattern generalization and (2) to account for the variation in teachers’ explanations of students’ actions in terms of task and teachers’ factors. Two questionnaires were developed: (1) a questionnaire to measure teachers’ ability to identify students’ actions while finding the nth term in the pattern generalization and (2) a questionnaire to measure teachers’ ability to explain students’ actions in different tasks. The two questionnaires were given to a sample of 83 middle school in-service mathematics teachers from 22 schools in Lebanon. Analysis of data shows that teachers seemed to have the ability to identify students’ actions while finding the nth term in the pattern generalization and that teachers’ explanations of students’ actions in different tasks are lacking in terms of identifying variable-related counting elements. The results of stepwise multiple regression show that teachers’ ability to explain students’ actions to find the general term depends on their ability to explain students’ step-by-step counting or drawing.     

Why do experts disagree? The role of conflict topics and epistemic perspectives in conflict explanations

The present study examined the role of conflict topics and individual differences in epistemic perspectives (absolutism, multiplism, and evaluativism) in students' explanations of expert conflicts. University students (N = 184) completed an epistemic thinking assessment and a conflict explanation assessment regarding two controversies in biology and history. Additionally, thirty students were interviewed and provided detailed conflict explanations that were used to interpret and extend the quantitative results. In the biology problem, conflicts were predominantly attributed to topic complexity and to research methods. In the history problem, conflicts were also predominantly attributed to topic complexity, but also to researchers' personal backgrounds and motivations. Epistemic perspectives were related to specific conflict explanations, suggesting that these perspectives have a role beyond topic differences. Thus, both conflict topics and epistemic perspectives shape lay explanations of experts' conflicts. The findings highlight differences in students’ interpretations of the roles experts play in knowledge construction.     

Characterizing Students’ Attempts to Explain Observations from Practical Work: Intermediate Phases of Understanding

This study aims to characterize a group of students’ preliminary oral explanations of a scientific phenomenon produced as part of their learning process. The students were encouraged to use their own wordings to test out their own interpretation of observations when conducting practical activities. They presented their explanations orally in the whole class after having discussed and written down an explanation in a small group. The data consists of transcribed video recordings of the presented explanations, observation notes, and interviews. A genre perspective was used to characterize the students’ explanations together with analysis of the students use of scientific terms, gestures, and the language markers “sort of” and “like.” Based on the analysis we argue to separate between event-focused explanations, where the students describe how objects move, and object-focused explanations, where the students describe object properties and interactions. The first type uses observable events and few scientific terms, while the latter contains object properties and tentative use of scientific terms. Both types are accompanied by an extensive use of language markers and gestures. A third category, term-focused explanations, is used when the students only provide superficial explanations by expressing scientific terms. Here, the students’ use of language markers and gestures are low. The analyses shows how students’ explanations can be understood as tentative attempts to build on their current understanding and observations while trying to reach out for a deeper and scientific way of identifying observations and building explanations and new ways of talking.     

“Commenting on your work is a waste of time only!”: An appraisal-based study of evaluative language in supervisory feedback

Research on supervisory feedback on master’s theses, especially attitudinal stances conveyed in such feedback, is thin on the ground. Students’ construal of their supervisors’ attitudes, however, can have a profound impact on their engagement with supervisory feedback. Drawing on the appraisal framework, which characterizes attitudinal meanings in terms of affect (i.e., emotional responses), judgement (i.e., normative evaluation of human behaviors) and appreciation (i.e., aesthetically-/socially-based evaluation of objects and products), this study examined Nepalese supervisors’ attitudinal stances communicated in written comments on master’s thesis drafts (n = 76) submitted by English-as-a-foreign-language students and oral feedback on proposal and thesis defences (n = 89). Quantitative analyses revealed that while instances of appreciation dominated in the supervisors’ use of evaluative language, judgements were also frequent, with affective responses trailing far behind. In both the oral feedback and written comments, significant disciplinary variations were observed for certain types of judgment and appreciation. These findings are discussed in terms of disciplinary culture and the potential impact of the attitudinal stances on students’ learning. Implications are derived for the productive framing of supervisory feedback to facilitate students’ feedback uptake.     

The EvoDevoCI: A Concept Inventory for Gauging Students’ Understanding of Evolutionary Developmental Biology

The American Association for the Advancement of Science 2011 report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education encourages the teaching of developmental biology as an important part of teaching evolution. Recently, however, we found that biology majors often lack the developmental knowledge needed to understand evolutionary developmental biology, or “evo-devo.” To assist in efforts to improve evo-devo instruction among undergraduate biology majors, we designed a concept inventory (CI) for evolutionary developmental biology, the EvoDevoCI. The CI measures student understanding of six core evo-devo concepts using four scenarios and 11 multiple-choice items, all inspired by authentic scientific examples. Distracters were designed to represent the common conceptual difficulties students have with each evo-devo concept. The tool was validated by experts and administered at four institutions to 1191 students during preliminary (n = 652) and final (n = 539) field trials. We used student responses to evaluate the readability, difficulty, discriminability, validity, and reliability of the EvoDevoCI, which included items ranging in difficulty from 0.22–0.55 and in discriminability from 0.19–0.38. Such measures suggest the EvoDevoCI is an effective tool for assessing student understanding of evo-devo concepts and the prevalence of associated common conceptual difficulties among both novice and advanced undergraduate biology majors.     

To teach or not to teach the conceptual structure of mathematics? Teachers undervalue the potential of Principle-Oriented explanations

Principle-oriented explanations have demonstrated to foster students’ mathematical understanding, as they integrate conceptual and procedural information to make the solution process tangible to novice students. Teachers, however, often omit conceptual information when explaining procedures. In two experimental studies, we tested the hypothesis that teachers’ tendency to omit conceptual information may have occurred, as teachers generally devalued the potential of principle-oriented explanations. In Study 1, we randomly provided two cohorts of secondary students (N = 129) with principle-oriented versus procedure-oriented explanations on four mathematical topics. Afterwards, students answered a knowledge test. We replicated previous findings that students with principle-oriented explanations outperformed students with procedure-oriented explanations on the knowledge test (application test, transfer test). In Study 2, we gave mathematics teachers (N = 69) these explanations as judgment materials. Teachers randomly rated a balanced set of four explanations of Study 1 which varied in their procedure- versus principle-orientation. We found no significant differences between teachers’ judgments of principle- versus procedure-oriented explanations. Content analyses of the justifications revealed that teachers were more concerned about students’ overload when judging principle-oriented explanations than procedure-oriented explanations. Our findings replicated the beneficial effects of principle-oriented explanations for novice students’ understanding. Furthermore, they highlight the need to sensitize teachers for potential effects of providing principle-oriented explanations.     

Is ‘Learning' Science Enough? – A Cultural Model of Religious Students of Science in an Australian Government School

This paper investigates the cognitive experiences of four religious students studying evolutionary biology in an inner city government secondary school in Melbourne, Australia. The participants in the study were identified using the Religious Background and Behaviours questionnaire (Connors, Tonigan, & Miller, 1996 Connors, G. J., Tonigan, J. S., & Miller, W. R. (1996). A measure of religious background and behaviour for use in behaviour change research. Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, 10, 90–96. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.10.2.90[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Participants were interviewed and asked to respond to questions about their cognitive experiences of studying evolutionary biology. Students' responses were analysed using cultural analysis of discourse to construct a cultural model of religious students of science. This cultural model suggests that these students employ a human schema and a non-human schema, which assert that humans are fundamentally different from non-humans in terms of origins and that humans have a transcendental purpose in life. For these students, these maxims seem to be challenged by their belief that evolutionary biology is dictated by metaphysical naturalism. The model suggests that because the existential foundation of these students is challenged, they employ a believing schema to classify their religious explanations and a learning schema to classify evolutionary biology. These schemas are then hierarchically arranged with the learning schema being made subordinate to the believing schema. Importantly, these students are thus able to maintain their existential foundation while fulfilling the requirements of school science. However, the quality of this “learning” is questionable.     

Learning Natural Selection in 4th Grade with Multi-Agent-Based Computational Models

In this paper, we investigate how elementary school students develop multi-level explanations of population dynamics in a simple predator–prey ecosystem, through scaffolded interactions with a multi-agent-based computational model (MABM). The term “agent” in an MABM indicates individual computational objects or actors (e.g., cars), and these agents obey simple rules assigned or manipulated by the user (e.g., speeding up, slowing down, etc.). It is the interactions between these agents, based on the rules assigned by the user, that give rise to emergent, aggregate-level behavior (e.g., formation and movement of the traffic jam). Natural selection is such an emergent phenomenon, which has been shown to be challenging for novices (K16 students) to understand. Whereas prior research on learning evolutionary phenomena with MABMs has typically focused on high school students and beyond, we investigate how elementary students (4th graders) develop multi-level explanations of some introductory aspects of natural selection—species differentiation and population change—through scaffolded interactions with an MABM that simulates predator–prey dynamics in a simple birds-butterflies ecosystem. We conducted a semi-clinical interview based study with ten participants, in which we focused on the following: a) identifying the nature of learners’ initial interpretations of salient events or elements of the represented phenomena, b) identifying the roles these interpretations play in the development of their multi-level explanations, and c) how attending to different levels of the relevant phenomena can make explicit different mechanisms to the learners. In addition, our analysis also shows that although there were differences between high- and low-performing students (in terms of being able to explain population-level behaviors) in the pre-test, these differences disappeared in the post-test.     

Generative mechanistic explanation building in undergraduate molecular and cellular biology*

ABSTRACT

When conducting scientific research, experts in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) use specific reasoning strategies to construct mechanistic explanations for the underlying causal features of molecular phenomena. We explored how undergraduate students applied this scientific practice in MCB. Drawing from studies of explanation building among scientists, we created and applied a theoretical framework to explore the strategies students use to construct explanations for ‘novel’ biological phenomena. Specifically, we explored how students navigated the multi-level nature of complex biological systems using generative mechanistic reasoning. Interviews were conducted with introductory and upper-division biology students at a large public university in the United States. Results of qualitative coding revealed key features of students’ explanation building. Students used modular thinking to consider the functional subdivisions of the system, which they ‘filled in’ to varying degrees with mechanistic elements. They also hypothesised the involvement of mechanistic entities and instantiated abstract schema to adapt their explanations to unfamiliar biological contexts. Finally, we explored the flexible thinking that students used to hypothesise the impact of mutations on multi-leveled biological systems. Results revealed a number of ways that students drew mechanistic connections between molecules, functional modules (sets of molecules with an emergent function), cells, tissues, organisms and populations.     

Post-secondary Science Students’ Explanations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Randomness</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Variation</Emphasis> and Implications for Science Learning

The concepts of randomness and variation are pervasive in science. The purpose of this study was to document how post-secondary life science students explain randomness and variation, infer relationships between their explanations, and ability to describe and identify appropriate and inappropriate variation, and determine if students can identify sources of variation. An instrument designed to test statistical concepts was administered to 282 college students from three universities, ranging from introductory non-science majors to science graduate students. Students readily distinguished between causes of variation. A naïve no-pattern concept of randomness persisted from first-year non-science majors to senior-level science majors, contributing to incorrect responses on the variation instrument. Students’ expressions of randomness were better predictors of performance on the variation instrument than their expressions of variation. It is argued that inclusion of everyday language uses of randomness in instruction can bridge the gap between vernacular and scientific uses of this term.     

The nature of naive explanations of natural selection

Unlike some pivotal ideas in the history of science, the basic notion of natural selection is remarkably simple and so one might expect most students to easily grasp the basic principles of the Darwinian theory; yet many students nevertheless have difficulty understanding Darwinian evolution. We suggest that misconceptions about natural selection arise from mistaken categorization. Our thesis for explaining students’ failure to understand this concept or evolution in general is not that they necessarily fail to understand individual Darwinian principles; rather, they often fail to understand the ontological features of equilibration processes, of which evolution is one instance. They thus attribute the evolutionary process in general, and natural selection in particular, with event‐like properties. For example, naive students appear to focus on the idea of survival of the fittest, but embed this idea within an event ontology that involves actors struggling to overcome obstacles and achieve goals. Results showed that most naive subjects’ evolutionary explanations reflected an event ontology. Furthermore, event ontology attributes were positively correlated with non‐Darwinian explanations; by contrast, equilibration attributes, when present, were positively correlated with key Darwinian principles. These findings suggest that students would greatly benefit from science instruction that emphasized the underlying ontology of modern evolutionary theory.     

Interdisciplinary Lessons for the Teaching of Biology from the Practice of Evo-Devo

Evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-devo) is a vibrant area of contemporary life science that should be (and is) increasingly incorporated into teaching curricula. Although the inclusion of this content is important for biological pedagogy at multiple levels of instruction, there are also philosophical lessons that can be drawn from the scientific practices found in Evo-devo. One feature of particular significance is the interdisciplinary nature of Evo-devo investigations and their resulting explanations. Instead of a single disciplinary approach being the most explanatory or fundamental, different methodologies from biological disciplines must be synthesized to generate empirically adequate explanations. Thus, Evo-devo points toward a non-reductionist epistemology in biology. I review three areas where these synthetic efforts become manifest as a result of Evo-devo’s practices (form versus function reasoning styles; problem-structured investigations; idealizations related to studying model organisms), and then sketch some possible applications to teaching biology. These philosophical considerations provide resources for life science educators to address (and challenge) key aspects of the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy.     

Darwin’s Difficulties and Students’ Struggles with Trait Loss: Cognitive-Historical Parallelisms in Evolutionary Explanation

Although historical changes in scientific ideas sometimes display striking similarities with students’ conceptual progressions, some scholars have cautioned that such similarities lack meaningful commonalities. In the history of evolution, while Darwin and his contemporaries often used natural selection to explain evolutionary trait gain or increase, they struggled to use it to convincingly account for cases of trait loss or decrease. This study examines Darwin’s evolutionary writings about trait gain and loss in the Origin of Species (On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. D. Appleton, New York, 1859) and compares them to written evolutionary explanations for trait gain and loss in a large (n > 500), cross-cultural and cross-sectional sample (novices and experts from the USA and Korea). Findings indicate that significantly more students and experts applied natural selection to cases of trait gain, but like Darwin and his contemporaries, they more often applied ‘use and disuse’ and ‘inheritance of acquired characteristics’ to episodes of trait loss. Although the parallelism between Darwin’s difficulties and students’ struggles with trait loss are striking, significant differences also characterize explanatory model structure. Overall, however, students and scientists struggles to explain trait loss—which is a very common phenomenon in the history of life—appear to transcend time, place, and level of biological expertise. The significance of these findings for evolution education are discussed; in particular, the situated nature of biological reasoning, and the important role that the history of science can play in understanding cognitive constraints on science learning.     

The merits of representational pictures in educational assessment: Evidence for cognitive and motivational effects in a time-on-task analysis

Adding representational pictures (RPs) to text-based items has been shown to improve students’ test performance. Focusing on potential explanations for this multimedia effect in testing, we propose two functions of RPs in testing, namely, (1) a cognitive facilitation function and (2) a motivational function. We found empirical support for both functions in this computer-based classroom experiment with N = 410 fifth and sixth graders. All students answered 36 manipulated science items that either contained (text-picture) or did not contain (text-only) an RP that visualized the text information in the item stem. Each student worked on both item types, following a rotated within-subject design. We measured students’ (a) solution success, (b) time on task (TOT), and identified (c) rapid-guessing behavior (RGB). We used generalized and linear mixed-effects models to investigate RPs’ impact on these outcome parameters and considered students’ level of test engagement and item positions as covariates. The results indicate that (1) RPs improved all students’ performance across item positions in a comparable manner (multimedia effect in testing). (2) RPs have the potential to accelerate item processing (cognitive facilitation function). (3) The presence of RPs reduced students’ RGB rates to a meaningful extent (motivational function). Overall, our data indicate that RPs may promote more reliable test scores, supporting a more valid interpretation of students’ achievement levels.