Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life Contexts
Despite being a fundamental concept in biology, evolution continues to be one of the most challenging topics to teach in science education. Ideas of evolution emphasising anatomical or behavioural features of individuals, as opposed to the interplay between genetics and the environment, are reinforc...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Ljubljana
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/1486 |
| _version_ | 1797855027019120640 |
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| author | Noa Ageitos Laura Colucci-Gray Blanca Puig |
| author_facet | Noa Ageitos Laura Colucci-Gray Blanca Puig |
| author_sort | Noa Ageitos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite being a fundamental concept in biology, evolution continues to be one of the most challenging topics to teach in science education. Ideas of evolution emphasising anatomical or behavioural features of individuals, as opposed to the interplay between genetics and the environment, are reinforced through language and culture, making them robust and persistent in the student population at all educational levels. Model-based reasoning has been reported to be useful for students to make sense of process-based science content, combining epistemological with linguistic and value dimensions. However, there is a dearth of evidence in biology education showing how modelling can instigate epistemological maturity, specifically about issues of agency and design in evolution by natural selection. Drawing on this perspective, this study focuses on describing the nature of students’ ideas while modelling the resistance developed by a population of mosquitoes in a lagoon after an insecticide is introduced. Data collection includes students’ written reports and drawings, which were analysed with content and discourse analysis. The findings show that, at first, students believed adaptation to feature at will was a behavioural characteristic instigated by a pre-existing design. After modelling the process of natural selection, the explanations appeared to improve (from Lamarckian to Neo-Darwinian views), and most groups showed accurate explanations about adaptation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:15:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cdb94bdfbd7a4f0c8eaac9d12cbda3da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1855-9719 2232-2647 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:15:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | University of Ljubljana |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-cdb94bdfbd7a4f0c8eaac9d12cbda3da2023-03-31T08:41:03ZengUniversity of LjubljanaCenter for Educational Policy Studies Journal1855-97192232-26472023-03-01131113410.26529/cepsj.1486Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life ContextsNoa AgeitosLaura Colucci-GrayBlanca PuigDespite being a fundamental concept in biology, evolution continues to be one of the most challenging topics to teach in science education. Ideas of evolution emphasising anatomical or behavioural features of individuals, as opposed to the interplay between genetics and the environment, are reinforced through language and culture, making them robust and persistent in the student population at all educational levels. Model-based reasoning has been reported to be useful for students to make sense of process-based science content, combining epistemological with linguistic and value dimensions. However, there is a dearth of evidence in biology education showing how modelling can instigate epistemological maturity, specifically about issues of agency and design in evolution by natural selection. Drawing on this perspective, this study focuses on describing the nature of students’ ideas while modelling the resistance developed by a population of mosquitoes in a lagoon after an insecticide is introduced. Data collection includes students’ written reports and drawings, which were analysed with content and discourse analysis. The findings show that, at first, students believed adaptation to feature at will was a behavioural characteristic instigated by a pre-existing design. After modelling the process of natural selection, the explanations appeared to improve (from Lamarckian to Neo-Darwinian views), and most groups showed accurate explanations about adaptation.https://cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/1486modellingevolutionadaptationnatural selectionevolution frameworks |
| spellingShingle | Noa Ageitos Laura Colucci-Gray Blanca Puig Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life Contexts Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal modelling evolution adaptation natural selection evolution frameworks |
| title | Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life Contexts |
| title_full | Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life Contexts |
| title_fullStr | Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life Contexts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life Contexts |
| title_short | Not by Design Alone! Modelling Practices to Identify Students’ Frameworks of Evolution in Real-Life Contexts |
| title_sort | not by design alone modelling practices to identify students frameworks of evolution in real life contexts |
| topic | modelling evolution adaptation natural selection evolution frameworks |
| url | https://cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/1486 |
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