Teaching nature of science in introductory biology: Impacts on students' acceptance of biological evolution

The present study investigates the impact of explicit, reflective Nature of Science instruction on students' evolution acceptance, understanding of evolution as a theory, and understanding of Nature of Science in an introductory biology course. Results revealed similar improvement in evolution...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2023-08, Vol.18 (8), p.e0289680-e0289680
Main Authors: Sloane, Jeremy D, Wheeler, Lindsay B, Manson, Jessamyn S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological effects
Biological evolution
Biology
Biology and Life Sciences
Education
Educational aspects
Evaluation
Evolution
Influence
Knowledge
Learning strategies
People and Places
Science
Sciences education
Social Sciences
Students
Study and teaching
Teachers
Teaching
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Summary:The present study investigates the impact of explicit, reflective Nature of Science instruction on students' evolution acceptance, understanding of evolution as a theory, and understanding of Nature of Science in an introductory biology course. Results revealed similar improvement in evolution acceptance in both the treatment and control groups, but also that Nature of Science instruction had disproportionately large impacts on evolution acceptance for women and individuals who already had high acceptance. We also found evidence of relationships between understanding and acceptance of evolution and Nature of Science understanding, particularly the creativity aspect of Nature of Science. Together, these results suggest that targeted Nature of Science instruction can have differential impacts on students with particular characteristics, such as women and individuals with high acceptance, but also point to the need to consider additional interventions that can reach men and individuals with low acceptance.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0289680