Conceptions of Portuguese Prospective Teachers about Real-Life Evolution Situations
Abstract
The importance of introducing evolution in primary schools has been highlighted in evolution education research, but few studies have approached the understanding of evolution of prospective teachers who are being prepared to teach at primary school level. The present exploratory study aims to answer three research questions about the ability of Portuguese prospective teachers to apply evolution to two real-life situations: 1) Are prospective teachers able to identify evolution misconceptions in online newspaper articles? 2) What misconceptions are expressed by prospective teachers when explaining real-life evolution situations? and 3) Which key evolution concepts do prospective teachers apply to make sense of real-life evolution situations? Twelve prospective teachers participated in the study. In the first situation, the prospective teachers were asked to identify statements from a newspaper article that would reveal evolution misconceptions and justify their choices. In the second situation, they were asked to read a text about SARS-CoV-2 and explain why scientists were worried about uncontrolled outbreaks of the virus. The prospective teachers’ answers were analysed through content analysis. Regarding the first research question, our results show that only half of the prospective teachers were able to identify teleological misconceptions in the newspaper article. Concerning the second research question, some of the prospective teachers either identified misconceptions in information in which there was no misconception, or revealed their own misconceptions in their explanations. Regarding the third research question, although more than half of the prospective teachers identified at least two key evolution concepts, some of them found it difficult to explain how evolution is related to the situation described. Although this is an exploratory study, it shows which key concepts of evolution the prospective teachers mobilised and identifies their misunderstandings, thus highlighting dimensions that should be addressed in their evolution education.
Downloads
References
Anderson, D. L., Fisher, K. M., & Norman, G. J. (2002). Development and evaluation of the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(10), 952–978. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10053
Bishop, B. A., & Anderson, C. W. (1986). Student conceptions of natural selection and its roles in evolution. Research Series, n. 165. The Institute for Research on Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660270503
Brown, S. A., Ronfard, S., & Kelemen, D. (2020). Teaching natural selection in early elementary classrooms: Can a storybook intervention reduce teleological misunderstandings? Evolution: Education and Outreach, 13, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-020-00127-7
Carroll, S. P., Jørgensen, P. S., Kinnison, M. T., Bergstrom, C. T., Denison, R. F., Gluckman, P., Smith, T. B., Strauss, S. Y., & Tabashnik, B. E. (2014). Applying evolutionary biology to address global challenges. Science, 346(6207). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1245993
Cavadas, B., & Sá-Pinto, X. (2021). Conceções de Estudantes Portugueses em Formação Inicial de Professores sobre a Evolução e a Origem da Vida [Conceptions of Portuguese students in initial teacher education about evolution and the origin of life]. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências, 20(u), 1339–1362. https://doi.org/10.28976/1984-2686rbpec2020u13391362
Choudhuri, S. (2014). Bioinformatics for beginners. Genes, genomes, molecular evolution, databases and analytical tools. Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-410471-6.00002-5
Corine, S., Meppelink, L. B., Boukes, M., & Möller, J. (2022). A health crisis in the age of misinformation: How social media and mass media influenced misperceptions about COVID-19 and compliance behavior. Journal of Health Communication, 27(10), 764–775. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2022.2153288
Dhanashree, Garg, H., Chauhan, A., Bhatia, M., Sethi, G., & Chauhan, G. (2021). Role of mass media and its impact on general public during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in North India: An online assessment. Indian Journal of Medicine Science, 73(1), 21–25. https://doi.org/10.25259/IJMS_312_2020
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, 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-021-00144-0
Fisher, K. M. (2004). The importance of prior knowledge in college science instruction. In D. W. Dunal, E. L. Wright, & J. B. Day (Eds.), Reform in Undergraduate Science Teaching for the 21st Century (pp. 69–83). Information Age Publishing.
Funk, W. C., Forester, B. R., Converse, S. J., Darst, C., & Morey, S. (2019). Improving conservation policy with genomics: A guide to integrating adaptive potential into U.S. Endangered Species Act decisions for conservation practitioners and geneticists. Conservation Genetics, 20, 115–134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-018-1096-1
Hermann, R. S. (2018). Prospective elementary teachers’ willingness to specialize in science and views on evolution. Evolution: Education Outreach 11, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0081-y
Hsu, J. L. (2020). Using primary literature on SARS-CoV-2 to promote student learning about evolution. Ecology and Evolution, 10(22), 12418–12422. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6501
Jørgensen, P. S., Folke, C., & Carroll, S. P. (2019). Evolution in the Anthropocene: Informing governance and policy. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 50(1), 527–546. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110218-024621
Kelemen, D. (1999a). Function, goals and intention: Children’s teleological reasoning about objects. Trends in Cognitive Science, 3(12), 461–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01402-3
Kelemen, D. (1999b). The scope of teleological thinking in preschool children. Cognition, 70, 241–272. https://www.bu.edu/cdl/files/2013/08/1999_Kelemen_Scope.pdf
Kuparinen, A., Boit, A., Valdovinos, F., Lassaux, H., & Martinez, N. D. (2016). Fishing-induced life-history changes degrade and destabilize harvested ecosystems. Scientific Reports, 6, 22245 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep22245
Kuschmierz, P., Beniermann, A., Bergmann, A., Pinxten, R., Aivelo, T., Berniak-Woźny, J., Bohlin, G., Bugallo-Rodriguez, A., Cardia, P., Cavadas, B., Cebesoy, U. B., Cvetković, D. D., Demarsy, E., ÄorÄ‘ević, M. S., Drobniak, S. M., Dubchak, L., Dvořáková, R. M., FanÄoviÄová, J., Fortin, C., … Graf, D. (2021). European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: A standardized European cross-country assessment. Evolution: Education Outreach, 14(17), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-021-00158-8
Kuschmierz, P., Meneganzin, A., Pinxten, R. et al. (2020). Towards common ground in measuring acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution across Europe: A systematic review of the state of research. Evolution: Education Outreach, 13(18). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-020-00132-w
Mayr, E. (2001). What evolution is. Basic Books.
McHugh, M. L. (2012). Interrater reliability: The kappa statistic. Biochemia medica, 22(3), 276–282. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23092060/
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research. A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.
Mooney, H. A., & Cleland, E. E. (2021). The evolutionary impact of invasive species. PNAS, 98(10), 5446–5451.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.091093398
Nadelson, L. S. (2009). Preservice teacher understanding and vision of how to teach biological evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2, 490–504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-008-0106-z
Nadelson, L. S., Culp, R., Bunn, S., Burkhart, R., Shetlar, R., Nixon, K., & Waldron, J. (2009). Teaching evolution concepts to early elementary school students. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2, 458–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-009-0148-x
National Research Council (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. The National Academies Press.
Nehm, R. (2018). Evolution. In K. Kampourakis & M. J. Reiss (Eds.), Teaching biology in schools: Global research, issues, and trends. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Nehm, R. H., & Reilly, L. (2007). Biology major’s knowledge and misconceptions of natural selection. BioScience, 57, 263–272. https://doi.org/10.1641/B570311
Nehm, R. H., & Ridgway, J. (2011). What do experts and novices “see†in evolutionary problems. Evolution Education and Outreach, 4, 666–679. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-011-0369-7
Nehm, R. H., Megan, A. R., & Ha, M. (2010). “Force-talk†in evolutionary explanation: Metaphors and misconceptions. Evolution Education and Outreach, 3, 605–613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-010-0282-5
Novais, V. (2021, 13 October). Das mutações que aumentam a capacidade de infeção às que se deixam atacar pelos anticorpos [From mutations that increase the capacity of infection to those that are attacked by antibodies]. Observador. https://observador.pt/2021/10/13/das-mutacoes-que-aumentam-a-capacidade-de-infecao-as-que-se-deixam-atacar-pelos-anticorpos/
Otto, S. (2021, 21 January). Why new COVID-19 variants are on the rise and spreading around the world. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-new-covid-19-variants-are-on-the-rise-and-spreading-around-the-world-153530
Prinou, L., Halkia, L., & Skordoulis, C. (2011). The inability of primary school to introduce children to the theory of biological evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 4(2), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-011-0323-8
Reznick, D. N., & Ricklefs, R. E. (2009). Darwin’s bridge between microevolution and macroevolution. Nature, 457, 837–842. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07894
Sato, Y., Ogden, R., Kishida, T., Nakajima, N., Maeda, T., & Inoue-Murayama, M. (2020). Population history of the golden eagle inferred from whole-genome sequencing of three of its subspecies. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 130(4), 826–838, https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa068
Serafim, T. S. (2020, 23 December). Estudo revela três novas variantes do vÃrus a circular em Portugal [Study reveals three new variants of the virus circulating in Portugal]. Publico. https://www.publico.pt/2020/12/23/ciencia/noticia/estudo-revela-tres-novas-variantes-virus-circular-portugal-1944054
Sesink Clee, P., & Gonder, M. K. (2012) Macroevolution: Examples from the primate world. Nature Education Knowledge, 3(12), 2. https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/macroevolution-examples-from-the-primate-world-96679683/
Sickel, A. J., & Friedrichsen, P. (2013). Examining the evolution education literature with a focus on teachers: Major findings, goals for teacher preparation, and directions for future research. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 6(23), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1936-6434-6-23
Sá-Pinto, X., Pinto, A., Ribeiro, J., Sarmento, I., Pessoa, P., Rodrigues, L., Vázquez-Bem, L., Mavrikaki, E., & Lopes, J. B. (2021), Following Darwin’s footsteps: Evaluating the impact of an activity designed for elementary school students to link historically important evolution key concepts on their understanding of natural selection. Ecology and Evolution, 11(18), 12236–12250. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7849
Sá-Pinto, X., Pessoa, P., Pinto, A., Cardia, P. & Lopes, J. B. (2023) The impact of exploring sexual selection on primary school students’ understanding of evolution. Centre for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 13(1).
Sá-Pinto, X., Cardia, P. & Campos, R. (2017). Sexual selection: A short review on its causes and outcomes and activities to teach evolution and the nature of science. American Biology Teacher, 79(2), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2017.79.2.135
Stemler, S. E. (2004). A comparison of consensus, consistency, and measurement approaches to estimating interrater reliability. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 9(4), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.7275/96jp-xz07
Tekkaya, C., Akyol, G., & Sungur, S. (2012). Relationships among teachers’ knowledge and beliefs regarding the teaching of evolution: A case for Turkey. Evo Edu Outreach, 5, 477–493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-012-0433-y
Tempo.pt (2020, 24 November). Conheça a planta chinesa que muda de cor porque tem medo do Homem [Meet the Chinese plant that changes colour because it is afraid of man]. Tempo.pt. https://www.tempo.pt/noticias/ciencia/conheca-a-planta-chinesa-que-muda-de-cor-porque-tem-medo-do-homem.html
Tibell, L. A. E., & Harms, U. (2017). Biological principles and threshold concepts for understanding natural selection. Implications for the developing and visualization as a pedagogic tool. Science & Education, 26, 953–973. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-017-9935-x
UC Museum of Paleontology Understanding Evolution (s.d.). Differential reproductive success. https://evolution.berkeley.edu/glossary/differential-reproductive-success/
Vergnaud, G. (2009). The theory of conceptual fields. Human Development, 52 (2), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1159/000202727
Wagner-Egger, P., Delouvée, S., Gauvrit, N., & Dieguez, S. (2018). Creationism and conspiracism share a common teleological bias. Current Biology, 28(16), R867–R868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.072
Wargo, A. R., & Kurath, G. (2012). Viral fitness: Definitions, measurements, and current insights. Current Opinion in Virology, 2 (5), 538–545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2012.07.007
Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. L. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6, 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0132-6
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitted article, which will be published online in the Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal (for short: CEPS Journal) by University of Ljubljana Press (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Kardeljeva ploščad 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). The Author’s/Authors’ name(s) will be evident in the article in the journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in the hands of the publisher.
- The Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit themselves to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.