Articles

Editorial

Authors: Mick Wycoff

Lessons from EEO: Toward a Universal Evolutionary Curriculum

We propose a human-centered evolutionary curriculum based around the three questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? How do I fit in? We base our curriculum on our experiences as an evolutionary biologist/pal...

Authors: Niles Eldredge and Gregory Eldredge

How Can English Tell the Story?

Authors: Douglas Reed Eldredge

Texas Biology and Biological Anthropology Faculty Express Their Views on Teaching Evolution

Unsurprisingly, survey results indicate that Texas biology and biological anthropology faculty with expertise in an evolutionary area strongly support teaching “just evolution” (100%; N = 54) and not creationism/...

Authors: Shelley L. Smith and Raymond A. Eve

Print Reference Sources about Evolution

Authors: Adam M. Goldstein

The Argument from Design: A Guided Tour of William Paley’s Natural Theology (1802)

According to the classic “argument from design,” observations of complex functionality in nature can be taken to imply the action of a supernatural designer, just as the purposeful construction of human artifa...

Authors: T. Ryan Gregory

Homology: Why We Know a Whale Is Not a Fish

Homology is a fundamental concept in comparative and evolutionary biology and yet often the focus of antievolution challenges. In describing structural similarity that is the result of common ancestry, hypothe...

Authors: Andrew J. Petto and Louise S. Mead

The Ever-Flowing Rush of Scientific Literature

Authors: Stephen W. Paddock

How the Adaptation Got its Start

Authors: Anastasia Thanukos

Evolution and University-level Anthropology Textbooks: The “Missing Link”?

Although studies analyzing the content of evolution curriculum usually focus on courses within the context of a biological sciences department or program, research must also address students and courses outsid...

Authors: Jess White, Craig D. Tollini, W. Aaron Collie, Meredith B. Strueber, Linda H. Strueber and Jonathan W. Ward

Acceptance of Evolution Increases with Student Academic Level: A Comparison Between a Secular and a Religious College

Acceptance of evolution among the general public, high schools, teachers, and scientists has been documented in the USA; little is known about college students’ views on evolution; this population is relevant ...

Authors: Guillermo Paz-y-Miño C. and Avelina Espinosa

Tracing the ELF: Joyful Excursions in Search of Evolution

Authors: Emanuele Serrelli

Not “Just a Theory”

Authors: Paula Ann Spaeth

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: An Evo-Devo Perspective on Human Anatomy

Authors: Andrew J. Petto

Milner’s Encyclopedic Un-Encyclopedia

Authors: Adam M. Goldstein

Teaching the Evolution of Morality: Status and Resources

Recent studies now provide a relatively robust explanation of how moral behavior evolved, perhaps not just in humans. An analysis of current biology textbooks shows that they fail to address this critical topi...

Authors: Douglas Allchin

Why We Need to Teach the Evolution of Morality

I present the case that the topic of the evolution of human morality is essential to any complete introductory biology course. This statement of rationale is accompanied (in complementary contributions) by: (1...

Authors: Douglas Allchin

Paleontology and Evolution in the News

Authors: Sidney Horenstein

The Evolution of Morality

Here, in textbook style, is a concise biological account of the evolution of morality. It addresses morality on three levels: moral outcomes (behavioral genetics), moral motivation or intent (psychology and ne...

Authors: Douglas Allchin

Darwin’s Philosophical Imperative and the Furor Theologicus

In 1859 Charles Darwin submitted a manuscript entitled “An Abstract of an Essay on the Origin of Species and Varieties through Natural Selection” to John Murray III, who published the text under the title On the ...

Authors: U. Kutschera

Becoming Modern Homo sapiens

Human beings are unusual in many ways but perhaps most strikingly in their unique symbolic form of processing information about the world around them. Although based on a long and essential evolutionary histor...

Authors: Ian Tattersall

Why “Sudden Appearance” Is Not as It Appears

Recent action taken by the Texas State Board of Education has opened the door to the inclusion of creationist arguments into public school science curriculum in that state and—because of the critical role of T...

Authors: James E. Platt

“Virtual Inquiry”: Teaching Molecular Aspects of Evolutionary Biology Through Computer-Based Inquiry

Genetic diversity is a core concept in evolutionary biology; genetic variation is a prerequisite for heritable differential selection, and biodiversity plays a central role in debates about environmental polic...

Authors: Eva Erdosne Toth, Sarah K. Brem and Geza Erdos

Evolution in Biology Education: Sparking Imaginations and Supporting Learning

Authors: Kristin P. Jenkins

Why I Teach Evolution

Authors: Greg Eldredge

Editorial

Authors: Greg Eldredge and Niles Eldredge

“Evolution for Everyone”: A Course that Expands Evolutionary Theory Beyond the Biological Sciences

A firm grasp of evolution is invaluable for understanding our own species in addition to the rest of the biological world; however, not only does much of the American public reject evolution, but many thinkers...

Authors: Daniel Tumminelli O’Brien, David Sloan Wilson and Patricia H. Hawley

Using Inquiry and Tree-Thinking to “March Through the Animal Phyla”: Teaching Introductory Comparative Biology in an Evolutionary Context

Biodiversity was originally taught in our Introductory Organismal Biology course at Michigan State University (LB144; freshman/sophomore majors) by rote memorization of isolated facts about organisms. When we ...

Authors: James J. Smith and Kendra Spence Cheruvelil

Science Standards Evolve

Authors: Eugenie C. Scott

Attitudes of Students at a Private Christian Liberal Arts University Toward the Teaching of Evolution

Students at private Christian colleges tend to have a viewpoint that incorporates faith and belief in God. Whether due to misconceptions about evolution, lack of knowledge of the nature of science, or belief t...

Authors: Troy A. Ladine

How Charles Darwin’s Early Years Led Him to Revolutionize Biological Thought

Authors: Joel S. Schwartz

Phylogenetic Analysis: How Old are the Parts of Your Body?

According to the National Academy of Sciences, biology students in the USA are not being adequately prepared for successful futures. Of paramount concern is a lack of sufficient training in quantitative and co...

Authors: Robert K. Kuzoff, Seth B. Kemmeter, Jeffrey S. McKinnon and Courtney P. Thompson

A Permian Murder Mystery

Authors: Matthew Williams

Using Avida-ED for Teaching and Learning About Evolution in Undergraduate Introductory Biology Courses

Evolution is a complex subject that requires knowledge of basic biological concepts and the ability to connect them across multiple scales of time, space, and biological organization. Avida-ED is a digital evo...

Authors: Elena Bray Speth, Tammy M. Long, Robert T. Pennock and Diane Ebert-May

Paleontology and Evolution in the News

Authors: Sidney Horenstein

The Comparative Biology of Cultural Inheritance

Authors: Lauren W. McCall

Addressing Undergraduate Student Misconceptions about Natural Selection with an Interactive Simulated Laboratory

Although evolutionary theory is considered to be a unifying foundation for biological education, misconceptions about basic evolutionary processes such as natural selection inhibit student understanding. Even ...

Authors: Joel K. Abraham, Eli Meir, Judy Perry, Jon C. Herron, Susan Maruca and Derek Stal

Blogging Evolution

A weblog (“blog”) is an publication on the WorldWideWeb in which brief entries are displayed in date order, much like a diary or journal. I describe the general characteristics of blogs, contrasting blogs with...

Authors: Adam M. Goldstein

Teaching Evolution Concepts to Early Elementary School Students

State and national standards call for teaching evolution concepts as early as kindergarten, which provides motivation to continue developing science instruction and curriculum for young learners. The importanc...

Authors: Louis Nadelson, Rex Culp, Suzan Bunn, Ryan Burkhart, Robert Shetlar, Kellen Nixon and James Waldron

Nitrogen and the Carrying Capacity of the Earth

Authors: Joseph L. Fail Jr.

Evolution Education in Utah: A State Office of Education–University Partnership Focuses on Why Evolution Matters

Several groups of people are essential for effectively teaching the theory of evolution in public schools. Teachers of course are at the leading edge of educating students. However, school district administrat...

Authors: Jerald B. Johnson, Marta Adair, Byron J. Adams, Daniel J. Fairbanks, Velma Itamura, Duane E. Jeffery, Duane Merrell, Scott M. Ritter and Richard R. Tolman

From Newsroom to Classroom

Authors: Anastasia Thanukos

Overcoming the Effect of the Socio-cultural Context: Impact of Teaching Evolution in Tunisia

In Tunisia, even though it is an Arab-Muslim country, the teaching of evolution is not forbidden. Nevertheless, the Muslim perspective makes learning about the biological basis of evolution difficult because o...

Authors: Saïda Aroua, Maryline Coquide and Salem Abbes

Teaching Evolution with Historical Narratives

This paper focuses on evolution as a unifying theme in biology education. Our aim is to argue that the different topics taught in secondary school biology classes should be enriched with and linked together by...

Authors: Esther M. van Dijk and Ulrich Kattmann

Still More “Fancy” and “Myth” than “Fact” in Students’ Conceptions of Evolution

College students do not come to biological sciences classes, including biological anthropology, as “blank slates.” Rather, these students have complex and strongly held scientific misconceptions that often int...

Authors: Deborah L. Cunningham and Daniel J. Wescott

Darwin: Origin and Evolution of an Exhibition

Two hundred years after his birth, Darwin, originated by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, is the most important exhibition about the English scientist ever organized for the general public. Thi...

Authors: Chiara Ceci

Preservice Teacher Understanding and Vision of how to Teach Biological Evolution

The learning and teaching of biological evolution is conceptually challenging. To fully comprehend evolution, it is posited that individuals also need to understand the roles that the nature of science and sit...

Authors: Louis S. Nadelson

Evolution in Lego ^®: A Physical Simulation of Adaptation by Natural Selection

We describe a physical simulation of natural selection in a population of legorgs, six-segment model organisms. Legorg morphology is genetically specified by five alleles on each segment. Legorgs show a simple...

Authors: Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard and Morten Kanneworff

In the Wake of Charles Darwin and Beyond: A Tribute to Ernst Mayr

Authors: U. Kutschera

Does the Segregation of Evolution in Biology Textbooks and Introductory Courses Reinforce Students’ Faulty Mental Models of Biology and Evolution?

The well-established finding that substantial confusion and misconceptions about evolution and natural selection persist after college instruction suggests that these courses neither foster accurate mental mod...

Authors: Ross H. Nehm, Therese M. Poole, Mark E. Lyford, Sally G. Hoskins, Laura Carruth, Brent E. Ewers and Patricia J. S. Colberg