Understanding Evolution: (Towards) A Proposed (Developmental) Learning Progression

Transcription

1 Understanding Evolution: (Towards) A Proposed (Developmental) Learning Progression E. Margaret Evans, Ph.D. & Jonat han D. Lane, M.A. Universit y of Michigan In K. Brown: Early Cognit ive Abilit ies for learning Mat h and Science Annual AERA Conference New Orleans, LA (April, 2011) 1

2 OVERVIEW 1. How does the US public reason about Origins? (Cognitive constraints) 2. Studies 1-2: Museum visitors (parents) 3. Children Ideas: Metamorphosis & Evolution 4. Study 4: Charlie and Kiwi s.. 5. Developmental Learning Progression

3 Supernatural Explanations Creationism Theistic evolution 3

4 Natural Explanations Evolution is Misrepresented

5 Cognitive Constraints: Increase Susceptibility to Design-based Intentional Design Bible-based: Creationism Creationism 1. Anthropomorphism Artifact analogy Mental States (Intentionality) 2. Teleology: Purpose 3. Essentialism: Immutability, stable and unchanging world 5

6 Evolution Challenges Intuitive Concepts

7 Distribution of Explanations: Origin of Species US Gallup Poll (2007: unchanged in 20 Yrs) 45%: God created humans (God Only) 38%: Theistic evolutionist (both) 13%: Evolutionist (no God) Europe: 85% Evolution (ISSP 2000) Creationism NOT -general ignorance of science! (Mazur, 2005

8 Natural Selection: Evolutionary Mechanism High school, college & medical students: 1. Need-based adaptive change Rabbit gets white fur in winter [in order] to hide itself from predators 2. Natural Selection: Rabbit ancestors with white fur in winter - more likely to survive & reproduce (e.g., Bishop & Anderson 1985) 3. Key Concepts Misunderstood: Variation, differential survival, differential reproduction

9 Study One: A Conceptual Guide to Museum Visitors Understanding of Evolution 32, adult, natural history museum visitors 60% college educated or beyond Asked to explain 7 problems about the emergence of new species: Were NOT told that these were evolutionary problems (Evans, Spiegel, Gram, Frazier, Cover, Tare, & Diamond, JRST 2010)

10 HIV Diatom Stephanodiscus yellowstonensis Ant - Fungus - Microfungus - Bacteria Hawaiian Drosophila Finch Geospiza fortis Human and Chimp Whale Rodhocetus 10

11 Museum Visitors Explanations Not ONE visitor was exclusively evolutionist MIXED PATTERNS Evolutionary/Intuitive (72%) Evolution/Intuitive/Creationist* (28%) DOMINANT (Most Frequent) PATTERN 38% Evolutionary Reasoning 53% Intuitive Reasoning 6% Creationist Reasoning

12 Study Two: Parent-Child Evolution Talk by Organism Parents varied in the amount of evolution talk Different organisms elicited different amounts of talk (Tare et al., in press) 12

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14 Talk at the Human/Chimp Exhibit Human/Chimp MOT: You guys talk about evolution in school, don't you? CHI: Not really. MOT: Well that's good. MOT: Because we really don't believe that you evolved from the monkey. MOT: Do you want to look at these things? CHI: Um CHI: It looks pretty darn close, huh? (Tare, French, Frazier, Diamond, & Evans, SciEd in press, 2011) 14

15 Children s Origins Explanations 5-7 yrs: Proximate cause ( was someplace else it appeared ) & creationist ( someone made it ). 8-9 yrs: Creationist ("God made it") regardless of community or parental beliefs yrs: Like the adult community (creationist, evolutionist, mixed) Exposure to biological change, key predictor (Evans, 2000, 2001, 2008; Poling & Evans, 2004)

16 Metamorphosis & Evolution Who Evolved? (Range: SE) Humans, Other Mammals, Frogs, or Butterflies 3.0 Humans/Mammals 2.5 Frogs/Butterflies years 8-9 years years Adult

17 Charlie and Kiwi s Evolutionary Adventure Unfolds in an intimate theater on a giant digital storybook screen Children joined Charlie and his favorite bird, Kiwi, as they traveled back in time to discover Kiwi s ancestors and evidence of how evolution works Exhibits supported the central narrative: Skeletons, live birds, puzzles, discovery boxes Conveyed Evolutionary concepts: Variation, Inheritance, Selection, Time, Adaptation (VISTA)

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19 And just a few million years later

20 That can t be Kiwi s ancestor: that s some kind of DINOSAUR!

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26 Study Four: Charlie & Kiwi s Evolutionary Adventure (C&K) Pre- Posttest Design: NYSci Summer Camp 94 children Interviewed Pretest (1-2 days before the exhibition visit) (30% Caucasian) Randomly Assigned: C&K or M&M (Marvelous Molecules) Control Exhibition (1 hour) Interviewed Posttest (1-2 days afterwards) Closed-ended (agreement) and open-ended explanation questions

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28 Archaeopteryx Pre-Exhibit Study: Is it good evidence for dinosaurbird evolution? "No, not really I just don't see how it is possible for a ferocious, meat-eating dinosaur to change into a bird. They aren't the same kind of thing. How could that be possible? (10 year old)

29 Posttest only: What do you think it is?

30 Do you agree with the scientists? Is it good evidence?

31 Pre- to Posttest: Decrease in Creationist Reasoning 31

32 Common Descent C&K children even younger ones- more likely to agree with and used common descent (in comparison with M&M kids) I think they used to be birds. Cause a lot of things originated from birds I think the deer evolved from a stegosaurus I think they changed from a different animal

33 Anthropomorphic Mechanism of Change Overall: Younger children more likely to use & endorse want-based reasoning Question: (Guppy Story) How come there were so many plain colored guppies in the river? How do you think that happened? They didn t want to get eaten and they knew that if they were brightly colored they ll be seen more easily

34 Need-Based Reasoning Older children more likely to endorse needbased reasoning (>9 years ) "They had to camouflage to the new setting, and they camouflaged to the brownish sand." (Lizards) You can t evolve because you want to, you evolve because you have to (10 year old)

35 Natural Selection: Variation, Diff. Survival, Differential Reproduction Older C&K Children (>9 years ) Because all the bright colored males were dead and eaten. and all that was left was the plain ones (Differential Survival) "The colored guppies got eaten by bigger fish and the plain guppies, they were safe and they made more babies and they inherited their mom or dad s color scales" (Natural Selection)

36 Change in Mention of Variation: Pre to Post 36

37 Change in Mention of Differential Survival: Pre to Post 37

38 Does the C&K Exhibition have an effect? Yes -Incremental Intuitive Concepts No Change Ant hropomorphic Language Transitional Concepts Need-based Language Variat ion Mixed Explanat ions Scientific Concepts Common Descent Nat ural Select ion

39 Developmental Learning Progression: NS 39

40 Developmental Learning Progression: CD 40

41 Acknowledgements National Science Foundation: Evolution Challenges Project (Brem, Evans, Sinatra): Conference and Book Evolution Challenges: Integrating the Teaching and Learning of Evolution; Rosengren, Brem, Evans, Sinatra (Eds.) (Oxford University Press) # (Weiss, Evans, Duran, Marino); # (Diamond); # (Evans) 41

42 Charlie & Kiwi s Evolutionary Adventure: Acknowledgements Martin Weiss, New York Hall of Science, Sean Duran, Miami Museum Science, Margie Marino, North Museum, Jeff Kennedy Associates, Design, Rand & Associates, Writers, Institute for Learning Innovation, Wendy Pollock, ASTC, Fablevision UM Graduate Students: Brandy Frazier, Ashley Hazel, Karen Johnson, Jon Lane, Cristine Legare, Medha Tare, Sarah Thomas UM Undergraduates, Museum Staff & Visitors, Students, and families