Nothing in Evolution Makes Sense Except in the Light of DNA

Steven T. Kalinowski · Mary J. Leonard · Tessa M. Andrews

55 citations0/0 files storedCBE—Life Sciences Education

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Evolution and Science Education Science Education and Pedagogy Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research

Abstract

Natural selection is one of the most important concepts for biology students to understand, but students frequently have misconceptions regarding how natural selection operates. Many of these misconceptions, such as a belief in "Lamarckian" evolution, are based on a misunderstanding of inheritance. In this essay, we argue that evolution instructors should clarify the genetic basis of natural selection by discussing examples of DNA sequences that affect fitness. Such examples are useful for showing how natural selection works, for establishing connections between genetics and evolution, and for creating cognitive conflict within students having misconceptions. We describe several examples of genes that instructors might use during lectures, and present preliminary evidence from our classroom that an evolution curriculum rich in DNA sequences is effective at reducing student misconceptions of natural selection.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 55 citations exist upstream.

References

1998Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses 1982Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change 1973Nothing in Biology Makes Sense except in the Light of Evolution 1986The Blind Watchmaker 1994Growth of biological thought 1943Evolution the Modern Synthesis 1998International Handbook of Science Education 1942Evolution. The Modern Synthesis.

Cited by

2020From panic to pedagogy: Using online active learning to promote inclusive instruction in ecology and evolutionary biology courses and beyond 2013Misconceptions Are “So Yesterday!”2012Biology Undergraduates’ Misconceptions about Genetic Drift 2011“Are Humans Evolving?” A Classroom Discussion to Change Student Misconceptions Regarding Natural Selection 2013Six Classroom Exercises to Teach Natural Selection to Undergraduate Biology Students 2019

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.