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History and Philosophy of Science and the Teaching of Evolution: Students’ Conceptions and Explanations

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Abstract

A large body of work in science education indicates that evolution is one of the least understood and accepted scientific theories. Although scholarship from the history and philosophy of science (HPS) has shed light on many conceptual and pedagogical issues in evolution education, HPS-informed studies of evolution education are also characterized by conceptual weaknesses. In this chapter, we critically review such studies and find that some work lacks historically accurate characterizations of student ideas (preconceptions and misconceptions). In addition, although several studies in the science education literature have drawn parallels between students’ conceptual change patterns and those from the history of science (HOS), we identify several issues that complicate the characterization of student ideas as “Lamarckian” or “Darwinian.” Finally, a review of the topic of explanation illustrates how the plurality of approaches employed in evolutionary biology is not reflected in evolution education scholarship or practice. This finding is particularly concerning given the recent shift in emphasis in science education standards to teaching content through practice-based tasks (e.g., explanation and argumentation). Overall, this chapter demonstrates that while HPS is of central importance to a deep understanding of evolution education, too often its contributions are poorly realized.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See, for example, Kampourakis and Zogza (2007), Gregory (2008, 2009), Evans (2008), Evans et al. (2010), Bizzo and El-Hani (2009), van Dijk (2009), van Dijk and Reydon (2010), Smith (2010), Tavares et al. (2010), González Galli and Meinardi (2011), and Zabel and Gropengiesser (2011).

  2. 2.

    But this principle could, in the same superficial manner, be attributed to Darwin as well (see Nehm and Ha 2011).

  3. 3.

    This is exactly the conclusion drawn by Kampourakis and Zogza (2007); most students hold teleological conceptions, although some students may also have conceptions similar to Lamarck’s.

  4. 4.

    Teaching genetics before evolution seems to facilitate understanding of evolution by secondary students (Kampourakis and Zogza 2009; see Kampourakis 2006 for how genetics and evolution concepts can be connected).

  5. 5.

    See, for example, Kitcher (1989), Salmon (1990), Okasha (2002, p. 49), Godfrey-Smith (2003, pp. 196–197), Woodward (2003), and Rosenberg (2005, p. 27).

  6. 6.

    The ultimate/proximate distinction as described in these studies could be actually used to teach students about the distinction between developmental and evolutionary explanations. Research in evolutionary developmental biology (evo devo) suggests that such a distinction is not valid and that evolutionary and developmental processes constantly interact. Thus, an interdisciplinary approach to the study of these phenomena is required (Love 2013). However, especially in secondary educational settings, it may be important to first help students distinguish between development and evolution, especially since they often confuse the two kinds of processes. Having understood what development and evolution are, they could then be taught about how developmental changes have an impact on evolution as well as how developmental processes themselves evolve (Love 2013; Arthur 2004; Minelli 2009).

  7. 7.

    Interestingly enough Gould noted that such a kind of narrative explanation was central in Darwin’s theorizing but his successors did not put emphasis on it in an attempt to base explanations on laws, which were considered more important for explanations than any narrative (Gould 2002, p. 1336).

  8. 8.

    There is some disagreement in the details (Reydon 2012; Forber 2012) but the nuances of these disagreements are not central to our point.

  9. 9.

    It is not necessary that the feature is currently being selected, but it may be so.

  10. 10.

    It is entirely legitimate to say that birds have wings for flying, as long as we refer to birds which do use their wings to fly and if it is clear that it is selection and not design which is doing the explaining. In terms of their structure, evolutionary explanations are teleological explanations (Lennox and Kampourakis 2013). The problem for evolution education is not teleology per se, but teleology based on design (we do not discuss Intelligent Design in this chapter; an excellent, recent analysis can be found in Brigandt 2013b). This is a difficult topic, pedagogically speaking. Although reference to history may not be necessary for philosophical analyses, it can be very useful for evolution instruction (Kampourakis 2013b).

  11. 11.

    These explanatory schemes may seem oversimplified but were considered appropriate given the age of students (14–15-year-olds).

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Acknowledgments

We thank the anonymous reviewers for thoughtful ideas about how to improve the manuscript, Liz P. Beggrow for helpful suggestions, and Minsu Ha for help with references.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Section and IUFE, University of Geneva, Pavillon Mail, 40 Boulevard du Pont-d’Arve, Geneva 4, Switzerland

    Kostas Kampourakis

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, 092 Life Sciences Building, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5233, USA

    Ross H. Nehm

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  1. Kostas Kampourakis
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Correspondence to Kostas Kampourakis .

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  1. School of Education, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Michael R. Matthews

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Kampourakis, K., Nehm, R.H. (2014). History and Philosophy of Science and the Teaching of Evolution: Students’ Conceptions and Explanations. In: Matthews, M. (eds) International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7654-8_13

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