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Student Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching Biological Evolution

  • Published:
Journal of Science Teacher Education

Abstract

Evolution is fundamental to biology and scientific literacy, but teaching high school evolution is often difficult. Evolution teachers face several challenges including limited content knowledge, personal conflicts with evolution, expectations of resistance, concerns about students’ conflicts with religion, and curricular constraints. Evolution teaching can be particularly challenging for student teachers who are just beginning to gain pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge related to evolution teaching and who seek approval from university supervisors and cooperating teachers. Science teacher educators need to know how to best support student teachers as they broach the sometimes daunting task of teaching evolution within student teaching placements. This multiple case study report documents how three student teachers approached evolution instruction and what influenced their approaches. Data sources included student teacher interviews, field note observations for 4–5 days of evolution instruction, and evolution instructional artifacts. Data were analyzed using grounded theory approaches to develop individual cases and a cross-case analysis. Seven influences (state exams and standards, cooperating teacher, ideas about teaching and learning, concerns about evolution controversy, personal commitment to evolution, knowledge and preparation for teaching evolution, and own evolution learning experiences) were identified and compared across cases. Implications for science teacher preparation and future research are provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies, Kent State University, 404 White Hall, Kent, OH, 44242, USA

    Lisa A. Borgerding, Vanessa A. Klein, Rajlakshmi Ghosh & Albert Eibel

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  1. Lisa A. Borgerding
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  2. Vanessa A. Klein
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  3. Rajlakshmi Ghosh
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  4. Albert Eibel
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Correspondence to Lisa A. Borgerding.

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Borgerding, L.A., Klein, V.A., Ghosh, R. et al. Student Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching Biological Evolution. J Sci Teacher Educ 26, 371–392 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-015-9428-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-015-9428-1

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