Why is evolution important in primary education?

James Williams

University of Sussex

The problem

• Only 37% of UK adults agree that Darwinian evolution is a theory so well established it is beyond reasonable doubt

• 19% believe it has little or no supporting evidence

• 36% state that the theory is still waiting to be proved or disproved (Theos, 2009)

• More Christians oppose (38%) than support (31%) the teaching of 6-day creationism in state-funded school science lessons (IPSOS Mori, 2012)

• 54% of UK adults think that evolution should be taught alongside other ‘theories’ in schools, a higher proportion than in the US (51%) (IPSOS Mori, 2009)

The problem (2)

• Academies and Free Schools (not being required to teach the national curriculum) did not have to teach evolution at all!

• Private schools are also a concern

• Some Free Schools openly taught/advocated creationist teaching e.g. Grindon Hall Christian School, Exemplar – Newark Business Academy, the Al-Madinah School in Derby, Tyndale Community School in Oxford, the Maharishi Free School and the Steiner schools

The Problem (3)

“Children’s explanations of the origin of species seem to follow a distinct developmental pattern from spontaneous generationist and/or creationist to evolutionist and/or creationist, over the course of the elementary school years.” (Szymanowski, Hull Smith & Evans, 2005)

• Produce appealing books, comics and literature

• Mix real science with pseudoscience

• Play with the notion of truth versus accuracy

• Emphasise certain aspects of the scientific evidence for evolution, but with a creationist interpretation

• Bury and ignore the evidence that doesn’t fit the creation model

Creationist tactics

• The last living pterosaur was captured by cowboys in the 19th Century…

They may still be around…

Dinosaurs by design p.82

Dinosaurs by design p.83

Bombardier beetle Photo (Institute of Physics)

Old vs new creationist tracts

For adults

For children

Alternative conceptions (Misconceptions )

• When something a person ‘knows’ OR ‘believes’ does not match what is scientifically correct/accepted

• People/children who hold alternative conceptions often do not know that they are incorrect – They can be difficult to change

– They can be held even if a person ‘learns’ a correct answer to an examination question

• The earlier they are established the more persistent they are

– The more difficult they are to challenge

– The more difficult they are to change

“things we have already learned are sometimes unhelpful in learning new concepts/theories. This occurs when the new concept or theory is inconsistent with previously learned material…”

“There is one class of alternative theories (or misconceptions) that is very deeply entrenched. These are “ontological misconceptions,” which relate to ontological beliefs (i.e., beliefs about the fundamental categories and properties of the world).” (Lucariello, n.d.)

Early establishment of misconceptions

Disproving evolution

• If Carlsberg did evolution… – Saccharomyces carlsbergensis is named after the Carlsberg

Brewery in Copenhagen, where it was first isolated in 1883 – Yeast reproduces every 15 minutes. – 100 generations per day 35,000 generations per year. – In human terms that amounts to 876,000 – 1,000,000 years

(25-30 yrs per generation)

• Carlsberg Brewery have used “the same yeast” for 130 years – 4,500,000 Generations – “It hasn’t mutated into anything else for 4-and-a-half

million generations” – “One might say it hasn’t needed to, but where is the

evidence that it could even try? In human terms those generations amount to 130 million (130,000,000) years”

http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/index.php/2013feb12darwin/

“Trigger’s Broom”

• Trigger wins an award for having owned the same broom for 20 years. He reveals that it has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles, but insists it is still the same broom

McFadden, B (2005) Fossil Horses – Evidence of Evolution Science Vol. 307. no. 5716, pp. 1728 – 1730

Misconceptions about evolution

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php

Misconceptions about evolution • Misconceptions about evolutionary theory and processes

– Evolution is a theory about the origin of life. – Evolutionary theory implies that life evolved (and continues to evolve) randomly, or by chance. – Evolution results in progress; organisms are always getting better through evolution. – Individual organisms can evolve during a single lifespan. – Evolution only occurs slowly and gradually. – Because evolution is slow, humans cannot influence it. – Genetic drift only occurs in small populations. – Humans are not currently evolving. – Species are distinct natural entities, with a clear definition, that can be easily recognized by

anyone.

• Misconceptions about natural selection and adaptation – Natural selection involves organisms trying to adapt. – Natural selection gives organisms what they need. – Humans can't negatively impact ecosystems, because species will just evolve what they need

to survive. – Natural selection acts for the good of the species. – The fittest organisms in a population are those that are strongest, healthiest, fastest, and/or

largest. – Natural selection is about survival of the very fittest individuals in a population. – Natural selection produces organisms perfectly suited to their environments. – All traits of organisms are adaptations.

Misconceptions about evolution • Misconceptions about evolutionary trees

– Taxa that are adjacent on the tips of phylogeny are more closely related to one another than they are to taxa on more distant tips of the phylogeny.

– Taxa that appear near the top or right-hand side of a phylogeny are more advanced than other organisms on the tree.

– Taxa that are nearer the bottom or left-hand side of a phylogeny represent the ancestors of the other organisms on the tree.

– Taxa that are nearer the bottom or left-hand side of a phylogeny evolved earlier than other taxa on the tree.

– A long branch on a phylogeny indicates that the taxon has changed little since it diverged from other taxa.

• Misconceptions about population genetics – Each trait is influenced by one Mendelian locus. – Each locus has only two alleles.

• Misconceptions about evolution and the nature of science – Evolution is not science because it is not observable or testable. – Evolution is ‘just' a theory. – Evolutionary theory is invalid because it is incomplete and cannot give a total

explanation for the biodiversity we see around us. – Gaps in the fossil record disprove evolution.

Misconceptions about evolution

• Misconceptions about the acceptance of evolution – The theory of evolution is flawed, but scientists won't admit it. – Evolution is a theory in crisis and is collapsing as scientists lose confidence in

it. – Most biologists have rejected ‘Darwinism' and no longer agree with the ideas

put forth by Darwin and Wallace.

• Misconceptions about the implications of evolution – Evolution leads to immoral behavior. – Evolution supports the idea of ‘might makes right' and rationalizes the

oppression of some people by others. – If students are taught that they are animals, they will behave like animals.

• Misconceptions about evolution and religion – Evolution and religion are incompatible.

• Misconceptions about teaching evolution – Teachers should teach "both sides" of the evolution issue and let students

decide — or give equal time to evolution and creationism. – Evolution is itself religious, so requiring teachers to teach evolution violates

the first amendment.

The Role of Testimony

• “Children’s beliefs vary with the level of testimonial support that they encounter, particularly from trusted sources such as parents”

(Harris, Pasquini, Duke, Asscher & Pons,2006, p. 93).

• Resistance to scientific claims will persist into adulthood if there is a nonscientific alternative rooted in commonsense and championed by reasonable, trustworthy people

(Bloom & Weisberg, 2007)

MAASTE 2010 Johnson City, Tennessee

The Bristish Humanist Campaign

• Teach Evolution, Not Creationism! (BHA)

– In January 2012 the Government precluded all future Free Schools (i.e. not already open) from teaching pseudoscience in any subject

– In June 2012 the Government announced they would add a module on evolution to the new primary national curriculum. This was confirmed in September 2013

– From September 2014 children aged 10-11 in maintained schools (i.e. state-funded but not Academies or Free Schools) will be taught evolution

This news… just in…

• the Government has extended that requirement to all future Academies and Free Schools that are part of multi-Academy trusts

• Further it has also clarified (in its rules for Church schools) that it believes that no existing Academy and Free School can teach creationism, as to do so would be to break the requirement to teach a broad and balanced curriculum

• All Academies and Free Schools are under this requirement

Pre-Secondary School Learning Experiences

• There is a critical need for children to develop an understanding of science so that they can evaluate anti-evolution messages when first encountered

(Lombrozo, Thanukos & Weisberg, 2008)

• Bloom and Weisberg (2007) found that the primary source of resistance to evolution instruction is related to what children know before their exposure to science

MAASTE 2010 Johnson City, Tennessee

Religion is Natural

“One of the most interesting discoveries in the developmental psychology of religion is that this bias toward creationism appears to be cognitively natural. Four year- olds insist that everything has a purpose, including things like lions (‘to go in the zoo’) and clouds (‘for raining’). When asked to explain why a bunch of rocks are pointy, adults prefer a physical explanation, while children choose functional answers, such as ‘so that animals could scratch on them when they get itchy’.” Bloom (2007)

Role of Primary Teachers

• The role primary teachers play, directly or indirectly, in facilitating an understanding and acceptance of evolution is paramount.

• How well prepared are primary teachers to teach evolutionary theory? – This is an area which is well-researched in the US, less

so in the UK

• We need effective CPD for existing primary teachers to enable them to effectively teach evolution

MAASTE 2010 Johnson City, Tennessee

Acceptance vs belief

• How do we overcome the issue of religious sensitivity towards evolution? – look at the idea of acceptance over belief. – People of faith will often operate within a well-defined and

established belief system. – Beliefs, in this context, don’t necessarily require rational

explanations or solid evidence to be held as real

• Science can’t operate in the same way – Evidence rules the way scientists operate in the real world.

• A scientist may say that they “believe” this or that will happen in an experiment or that they “believe X explains Y”, but this is not the same as religious belief. It’s much more akin to acceptance

Acceptance vs belief

• With acceptance there’s capacity for change. If new evidence comes to light which better explains a phenomenon, then the “accepted” explanation can be disposed of and a new explanation adopted.

• In the case of religious belief, evidence, no matter how convincing and strong, will not necessarily lead the believer to reject their belief system. They either accommodate the evidence into their belief system in such a way that the central belief is not disposed of, or, more often than not, reject the evidence.

Williams, J. D. (In Press)

The evolution of creationism

Source: Scott E (2000) The Creation Evolution Continuum

“when learning information from other people, both adults and children are sensitive to the trustworthiness of the source of that information. Resistance to science, then, is particularly exaggerated in societies where non-scientific ideologies have the advantages of being both grounded in common sense and transmitted by trustworthy sources.” (Bloom and Weisberg, 2007:996)

Insidious Creationism: the intellectual abuse of children

References Bloom, P. (2007). Religion is natural. Developmental Science, 10, 147-151 Bloom, P. & Weisberg, D. S. (18 May 2007). Childhood origins of adult resistance to science. Science, 316(5827), 996-997 Evans, E. M. (2000). The emergence of beliefs about the origins of species in school-age children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 46(2), 221- 254 Harris, P.L., Pasquini, E.S., Duke, S., Asscher, J.J., & Pons, F. (2006) Germs and angels: The role of testimony in young children’s ontology. Developmental Science, 9, 76–96. IPSOS Mori (2012) Religious and Social Attitudes of UK Christians in 2011 Lombrozo, T., A. Thanukos, and M. Weisberg. 2008. The importance of understanding the nature of science for accepting evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach. 1(3): 290-298 Lucariello, J (n.d.) How Do I Get My Students Over Their Alternative Conceptions (Misconceptions) for Learning? Removing barriers to aid in the development of the student Scott, E. (2000) The Creation-Evolution Continuum NCSE Szymanowski, K., Hull Smith, P & Evans, E.M. (2005) Parent Beliefs and Child Explanations of the Origin of Species: A Developmental Mismatch? Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta Theos (2009) Doubting Darwin Williams, J (In Press) Evolution versus Creationism: a matter of acceptance versus belief Journal of Biological Education