Postdoctoral Fellowship: STEMEdIPRF: Development and Implementation of a Novel Measure of Student Evolution Acceptance

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Evolution is the central explanatory theory of biology and a key organizational framework for teaching and learning in the life sciences. Controversies concerning this theory can inhibit students’ abilities to understand the ways in which evolution functions as is a scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of life on Earth to address scientific challenges. This understanding is critical for post-graduation careers. The proposed project is designed to assess the effectiveness of teaching strategies that address student concerns about evolution through the creation of a survey that would examine student understanding, reasoning, and attitudes relating to evolution. The project aims to help educators develop more effective pedagogical strategies and resources for helping college students better understand the concepts relating to evolution. The goals of this project are to (1) characterize the landscape of evolution acceptance among undergraduate students and identify the reasoning students provide for their views, (2) develop a new survey tool for measuring student acceptance of the theory of evolution, and (3) identify trends and reasoning patterns. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a diverse sample of students and inductive coding will be used to identify relevant patterns. The results of this analysis will inform the creation of a survey that be piloted in biology courses at multiple universities and assessed for validity and reliability. This project is funded by the STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) program that aims to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines to advance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research that advances knowledge within the field.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.