UW researchers offer new take on teaching evolution

A new take on teaching evolution in public schools – an issue stoked white-hot by the recent decision of the Kansas state board of education – can be found in a high school course developed at UW–Madison. The difference between this course and those typically taught across America is the difference between learning by rote and by discovery.

A team of researchers and teachers at the National Center for Improving Student Learning in Mathematics and Science has designed a nine-week course on evolutionary biology. Going into its third year at Monona Grove High School, the course is the focus of a study led by researcher Jim Stewart and teacher-researchers Cindy Passmore and Sue Johnson.

Unlike most instruction on evolution, this one teaches evolutionary biology as an investigative process – like real science – instead of the traditional read-and-memorize approach.

Most American adults learned the definition-crammed textbook version of evolutionary biology, often leaving school with a very foggy picture of what science is really about. Few learned science as a process that allows them to inquire about their world.

The course taught at Monona Grove challenges students to grapple with three historical explanations for the origins of species. Working in research teams, students also fashion their own explanations of species diversity based on scientific data and Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

In assessing the Monona Grove students taking the course, UW–Madison researchers have found that they clearly have a more sophisticated understanding of natural selection than do students in a traditional classroom. After further refining of the course this year, the UW–Madison team will place the course materials on the web for anyone to download.

For more information, call Susan Anderson, (608) 265-5630 or visit http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/ncisla (click on “Go” under “What’s New”).