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Full-Text Articles in Education
Defining Evolution: Exploring Students’ Conceptions Of Evolution In Introductory Biology Courses, Jeremy L. Hsu, Meredith A. Dorner, Kate M. Hill
Defining Evolution: Exploring Students’ Conceptions Of Evolution In Introductory Biology Courses, Jeremy L. Hsu, Meredith A. Dorner, Kate M. Hill
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Background
Understanding evolution is an important part of undergraduate biology education. Despite its importance, however, students often struggle to understand evolution, often holding preconceived notions of what evolution is. Here, we investigate how students in both majors and non-majors introductory biology define and conceive of evolution at the start of the semester for a two-year college and a four-year university near each other. We analyze open-ended responses to an in-class activity on the first day of the semester that asked students to define evolution, generating insight into how students are thinking of evolution prior to any formal instruction on evolution …
Ecology Content In Introductory Biology Courses: A Comparative Analysis, Richard F. Pool, Gregory D. Turner, S. Anne Boettger
Ecology Content In Introductory Biology Courses: A Comparative Analysis, Richard F. Pool, Gregory D. Turner, S. Anne Boettger
Biology Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Redesigning Introductory Biology: A Proposal, Eileen Gregory, Craig Lending, Amanda N. Orenstein, Jane P. Ellis
Redesigning Introductory Biology: A Proposal, Eileen Gregory, Craig Lending, Amanda N. Orenstein, Jane P. Ellis
Faculty Publications
With the increasing complexity and expansion of the biological sciences, there has been a corresponding increase in content in the first-year introductory biology course sequence for majors. In general this has resulted in courses that introduce students to large amounts of material and leave little time for practicing investigative science or skill development. Based on our analysis of data compiled from 742 biology faculty at a variety of institutions across the United States, we verified that there is strong agreement on the content appropriate for introductory biology courses for majors. Therefore, we propose that faculty teaching these courses focus primarily …
A Proposal For A Common Minimal Topic Set In Introductory Biology Courses For Majors, Eileen Gregory, Jane P. Ellis, Amanda N. Orenstein
A Proposal For A Common Minimal Topic Set In Introductory Biology Courses For Majors, Eileen Gregory, Jane P. Ellis, Amanda N. Orenstein
Faculty Publications
A common complaint among instructors of introductory biology courses is the course covers too much material. Without a national consensus specifying which topics are essential, instructors are leery of excluding material. A survey was administered to Two-Year College and Four-Year College and University section members of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) to identify the topics and skills college and university biology instructors believe students completing introductory biology should know and comprehend. Analysis identified a strong consensus for twenty topics and seven skills that should be included in all year-long introductory college biology course sequences for majors.