Evolution acceptance and epistemological beliefs of college biology students

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Borgerding ◽  
Hasan Deniz ◽  
Elizabeth Shevock Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Epistemological Beliefs ◽  
Evolution Acceptance ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
College Biology

scholarly journals A New Measure of Students’ Perceived Conflict between Evolution and Religion (PCoRE) Is a Stronger Predictor of Evolution Acceptance than Understanding or Religiosity

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. ar42
Author(s):  
M. Elizabeth Barnes ◽  
K. Supriya ◽  
Yi Zheng ◽  
Julie A. Roberts ◽  
Sara E. Brownell
Keyword(s):  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Evolution Acceptance ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
College Biology ◽  
New Instrument

College biology students’ perceived conflict with their religions was found to be the strongest predictor of evolution acceptance compared with student religiosity, religious affiliation, and understanding of evolution. A new instrument to measure perceived conflict between religion and evolution (PCoRE) is provided for researchers.

scholarly journals Influence of incentives on performance in a pre-college biology MOOC

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhang Jiang ◽  
Adrienne E. Williams ◽  
Mark Warschauer ◽  
Wenliang He ◽  
Diane K. O'Dowd
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Male Students ◽  
College Preparatory ◽  
Recent Discussion ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics

<p>There is concern that online education may widen the achievement gap between students from different socioeconomic classes. The recent discussion of integrating massive open online courses (MOOCs) into formal higher education has added fuel to this debate. In this study, factors influencing enrollment and completion in a pre-college preparatory MOOC were explored. University of California at Irvine (UCI) students of all preparation levels, defined by math Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score, were invited to take a Bio Prep MOOC to help them prepare for introductory biology. Students with math SAT below 550 were offered the explicit incentive of an early change to the biology major upon successful completion of the MOOC and two additional onsite courses. Our results demonstrate that, among course registrants, a higher percentage of UCI students (&gt;60%) completed the course than non-UCI registrants from the general population (&lt;9%). Female UCI students had a greater likelihood of enrolling in the MOOC, but were not different from male students in terms of performance. University students entering with low preparation outperformed students entering who already had the credentials to become biology majors. These findings suggest that MOOCs can reach students, even those entering college with less preparation, before they enter university and have the potential to prepare them for challenging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses.</p>

An Authentic RFLP Lab for High School or College Biology Students

1998 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 448-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick G. Guilfoile ◽  
Stephen Plum
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
College Biology

Can Computer Animations Affect College Biology Students' Conceptions about Diffusion & Osmosis?

2001 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Sanger ◽  
Dorothy M. Brecheisen ◽  
Brian M. Hynek
Keyword(s):  
Biology Students ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Computer Animations

scholarly journals Muslim undergraduate biology students’ evolution acceptance in the United States

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255588
Author(s):  
M. Elizabeth Barnes ◽  
Julie A. Roberts ◽  
Samantha A. Maas ◽  
Sara E. Brownell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evolution Acceptance ◽  
Muslim Students ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Acceptance Of Evolution ◽  
Muslim Student ◽  
Strongly Agree

Evolution is a prominent component of biology education and remains controversial among college biology students in the United States who are mostly Christian, but science education researchers have not explored the attitudes of Muslim biology students in the United States. To explore perceptions of evolution among Muslim students in the United States, we surveyed 7,909 college students in 52 biology classes in 13 states about their acceptance of evolution, interest in evolution, and understanding of evolution. Muslim students in our sample, on average, did not agree with items that measured acceptance of macroevolution and human evolution. Further, on average, Muslim students agreed, but did not strongly agree with items measuring microevolution acceptance. Controlling for gender, major, race/ethnicity, and international status, we found that the evolution acceptance and interest levels of Muslim students were slightly higher than Protestant students and students who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Muslim student evolution acceptance levels were significantly lower than Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu students as well as students who did not identify with a religion (agnostic and atheists). Muslim student understanding of evolution was similar to students from other affiliations, but was lower than agnostic and atheist students. We also examined which variables are associated with Muslim student acceptance of evolution and found that higher understanding of evolution and lower religiosity are positive predictors of evolution acceptance among Muslim students, which is similar to the broader population of biology students. These data are the first to document that Muslim students have lower acceptance of evolution compared to students from other affiliations in undergraduate biology classrooms in the United States.

scholarly journals Practices and Perspectives of College Instructors on Addressing Religious Beliefs When Teaching Evolution

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. ar18 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Elizabeth Barnes ◽  
Sara E. Brownell
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
College Instructors ◽  
Personal Beliefs ◽  
Core Concept ◽  
Teaching Evolution ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Know How ◽  
Instructor Practices

Evolution is a core concept of biology, and yet many college biology students do not accept evolution because of their religious beliefs. However, we do not currently know how instructors perceive their role in helping students accept evolution or how they address the perceived conflict between religion and evolution when they teach evolution. This study explores instructor practices and beliefs related to mitigating students’ perceived conflict between religion and evolution. Interviews with 32 instructors revealed that many instructors do not believe it is their goal to help students accept evolution and that most instructors do not address the perceived conflict between religion and evolution. Instructors cited many barriers to discussing religion in the context of evolution in their classes, most notably the instructors’ own personal beliefs that religion and evolution may be incompatible. These data are exploratory and are intended to stimulate a series of questions about how we as college biology instructors teach evolution.

Investigation of Essential Oils as Antibiotics

2010 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 499-500
Author(s):  
Amy Morris
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Black Pepper ◽  
Medical Applications ◽  
Volatile Oils ◽  
Tea Tree ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Introductory College Biology ◽  
Introductory College

Many biology students are drawn to medically oriented topics. This lab activity engages students with medical interests in botany. I find that students are interested in how plants can have medical applications, for example in pharmaceuticals. Several volatile oils of plants, such as thyme, oregano, tea tree, and black pepper oils, have been found to have antibacterial, antifungal, or antiviral properties. To further their interest in the plant kingdom, teachers can have students test a variety of essential oils for effectiveness as antibiotics. This activity requires only minimal microbiology technique and is appropriate for high school through introductory college biology and botany courses.

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