90 likes | 205 Views
The Essentials of Creationism: Improving Evolution Education. Lee Traynor, MA. Lecturer in English for Science, Centre for Applied Languages, Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany. Method. Didactical Reconstruction: Conceptual Change Moderate Constructivism. Comparing Concepts.
E N D
The Essentials of Creationism: Improving Evolution Education Lee Traynor, MA Lecturer in English for Science, Centre for Applied Languages, Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany
Method • DidacticalReconstruction: • Conceptual Change • Moderate Constructivism
Textbook Portrayals • Allopatry/sympatry • Prezygotic/postzygotic isolation mechanisms • Anagenesis/cladogenesis • = Putting the cart before the horse ("unsticky" ideas)
Problem: Speciation • Creationists: "Nobody has ever seen a new species evolve." • Evolutionist: "Speciation is probably fairly rare and in many cases might take centuries…" [John Rennie, 15 Answers, SciAm, 2002]
Solutions to the Unimaginable • Black holes (Asimov's sequence) • Division by 0 (differentiation) • Summation of infinite sequences (integration)
Proposed Solution • Polyploidy in plants (Trago-pogon, Helianthus) • Polyploidy in animals(salmon); sex • Gene duplication and living fossils • Chromosome rearrangements and speciation; rates of evolution massey.ac.nz
Spin-Offs • Practical science (hypothesis testing) • Solves "increase of information content" problem • Evolution is replicable, experimental • Cell theory, chromosomes • Progress not always from the most advanced (Lamarckian principle)
Selected Literature Ferrari, M., Chi, M.T.H. (1998). The nature of naïve explanations of natural selection. Int. J. Sci. Educ., 20, 1231-1256. Gropengießer, H. (2003). Wie man Vorstellungen der Lerner verstehen kann. Lebenswelten, Denkwelten, Sprechwelten [Understanding Leaners' Conceptions. Everyday World, Thought World, Language World]. Beiträge zur Didaktischen Rekonstruktion, Oldenburg. Kelemen, D., DiYanni, C. (2005). Intuitions About Origins: Purpose and Intelligent Design in Children’s Reasoning About Nature. Journal of Cognition and Development, 6(1), 3-31. Lakoff, G. (1987). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things. University of Chicago Press. Offner, S. (1994): Using Chromosomes to Teach Evolution. American Biology Teacher, 56.2, 79-92. Pinker, S. (1997). How the Mind Works. Penguin. Shtulman, A. (2006). Qualitative differences between naive and scientific theories of evolution. Cognitive Psychology, 52, 170-194.