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Despite its foundational importance to importance to biology and other sciences, students often have difficulty understanding the concept of evolution. Other research has shown that the most common student-held misconceptions about natural selection are rooted in misunderstandings about heredity. This study examined middle school students’ conceptual understanding of evolution and change over time following engagement with a new, NGSS-friendly curriculum unit that integrates heredity and evolution concepts. Here we report preliminary findings from post-unit interviews with 21 pairs of middle school students that utilized a stimulated recall method to explore their thinking with respect to the unit’s MythUnderstood capstone activity, which integrated four major heredity and natural selection science ideas. The majority of student groups (81%) were able to identify and explain that Kangaroo’s traits in the story were acquired and could not be inherited by her offspring and that the changes in the traits cannot happen in a short period of time (72%). However, only 42% of the student groups were able to articulate that the trait changes in the Kangaroo population are not possible when only the traits of a single kangaroo are altered and only five student groups (24%) were able to discuss all four science ideas. Despite their inability to give a full explanation, students’ responses show that their thinking had moved away from the wide-spread misconception that organisms can change their traits at will in response to environmental conditions.
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Advantages of laboratory natural selection in the applied sciences
Abstract In the past three decades, laboratory natural selection has become a widely used technique in biological research. Most studies which have utilized this technique are in the realm of basic science, often testing hypotheses related to mechanisms of evolutionary change or ecological dynamics. While laboratory natural selection is currently utilized heavily in this setting, there is a significant gap with its usage in applied studies, especially when compared to the other selection experiment methodologies like artificial selection and directed evolution. This is despite avenues of research in the applied sciences which seem well suited to laboratory natural selection. In this review, we place laboratory natural selection in context with other selection experiments, identify the characteristics which make it well suited for particular kinds of applied research and briefly cover key examples of the usefulness of selection experiments within applied science. Finally, we identify three promising areas of inquiry for laboratory natural selection in the applied sciences: bioremediation technology, identifying mechanisms of drug resistance and optimizing biofuel production. Although laboratory natural selection is currently less utilized in applied science when compared to basic research, the method has immense promise in the field moving forward.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1750553
- PAR ID:
- 10364208
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Evolutionary Biology
- Volume:
- 35
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1010-061X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 5-22
- Size(s):
- p. 5-22
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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