{"id":10600,"date":"2021-04-09T15:08:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T14:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=10600"},"modified":"2021-04-12T15:42:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T14:42:25","slug":"evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/evolution\/10600\/","title":{"rendered":"The theory of evolution: establishing positive learning environments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evolution expert Professor Lawrence C Scharmann<\/a> argues pedagogical practices should be adopted to ensure the development of positive learning environments.<\/h2>\n

Every teacher of the theory of evolution has an opportunity \u2013 and an obligation \u2013 to point out some of the practical implications of Darwinian theory for human conduct. A thoughtful biologist cannot fail to find (in Shakespeare\u2019s words) \u201c\u2026 tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones\u2026.\u201d If he is interested in people as well as in things \u2013 and a teacher should be, even if a researcher is not \u2013 he will want to help students hear the sermons evolution.<\/p>\n

Readiness to teach evolution<\/h3>\n

A simple but effective technique for self-assessing readiness to teach a particular topic is to explicitly reflect on the student questions, \u2018Why do I need to know this stuff?\u2019 and \u2018What\u2019s in it for me?\u2019 Faced with these questions, real or implied, instructional decisions should be made to better address and reflect the needs of target learners. If the teacher\u2019s response does not have sufficient perceived relevance to the target learner, students find it quite easy to dismiss the \u2018stuff\u2019 as unimportant \u2013 something to be memorised for a test and forgotten. Preparation to teach evolution often carries with it an implicit additional question: \u2018Why should I believe this stuff?\u2019 An inadequate response to this question can undermine a teacher\u2019s credibility and compromise one\u2019s rapport with students and parents alike. How then should one prepare?<\/p>\n

One can address the situation academically by promoting evolution as one of the most powerful working tools available to the practicing biologist. The introduction of subsequent topics such as genetics, ecology, and animal behaviour, for example, need to be tied directly to their roots in evolutionary theory. Too often teachers make the mistake of treating such topics as though they have no relationship to evolutionary biology. This approach is insufficient alone, nonetheless, because it does not directly acknowledge students\u2019 emotional reactions to a topic of study they may perceive as controversial or about which they have preconceived (often inaccurate) conceptions. Accounting for students\u2019 emotional responses in advance prevents potential defensive reactions that can hinder (or even damage) student and teacher relationships.<\/p>\n

Critical instructional relationships<\/h3>\n

Relationships between students and teachers are important in creating classroom atmospheres of trust and co-operation. Opening ourselves up to students requires us to be aware of our own emotions, to observe and interpret students\u2019 emotions, and to cope with students\u2019 feelings as they are expressed. All of these are demanding and important \u2013 if rarely acknowledged \u2013 aspects of teaching.<\/p>\n

If an instructional environment that is conducive to learning generally requires the development of good student-teacher relationships, then a classroom atmosphere of trust is an especially important consideration when we engage students in the teaching and learning of evolution. Emotional scaffolding, therefore, is crucial to the successful teaching and learning of evolution. Quinlan (2016) refers to four key relationships necessary to construct this scaffolding \u2013 students with teachers being merely one of the four key relationships comprising a comprehensive emotional scaffolding \u2013 the others being students with subject matter, students with other students, and students with their developing selves.<\/p>\n

Recognition and a nurturing of these four relationships to manage students\u2019 emotional responses to evolution instruction demand that instructors:<\/p>\n