Biology Teaching Has to Be Founded on the Theory of Evolution

• Scientific revolutions may be characterized by the replacement of some fundamentaltheories by others, changes of scientific practices, transforming the world, and reachingpopular consciousness. The theory of evolution by natural selection by Darwin is a goodexample. The expressions of the theory may change over time; Darwin’s hypotheseswere in an ordinary language, today often presented as mathematical models. Thus, thetheory is explanatory only if the context is well-known and the concepts used are clear.Artificial and natural selection differ, as the (artificial) action based on the choices ofacting individuals to reach specific long-term goals, are completely different from the(natural) act (active or passive) by organisms to achieve something within the nextminute. Thus, for humans it may be hard to identify the natural selective forces leadingto changes, although it is possible to use the perspective of Darwin on cultural activities.The theory of organic evolution was developed more than 150 years ago, and explainsalmost all of the phenomena in biology. Anyhow, the use of the theory in biology teachingis astonishingly low. Almost all teaching from primary schools to universities, is basedon facts or simple mechanisms between individuals. Biological communities on differentlevels from biotopes to biomes may be included in the curricula but only a small numberof students seem to understand the evolutionary background and its processes. In orderto increase the understanding of evolutionary theory, some ideas how to reform teachingin general and how to create a better understanding, through fieldwork, observations innature, discussions etc., are presented.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Didaktik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Didactics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Environmental Studies

Miljövetenskapliga studier

Utbildningsvetenskapliga studier

Studies in the Educational Sciences

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)