Cans, can'ts, shoulds shouldn'ts

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Do you believe in evolution?
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Do you believe in evolution?

• Majority of scientists and responsible educators
  dont believe in evolution
• Acceptance of common ancestry and descent with
  modification is not based on faith, but
  evidence discovered in the empirical patterns of
  nature

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Darwins essential achievement was the
demonstration that the almost incredible variety
of life, with all its complex and puzzling
relations to its environment,was explic-able in
scientific terms

• - Julian Huxley, 1958

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Frequently asked questions about evolution

• What is evolution?
• Isnt evolution just an inference?
• Is evolution a fact or theory?
• Dont many famous scientists reject evolution?
• If humans evolved from apes, why are there still
  apes?
• Why cant we teach creation science in my
  school?
• From Science and Creationism A View from the
  National Academy of Sciences, 1999 pp.27-29

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Major misconceptions

• Evolution has never been observed
• Evolution violates the second law of
  thermodynamics
• There are no transitional fossils
• The theory of evolution says that life
  originated, and evolution proceeds, by random
  chance
• Evolution is only a theory, it hasnt been
  proved.
• Source Talk Origins Archive gins.org/

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Is evolution really necessary for an accurate and
well-rounded science education?

• Nothing in biology makes sense except in the
  light of evolution. Theodosius
  Dobzhansky, ABT 25125-129, 1973

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Without that light, it becomes a pile of sundry
facts -- some of them interesting or curious,
but making no meaningful picture as a
whole. Theodosius Dobzhansky ABT 25125-129, p.
129
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The concept of biological evolution is one of
the most important ideas ever generated by the
application of scientific methods to the natural
world. Natl Academy of Sciences, 1999
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NSTA, 1997

• Science curricula and teachers should emphasize
  evolution in a manner commensurate with its
  importance as a unifying concept in science, and
  its overall explanatory power.

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How Do Standards Measure Up?

• Standards are not necessarily an indication of
  the quality of teaching.
• Teachers can teach evolution if they want
• Fordham Foundation Report grades of state
  standards coverage of evolution

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Kansas cartoon
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So how are we doing?

• Scientific literacy among U.S. adults only 6
  (Culliton, 1989 in The Dismal State of Science
  Literacy, Science 243600.
• The earliest humans lived at the same time as
  the dinosaurs. 51 in 1998 said True. (NSF
  Science and Math Indicators Survey)
• 40 of teachers think there are sufficient
  problems with the theory of evolution to cast
  doubts on its validity (Eve Dunn, 1990 ABT
  52(1), 10-21
• CAUSE? Peoples inability to distinguish between
  claims of scientific validity vs tests of
  scientific validity

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HOW CAN WE DO BETTER?

• Teach what the scientific community says is
  scientific
• Teach students the history and nature of science
  to better understand how to distinguish science
  from non-science
• Teach evolution as one of the major unifying
  themes so that students see the patterns in nature

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Why Support Evolution Education?

• Evolution permeates ALL the sciences
• An attack on evolution is an attack on geology,
  paleontology, astronomy, genetics, epidemiology,
  ecology,etc.
• Evolutionary insights have been useful in drug
  development, agriculture, aeronautical
  engineering, species management, tracking
  disease, even forensics.

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The Issues

• Why should evolution be taught in science class?
• What about equal time for other views, like
  creation science or intelligent design?
• What about flaws in the theory of evolution?
• What does our legal system say about teaching
  evolution and/or creationism?
• What about a teachers freedom of speech?

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• As a public school science teacher
• What CAN you do?
• What CANT you do?
• What SHOULDNT you do?
• What SHOULD you do? First, the legal
  issues...

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First Amendment

• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
  free exercise thereof

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First Amendment

• Important point
• NEUTRALITY towards religion in schools!

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Epperson v. Arkansas, 1968
The First Amendment does not permit the State to
require that teaching and learning must be
tailored to the principles or prohibitions of any
religious sect or dogma.... As Mr. Justice Clark
stated in Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, the
state has no legitimate interest in protecting
any or all religions from views distasteful to
them.
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Other major court cases

• Segraves vs State of California 1981
  (anti-dogmatism policy was not a violation of
  free exercise of religion)
• McLean vs. Arkansas Board of Education 1982
  (balanced treatment not constitutional because
  creation science is not science)
• Edwards vs. Aguillard 1987 (teaching evolution
  only if creation also taught is unconstitutional
  because it requires religious teaching and
  hampers science education.)

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Other major court cases

• Webster vs. New Lenox School District 1990 (free
  speech rights not violated because creation
  science is a form of religious advocacy)
  
• Peloza vs. Capistrano School District 1994 (free
  exercise of religion not violated by requiring
  teacher to teach about evolution, which is not a
  state sponsored religion)

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Texas State Textbook Commission Anti-evolution
Rule, 1974
(any textbook dealing with evolution)... shall
identify it as only one of several explanations
for the origin of humankind and should avoid
limiting young people in their search for meaning
of their human existence. (evolution must be
treated) ...as a theory rather than fact (and)
... in a manner which is not detrimental to other
theories of origin. (Repealed in 1984)
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Tangipahoa, LA Disclaimer, 1994

• It is hereby recognized by the Tangipahoa Parish
  Board of Education, that the lesson to be
  presented, regarding the origin of life and
  matter, is known as the Scientific Theory of
  Evolution and should be presented to inform
  students of the scientific concept and not
  intended to influence or dissuade the Biblical
  version of creation or any other concept.

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Freiler v. Tangipahoa Board of Education, 1997
While encouraging students to maintain their
belief in the Bible, or in God, may be a noble
aim, it cannot be one in which the public schools
participate, no matter how important this goal
may be to its supporters.
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...And then theres Alabama(notice virtually
every one of the classic misconceptions)a look
at the scientific educational issues...
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Al disclaimer
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Alabama Disclaimer

• This textbook discusses evolution, a
  controversial theory some scientists present as a
  scientific explanation for the origin of living
  things, such as plants, animals, and humans.

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Some scientists believe?

• In 1981 only 600 of more than 1.6 million
  scientists with advanced degrees said they
  rejected evolution. All of these scientists also
  had very strong religious convictions that
  influenced their conclusions, and most of them
  had degrees that were not relevant to an
  understanding of evolution (e.g. food sciences,
  hydraulic engineering, etc.) Boston Globe, 1981

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NABT, 1995

• Modern biologists constantly study, ponder, and
  deliberate the patterns, mechanisms and pace of
  evolution, but they do not debate evolutions
  occurrence.

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Alabama Disclaimer - 2

• No one was present when life first appeared on
  earth. Therefore, any statement about lifes
  origins should be considered as theory, not fact.

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Only seeing is believing?

• Anti-evolutionists claims that no one has ever
  seen or repeated evolution are clearly
  missing a major point of science. No one has or
  probably ever will actually see energy,
  entropy, electricity, magnetism, gravity, etc.

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Only seeing is believing?

• ...Yet capable scientists can observe, measure,
  test, and predict their EFFECTS. Similarly, the
  effects of evolution are observable in the fossil
  record and in the geographic distribution of
  species, and in the processes of mutation,
  adaptation, and selection.

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Alabama Disclaimer- 3

• The word evolution may refer to many types of
  change. Evolution describes changes that occur
  within a species (white moths, for example, may
  evolve into gray moths.) This process is
  microevolution, which can be observed and
  described as fact.

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Alabama Disclaimer - 4

• Evolution may also refer to the change of one
  living thing into another, such as reptiles into
  birds. This process, called macroevolution, has
  never been observed and should be considered a
  theory.

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Is evolution a fact or a theory? (this is a
trick question)
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Is evolution a fact or a theory? (this is a
trick question)

• Evolution, like many other principles in science,
  is both observable fact(s) and testable
  theory(ies)
• Confusion comes from misconceptions about what
  these terms mean in vernacular speech vs
  scientific use.

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The Knowledge Hierarchy

• Scientists
• Theories
• Laws
• Hypotheses
• Facts

Public Facts Laws Theories Hypotheses
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• Fact In science, an observation that has been
  repeatedly confirmed.
• Law A descriptive generalization about how some
  aspect of the natural world behaves under stated
  circumstances
• Hypothesis A testable statement about the
  natural world that can be used to build more
  complex inferences and explanations.
• Theory In science, a well-substantiated
  explanation of some aspect of the natural world
  that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and
  tested hypotheses.
• National Academy of Sciences in
  Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of
  Science , 1998, p.5

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Alabama Disclaimer - 5

• Evolution also refers to the unproven belief
  that random, undirected forces produced a world
  of living things.

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Natural selection is random?

• No scientist has ever made such a claim. While
  the genetic basis of variation does have some
  random elements (e.g. gene duplication, lateral
  gene transfer, crossing over in meiosis,
  mutation,etc.), natural selection is not random
  (except genetic drift). Organisms show varying
  degrees of fitness in their struggle for
  survival. Those with the best traits in the
  environment at that point in time, have the best
  chance of passing on their genes to subsequent
  generations.

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Alabama Disclaimer - 6

• There are many unanswered questions about the
  origin of life which are not mentioned in your
  textbook, including
• Why did the major groups of animals suddenly
  appear in the fossil record (known as the
  Cambrian Explosion)?

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Good question. Is the apparent sudden appearance
a function of the lack of fossils discovered so
far or a real absence?

• Better question would be why do fossil creatures
  appear in an invariant sequence in the geologic
  column? OR what role does extinction play
  in the adaptive radiation of surviving taxa?

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Although there are gaps, the sequence is
compelling
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Alabama Disclaimer - 7

• (There are many unanswered questions about the
  origin of life which are not mentioned in your
  textbook, including)
• Why do major groups of plants and animals have
  no transitional forms in the fossil record?

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No Transitional forms?

• Paleozoic sharks with 6 gill arches
• 90 million year old transitional form between
  ants and wasps
• Many transitional forms between reptiles and
  mammals. In many cases fossil evidence showing
  the evolution of the ear from elements of the jaw
• In recent years, many transitional fossils for
  the evolution of whales.
• Lots of material on hominid evolution

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Alabama Disclaimer - 9

• Study hard and keep an open mind. Someday you
  may contribute to the theories of how living
  things appeared on earth.

Is this really sincere...?
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1997 Elizabethtown, PA, Book Stamp

• The theory of evolution includes ideas about the
  origins and development of life which have not
  been conclusively proven. Scientists continue to
  make new discoveries which change their ideas
  about the theory of evolution.

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Which of these theories do scientists
seriously doubt?

• Airborne, waterborne, and bloodborne pathogens
  cause disease
• organisms are composed of discreet structural
  units and divide via mitosis
• All matter in the universe is constructed of
  elemental particles
• The earths crust is fractured and in motion.

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No other biological concept has been more
extensively tested and more thoroughly
corroborated than the evolutionary history of
organisms. Natl Academy of Sciences, 1984
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Generic Disclaimer, Anytown, USA

• The theory of _________ includes ideas which
  have not been conclusively proven. Scientists
  continue to make new discoveries which change
  their ideas about the theory of _________.

(is this really necessary?)
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District Court Decision Webster v. New Lenox
If a teacher in a public school uses religion
and teaches religious beliefs or espouses
theories clearly based on religious
under-pinnings, the principles of the separation
of church and state are violated as clearly as if
a statute ordered the teacher to teach religious
theories such as the statutes in Edwards did.
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Appeals Court Decision, Webster v. New Lenox
The first amendment is not a teacher license for
uncontrolled expression at variance with
established curricular content. ... the school
board has successfully navigated the narrow
channel between impairing intellectual inquiry
and propagating a religious creed.
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ALL COURT CASES HAVE BEEN VERY CLEAR

• Cant ban the teaching of evolution (through
  1960s)
• Cant demand equal time (1980s)
• Cant have a disclaimer singling out evolution
  (1990s)
• Cant compel belief in religion

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What SHOULDNT you do?

• You shouldnt teach disguised forms of
  anti-evolutionism as if they were science -
  intelligent design theory - evidence against
  evolution - alternatives to evolution

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72 Nobel Laureates, 17 State Academies of Science
and 7 other scientific organizations

• Scientific education should accurately portray
  the current state of substantive scientific
  knowledge. Even more importantly, scientific
  education should accurately portray the premises
  and processes of science.

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...Teaching religious ideas mislabeled as
science is detrimental to scientific education
It sets up false conflict between science and
religion, misleads our youth about the nature of
scientific inquiry, and thereby compromises our
ability to solve the problems of an increasingly
technological world

• Amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme
  Court October, 1986

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Is antievolutionism likely to end in the near
future?

• If we lose it wont matter that much. If the
  law is unconstitutional, itll be because of
  something in the language thats wrongSo well
  just change the wording and try again with
  another bill We got (sic) a lot of time.
  Eventually well get one thats constitutional.
  (Arkansas state senator in Washington Post, 7
  December 1981)

And now the religious issues.
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• ...modern science educators ... are absolutely
  insistent that evolution is an unguided and
  mindless process, and that our existence is
  therefore a fluke rather than a planned outcome.
• Phillip Johnson, Defeating Darwinism by Opening
  Minds,1997 p. 15

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NO! Evolution, like the rest of science is
non-theistic, not atheistic.

• Response Whether there is purpose or
  guidance to evolution is a theological, not a
  scientific matter. Statements of Ultimate Cause
  are outside of science. Students are free to
  hold (or reject) them if they choose.
• Physics, chemistry, astronomy, genetics, ecology,
  epidemiology, etc. all dont mention a creator

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Pope clip
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ARE RELIGIOUS FAITH AND SCIENCE INCOMPATABLE?

• Roman Catholic Church
• American Jewish Congress
• Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences
• American Scientific Affiliation
• Central Conference of American Rabbis
• Episcopal Church, General Conv.
• Lexington Alliance of Religious Leaders
• United Methodist Church
• Lutheran World Federation
• Unitarian Universalist Assoication
• United Presbyterian Church, USA
• 45 Scientific Organizations
• 35 Educational Organizations
• 10 Civil Liberties Organizations

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Pope John Paul IIAddress to the Pontifical
Academy of Sciences on October 3, 1981

• Cosmogeny itself speaks to us of the origins of
  the universe and its makeup, not in order to
  provide us with a scientific treatise but in
  order to state the correct relationship of man
  with God the Bible does not wish to teach how
  heaven was made but how one goes to heaven.

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United Presbyterian Church, USAAdopted at the
1982 General Assembly

• ...Biblical scholars and theological schools in
  the mainstream of Protestantism, Roman
  Catholicism, and Judaism find that the
  scientific theory of evolution does not conflict
  with their interpretation of the origin of life
  found in Biblical literature.

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• For the record, I have no reason to doubt that
  the universe is the billions of years old that
  physicists say it is. Further, I find the idea
  of common descent (that all organisms share a
  common ancestor) fairly convincing, and have no
  particular reason to doubt it.
• Michael Behe, Darwins Black Box, p. 5

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Is this a fair characterization of evolutionary
theory?
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What does evolution really mean?

• The hypothesis that change can occur in the gene
  pool of a population over time under certain
  conditions.
• The observation that all life has diversified
  widely from very simple beginnings.
• The inference that all life shares common
  ancestry.

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Compare to Scientific Creationism

• We do not know how the Creator created, what
  processes He used, for He used processes that are
  not now operating anywhere in the natural
  universe. This is why we refer to creation as
  special creation. We cannot discover by
  scientific investigation anything about the
  creative processes used by the Creator. (D.
  Gish 1981, The Fossils Say NO! P. 40)

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Evolution is a valid scientific principle,
whereas creation science is not. Evolution is

• Testable and falsifiable
• Capable of making verified and verifiable
  predictions
• Self-correcting
• Fruitful of new knowledge
• Naturalistic

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National Education AssociationStatement of
Support

• While the National Education Association
  believes that education materials should
  accurately portray the influence of religion in
  our nation and throughout the world, we also
  believe that for American education to flourish,
  religious dogma must neither guide nor hamper the
  pursuit of knowledge by students and teachers in
  our public schools.

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Key issues regarding teaching evolution

• Science evolution are non-theistic, not
  atheistic.
• Evolution (like many principles of science) is
  both observable facts and testable theories.
• Evolution is a valid scientific principle,
  whereas creation science (intelligent design,
  etc.) is not.
• Teachers and standards should represent the
  state-of-the-art from the world of academe they
  represent
• Learning about evolution does not require
  believing in evolution
• Science and religion are 2 different ways of
  knowing. Scientists work by a different set of
  rules.

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So whats a teacher to do?THE GOOD NEWS

• Cant ban the teaching of evolution or require
  non-scientific alternatives
• Cant have a disclaimer that singles out
  evolution
• Shouldnt teach evolution as an anti-religious
  philosophy
• Shouldnt dilute or omit evolution content
  because some people think it is controversial
• Dont qualify evolution differently from other
  scientific concepts
• Shouldnt let students opt out of evolution
  instruction

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So whats a teacher to do?THE EVEN BETTER NEWS

• Should learn and teach about evolution
  accurately, completely and honestly (T.E.A.C.H.)
• Can teach about (not advocate) religious beliefs
• Should diffuse the religion issue. Science is
  not better or worse than religious ways of
  knowing, its just different.
• Should support quality science standards at
  district and state levels. Be proactive
• Should be knowledgeable about the misconceptions
  that influence this controversy (terminology,
  false dichotomy)

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Teaching about evolution isnt easy, but it is
the right thing to do
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Creationism is not the enemy, ignorance is. The
public desperately needs more and better science
education. We must teach science not as
isolated facts but as a method of acquiring new
knowledge and testing the validity of existing
knowledge.
- - Robert Root-Berstein , 1982 AAAS Pacific
Division Symposium
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...And we must clarify the three tools by which
the edifice of science has been built - - -
skepticism, empiricism, and logic. These tools
will either verify evolution or produce a better
theory to replace it. Only then will the
breeding ground of ignorance, upon which the
creationists thrive, be eliminated.- - Robert
Root-Berstein , 1982 AAAS Pacific Division
Symposium
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If they outlaw teaching evolutionOnly outlaws
will evolve.
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For more information contact

• National Center for Science Education

• 800-290-6006 www.NCSEweb.org
• or
• www.natcenscied.org

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Good sources of curricula and general information

• http//www.indiana.edu/ensiweb
• http// www.talkorigins.org
• http// www.indiana.edu/origins/
• http// mcb.harvard.edu/BioLinks/Evolution.html
• http//www.woodrow.org/teachers/resources/biology
  
• Http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/evolution.htm
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• http// phylogeny.arizona.edu/tree/phylogeny.html