EVOLUTIONARY THEORY AS A TEACHING TOOL IN UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE COURSES FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION MAJORS: SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY VERSUS INTELLIGNET DESIGN

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EVOLUTIONARY THEORY AS A TEACHING TOOL IN
UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE COURSES FOR ELEMENTARY
EDUCATION MAJORS SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY VERSUS
INTELLIGNET DESIGN THEORY AND OTHER FORMS OF
CREATIONISTIC SCIENCE

• Edward L. Crisp
• Geology Department
• West Virginia University at Parkersburg

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INTRODUCTION

• Evolutionary theory is one of the (if not the)
  strongest, most factually supported paradigmic
  scientific theories in science today. It is the
  central organizing theme in the biological
  sciences (including the medical sciences) and a
  major cornerstone in paleontology and historical
  geology.
• As we all know, the teaching of biologic
  evolution in the public school system is
  currently under serious attack from the
  Intelligent Design movement. A movement that is
  taking advantage of the scientific illiteracy of
  the general public to emplace a faith-based,
  nonscientific alternative to evolutionary theory
  into the public school science classroom.
• As most of us are aware, this is really a
  social, cultural, and political attack rather
  than one that has any scientific merit. It is a
  stealth attempt to undermine real scientific
  inquiry and emplace the old-fashioned
  creationistic view into the public school
  science classroom.

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USING EVOLUTIONAY THEORY AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE
METHODS OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IN ALL SCIENCE
CLASSES, PARTICULARY THOSE CLASSES WITH FUTURE
PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

• Elementary Education (K-6) majors at most
  colleges and universities are required to
  complete a course in physical science and earth
  science, as well as one or two semesters of
  introductory biology. Those students
  specializing in science often must also complete
  an astronomy and geology course (often physical
  geology). They may also be required to take
  physics, chemistry, botany, and zoology.
• Usually college level courses in biology, botany,
  and zoology have a significant component of the
  course dedicated to evolutionary theory. Even in
  these courses, the overwhelming factual evidence
  supporting evolutionary theory should always be
  stressed.
• However, physical science, physics, chemistry,
  earth science, physical geology, and astronomy
  usually do not cover biologic evolution. Also
  the nature of scientific inquiry is often covered
  briefly in the first lecture, then the course
  content is stressed in the remainder of the
  course without emphasizing the nature of
  scientific inquiry.
• Evolutionary theory may be discussed in all
  science courses as a tool to illustrate the
  nature of scientific inquiry and how science
  differs from faith-based philosophies. Today,
  with the dangers to science education inherent in
  the Intelligent Design movement, explaining
  evolutionary theory and its strong basis in sound
  scientific inquiry to future elementary education
  teachers is extremely important.

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STUDENT SURVEYS OF SCIENCE ATTITUDES

• During the Summer 2005 and Fall 2005 semesters at
  West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVUP), a
  science attitudes survey was administered to 204
  students in introductory physical science, earth
  science, physical geology, astronomy, and some
  sections of introductory biology. Over 50 of
  these students are elementary education majors.
  This will be an ongoing process for several
  semesters and will eventually allow a
  determination of any changes in attitudes by
  administering both a pre and post survey.
• Twenty questions or statements relating to
  attitudes towards science, scientific inquiry,
  and evolutionary theory were included in the
  survey. The students were asked to respond to
  the questions or statements by choosing a number
  from 5 to 1, with 5 indicating strong agreement,
  4 indicating agreement, 3 indicating that they
  dont know or have no opinion, 2 indicating
  disagreement, and 1 indicating strong
  disagreement.
• Many of these students have strong religious
  beliefs and believe that the Bible is an accurate
  and adequate explanation for the origin and
  development of Earth, life, and humans.

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RESULTS OF STUDENT SURVEYS

• I will present the results of some of the more
  pertinent survey questions. There were 204
  student respondents.
• QUESTION 1. Do you believe that Earth is
  several billion years old or relatively young
  (about 10,000 years old). (Note for this
  question only a response of OLD or YOUNG was
  allowed)

OLD 76.5
OLD 78
YOUNG 21.6
YOUNG 22
NO ANSWER 1.9
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 2. Do you accept the methods of
  science as the best procedure for acquiring
  information that describes and explains how the
  Universe works?

AGREE 76
DONT KNOW 15.7
DISAGREE 8.3
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 18. Prior to attending college, were
  you taught the basic
• methods of scientific inquiry of nature?

AGREE 63.3
DONT KNOW 20.6
DISAGREE 16.1
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 8. Do you think that a scientific
  theory is just a hunch or guess that scientists
  use to explain nature?

DISAGREE 61.3
AGREE 24
DONT KNOW 14.7
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RESULTS (CONT.)
QUESTION 17. Prior to attending college, were
you taught the basic concepts of the modern
theory of biologic evolution in the public
school system?
AGREE 56.3
DONT KNOW 15.7
DISAGREE 27.9
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 6. Do you accept the concept that
  biologic evolution is a fact
• (that is, organisms have changed over time
  with modern organisms being the
• modified descendants of past organisms)?

AGREE 62.7
DONT KNOW 13.7
DISAGREE 23.6
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 13. Do you accept that modern man and
  modern great apes had a common ancestor several
  million years ago?

DONT KNOW 22.5
DISAGREE 33.9
AGREE 43.6
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RESULTS (CONT.)

QUESTION 9. Do you think that fossils that are
found in layered rocks of the earth are an
adequate record to indicate that organisms have
changed over time?
AGREE 75
DONT KNOW 16.2
DISAGREE 8.7
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RESULTS (CONT.)

QUESTION 10. Do you have confidence in the
concept that the rate of decay of radioactive
elements that occur in rocks is a valid way to
determine the age of rocks of Earths crust ?
AGREE 65.7
DONT KNOW 16.2
DISAGREE 8.7
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RESULTS (CONT.)

QUESTION 12. Do you think that a person can be
religious and believe in God and also accept the
concept of biologic evolution, including the
evolution of man?
AGREE 60.8
DONT KNOW 13.7
DISAGREE 25.5
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 20. Do you think that the Bible is an
  accurate and adequate explanation for the origin
  and development of Earth, life and humans?

AGREE 63.3
DONT KNOW 20.6
DISAGREE 16.1
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 14. In your opinion, are many
  scientific theories based on faith also?

AGREE 34.4
DONT KNOW 26.5
DISAGREE 39.3
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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 7. Do you think that creation
  science should be taught in our public schools
  as an alternate explanation to that of biologic
  evolution to explain the diversity of life on
  Earth? That is, fair time for both creationism
  and evolution.

AGREE 57.3
DONT KNOW 22.1
DISAGREE 20.6
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SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS

• Although the survey results indicate some
  contradictions, most (76) of the students in the
  survey accept the methods of scientific inquiry
  as the most valid way to describe and explain
  nature.
• More than three-fourths of the students surveyed
  accept that Earth is several billion years old.
  Additionally, the majority accept radiometric
  dating as a valid method to determine the age of
  Earths rocks.
• The majority (63) of the students surveyed
  accept biologic evolution as a fact and accept
  that fossils are an adequate record to indicate
  that organisms have evolved. However, they are
  less comfortable with the concept that modern man
  and modern great apes had a common ancestor, with
  only about 44 accepting this view.
• About 60 of the students think that a person can
  accept evolution and also believe in God and
  practice religion.
• Despite all of the above, about 57 of the
  students think that creation science should be
  taught in the public schools alongside
  evolutionary theory. Another 22 did not know or
  had no opinion on this. Also about 55 of the
  students think that the Bible is an accurate and
  adequate explanation for the origin and
  development of Earth, life, and humans. This
  type of thinking by future teachers is not good
  for science and indicates a lack of understanding
  of the nature of scientific inquiry.

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CONCLUSIONS

• The current push by the wedge of the
  Intelligent Design movement is a serious and
  dangerous attack on the teaching of valid
  scientific inquiry in the nations public school
  science classrooms.
• Elementary education majors entering introductory
  college science courses do not fully understand
  the methods of scientific inquiry nor the theory
  of biologic evolution.
• College science teachers that train future public
  school science teachers should make every effort
  to strongly emphasize the nature of scientific
  inquiry and how it differs from faith-based
  philosophies.
• The theory of biologic evolution should be taught
  in all introductory college science courses
  (particularly those containing elementary
  education majors that are specializing in
  science) as an example of a most robust,
  extensively tested, and widely accepted
  paradigmic scientific theory.
• Evolutionary theory should be presented in some
  detail to these students to illustrate how it
  differs from cultural views of lifes past and
  present diversity based on religious or
  philosophical beliefs.

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THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.THANK YOU!