Case studies of Physics graduates' personal theories of evolution

dc.creator	Ke-Sheng CHAN
dc.date	2005-06-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:15:05Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:15:05Z
dc.identifier	1609-4913
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/cd8095d918244387b5fad6293150ede4
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/17363
dc.description	This paper reports an interview case study with two physics doctoral students designed to explore their conceptions about the theory of evolution. Analysis of interview transcripts reveals that both students mistakenly constructed a "theory of evolution by environmentally driven adaptation" instead of the commonly accepted "theory of evolution by natural selection and random genetic changes" based on similar Lamarckian misconceptions shared by many contemporary high school and college students. Further analysis shows that their single-process "physicist" synthesis of evolution consists of the following four internally consistent misconceptions: (1) Evolution of traits over time occurs as a result of environmentally induced and directed adaptation by organisms. (2) The quality of traits changes gradually over generations in evolution. (3) Acquired traits can be inherited. (4) Variation within populations is of little significance in evolution. Preliminary analysis suggests that a major cause of these two physics graduates' misconceptions about evolution might be their misinterpreting the scientific term "adapt" in terms of the meaning used in the everyday context. Implications for improving school biology education are discussed in light of major findings of the study.
dc.language	English
dc.language	Chinese
dc.publisher	Hong Kong Institute of Education
dc.relation	http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/v6_issue1/chanks/index.htm
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1609-4913
dc.source	Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Vol 6, Iss 1, p 6 (2005)
dc.subject	theory of evolution
dc.subject	misconception
dc.subject	science education
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	Case studies of Physics graduates' personal theories of evolution
dc.type	article