Location
Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Presentation Type
Oral presentation
Entry Number
64
Start Date
4-16-2026 1:45 PM
End Date
4-16-2026 2:00 PM
School
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department
Biology
Keywords
teaching, education, teach, classroom, evolution, evolve, Darwin, strategies, bias, inherent bias, research, survey
Abstract
We live in a very divided society where science and religion tend to be seen as antagonistic to each other. This is especially true when talking about evolution, which is currently required to be taught in public high schools as part of the biology curriculum. This study addresses some of the ways in which evolution can be taught while prioritizing both minimizing the effects of the teacher's predispositions on the lesson and increasing student comprehension. This study surveyed eleven Virginia public high school Biology teachers from various counties inquiring about their acceptance of evolution, their perceptions of evolution, and their feelings towards teaching evolution in their classrooms. In addition, data was collected surrounding their self-efficacy surrounding teaching evolution and their feelings towards three different methods of teaching evolution that were presented to them.
Three of the eleven surveyed teachers showed signs of lacking full acceptance of the theory of evolution, and two of those teachers indicated that their perceptions of evolution may affect their students’ views on evolution. While acceptance of evolution is not necessary for sufficient understanding, research shows that a teacher’s dispositions towards the material being taught in class can have a negative impact on their students’ learning. One way to help minimize potential discomfort and increase a teacher’s self-efficacy in the classroom is to provide them with teaching strategies they can use in their classrooms. Six of the eleven teachers surveyed strongly agreed that they would be willing to use materials on evolution in their classrooms if those materials were provided for them. The surveyed teachers showed the most positive responses towards project-based learning within the evolution unit. In the future, introducing this method to teachers may be a good way to minimize discomfort and increase both self efficacy and student performance in the unit.
Primary Faculty Mentor(s)
Prof. Kim Geier
Primary Faculty Mentor(s) Department
Biology
Additional Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Allison Jablonski, Dr. Holly Gould
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Strategies for Minimizing the Effects of Teacher Perceptions on High School Evolution Lessons
Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall
We live in a very divided society where science and religion tend to be seen as antagonistic to each other. This is especially true when talking about evolution, which is currently required to be taught in public high schools as part of the biology curriculum. This study addresses some of the ways in which evolution can be taught while prioritizing both minimizing the effects of the teacher's predispositions on the lesson and increasing student comprehension. This study surveyed eleven Virginia public high school Biology teachers from various counties inquiring about their acceptance of evolution, their perceptions of evolution, and their feelings towards teaching evolution in their classrooms. In addition, data was collected surrounding their self-efficacy surrounding teaching evolution and their feelings towards three different methods of teaching evolution that were presented to them.
Three of the eleven surveyed teachers showed signs of lacking full acceptance of the theory of evolution, and two of those teachers indicated that their perceptions of evolution may affect their students’ views on evolution. While acceptance of evolution is not necessary for sufficient understanding, research shows that a teacher’s dispositions towards the material being taught in class can have a negative impact on their students’ learning. One way to help minimize potential discomfort and increase a teacher’s self-efficacy in the classroom is to provide them with teaching strategies they can use in their classrooms. Six of the eleven teachers surveyed strongly agreed that they would be willing to use materials on evolution in their classrooms if those materials were provided for them. The surveyed teachers showed the most positive responses towards project-based learning within the evolution unit. In the future, introducing this method to teachers may be a good way to minimize discomfort and increase both self efficacy and student performance in the unit.