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Context-based evolution teaching can enhance student comprehension

A new study conducted by the Institute for Biology Education has concluded that the way in which supporting knowledge of key evolutionary findings is taught in biology lessons influences the entire network of knowledge that students acquire.

The study suggests that students who learn about "threshold concepts" such as randomness and probability in relation to evolution in a biological context develop a more concentrated, interconnected, and better-structured understanding of biology. The results of the study "Threshold Concepts and Concept Networks in Evolution Education: An Experimental Intervention Study" have been in the journal Science Education.

In the study, Professor Dr. Jörg Großschedl and Dr. Helena Aptyka from the University of Cologne and Dr. Daniela Fiedler from the University of Copenhagen analyzed the interplay of different ideas that 10th-grade students have formed in biology lessons on the subject of evolution—their concept network.

The different types of concepts that comprise the concept network include key concepts, misconceptions, and threshold concepts. Concepts are ideas or mental models about evolutionary biological phenomena that students develop during the learning process. They can be scientifically correct or incorrect.

Key concepts are scientifically based, central ideas that are essential for a correct understanding of evolution. They include, for example, the concepts of variation, inheritance, and individual fitness, which form the basis for explaining evolutionary change.

Conversely, misconceptions are usually cognitively deeply rooted, technically inaccurate or naive ideas that are often based on everyday experiences or simplified explanations. In connection with the theory of evolution, they can be seen, for instance, in teleological thinking ("animals develop characteristics because they need them") or in goal-oriented interpretations.

Such concepts contradict scientific explanations and hinder a deeper understanding of key concepts. Threshold concepts, in contrast, are challenging and abstract concepts that enable a cognitive breakthrough and can permanently alter students' perceptions. They are seen as "portals" to deeper understanding and necessitate the rethinking of misconceptions. In the theory of evolution, randomness and probability are among the threshold concepts related to natural selection.

"Analyzing concepts as networks opens up innovative educational perspectives for teaching in the natural sciences by showing how students structure concepts and connect them with each other. Addressing threshold concepts in biology lessons can significantly increase the complexity and coherence of concept networks," says Professor Dr. Großschedl from the Institute for Biology Education at the University of Cologne.

"Students are generally able to combine a variety of concepts in a meaningful way, but they need focused educational support to do so. We hope that our findings will improve teaching in the natural sciences," states Dr. Aptyka, academic counselor at the institute.

The team is currently planning an intervention study on the threshold concept of temporal scales, where the researchers will be investigating the extent to which teaching provided on short and long periods of time can promote the understanding of evolution—for example, with regard to micro- and macroevolution.