Evolution and art.

From Oct. 9-30, the University of Guelph and Ed Video are hosting a special art exhibit entitled “This View of Life: Evolutionary Art for the Year of Darwin“. It was organized by professors in four departments: Integrative Biology, Philosophy, History, and English and Theatre Studies, and was curated by Scott McGovern of Ed Video. The exhibit features art by 10 artists, all inspired by the themes of evolution, Darwin, and biodiversity. The Gregory Lab contributed some installations as well, which are shown in this brief clip from just before the opening reception on Oct. 16 (about 200 people attended the event). The first window shows live Daphnia magna (“water fleas”) to depict the concept of overproduction; they also are of interest because they reproduce asexually (the evolution of sexual reproduction being an important question in evolutionary theory). The second window presents images created using live colonies of E. coli bacteria. These last only a few days, so many different images will be displayed throughout the exhibit. The third window shows a projection of a remarkable collection of images of bacterial colonies kindly provided by Dr. Eshel Ben-Jacob.

Here are some more photos of the artwork:

[album: http://www.genomicron.evolverzone.com/images/albums/EvolArt/]

Special thanks to everyone involved in organizing the exhibit, to the artists, and to the following graduate students who are talented artists in their own right: Joao Lima, John Wilson, Tyler Elliott, Paola Pierossi, Nick Jeffery.

Teaching the iGeneration.

Some instructors have lamented the challenges of teaching students who are constantly logged-on, plugged-in, facebooked, etc.

Guess what? I like teaching the iGeneration*. I enjoy using YouTube clips in my lectures, putting together online discussions, and making use of blogs and online resources. I like the fact that they all have laptops (but not if they’re rude enough to play games during class). I appreciate that I can upload my lecture notes as PDF files and they will all be able to bring them to lectures. I have a BlackBerry, an iPod, a netbook, a blog (obviously), a document scanner, and miscellaneous other gadgets. I hate being offline as much as my students do.

I think it really depends on whether you feel that technology is a friend or a foe. If you consider it all just a huge distraction and a competitor for their attention, you’re likely to dislike current technological trends. If, on the other hand, you embrace it, try to keep up with it (or better yet, stay ahead of your students), and use it to connect with the class, then it can be really very exciting.

_____________

* The only thing I don’t like is the excessive use of the word “like” that is common among students… though it did inspire me to create a t-shirt:

Special issue of Journal of Effective Teaching.

The Journal of Effective teaching has a special issue on evolution education.

Journal of Effective Teaching

Volume 9, Issue 2, September 2009
Special Issue – Teaching Evolution in the Classroom

Full Issue – PDF

CONTENTS

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief:: Origins …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1-3
Russell L. Herman …………………………………….. HTML, PDF

ARTICLES

The Influence of Religion and High School Biology Courses on Students’ Knowledge of Evolution

When They Enter College ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4-12
Randy Moore, Sehoya Cotner, and Alex Bates ………………………. Abstract, HTML, PDF

Teaching Evolution in the Galápagos ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 13-28
Katherine E. Bruce, Jennifer E. Horan, Patricia H. Kelley, Mark Galizio ……………….. Abstract, HTML, PDF

A College Honors Seminar on Evolution and Intelligent Design: Successes and Challenges ……………………… 29-37
Patricia H. Kelley …………………………………………….. Abstract, HTML, PDF

Clearing the Highest Hurdle: Human-based Case Studies Broaden Students’ Knowledge
of Core Evolutionary Concepts
…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 38-53
Alexander J. Werth ………………………………….. Abstract, HTML, PDF

Evolution in Action, a Case Study Based Advanced Biology Class at Spelman College ………………………….. 54-68
Aditi Pai ……………………………………………………. Abstract, HTML, PDF

Preparing Teachers to Prepare Students for Post-Secondary Science:
Observations From a Workshop About Evolution in the Classroom ………………………………………………….. 69-80
Caitlin M. Schrein, et al. …………………………… Abstract, HTML, PDF

How well do grad students grasp evolution?

In my recent article on Understanding natural selection in E:EO, I reviewed a large number of studies that examined conceptions of evolution among students from the high school to undergraduate level, as well as among teachers. However, almost nothing seemed to be known about how graduate students in science perceive evolution or how well they understand it. At least, until a student and I did a study at our own university, which is now out in the journal BioScience.

Here’s a press release on it:

Science Students Could Brush Up On Darwin, U of G Study Finds

October 01, 2009 – News Release

Even students pursuing advanced degrees in science could brush up on their knowledge of evolution, according to a new study by University of Guelph researchers.

The finding reveals that there is room for improvement in how evolution is taught from elementary school up, said Ryan Gregory, a professor in Guelph’s Department of Integrative Biology, who conducted the research with former student Cameron Ellis.

The study was published today in BioScience. It’s particularly timely, given that this year is the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of publication of On the Origin of Species, which underpins understanding of the diversity of Earth’s organisms and their interrelations.

“Misconceptions about natural selection may still exist, even at the most advanced level,” Gregory said.

“We’re looking at a subset of people who have spent at least four years, sometimes even six or seven years, in science and still don’t necessarily have a full working understanding of basic evolutionary principles or scientific terms like ‘theories.’”

Many previous studies have assessed how evolution is understood and accepted by elementary, high school and undergraduate students, as well as by teachers and the general public, Gregory said. But this was the first to focus solely on students seeking graduate science degrees.

The study involved nearly 200 graduate students at a mid-sized Canadian university who were studying biological, physical, agricultural or animal sciences. About half of the students had never taken an evolutionary biology course, which is often not a prerequisite.

The researchers found that the vast majority of the students recognized the importance of evolution as a central part of biology. Overall, they also had a better understanding of evolutionary concepts than most people.

“That was encouraging, especially because it was across several colleges — it wasn’t just the biology students,” Gregory said.

But when the students were asked to apply basic evolutionary principles, only 20 to 30 per cent could do so correctly, and many didn’t even try to answer such questions. Of particular interest to Gregory is the finding that many students seem less than clear about the nature of scientific theories.

“This is telling us that traditional instruction methods, while leading to some basic understanding of evolution, are not producing a strong working knowledge that can be easily applied to real biological phenomena.”

Gregory has studied evolution-related topics for years and recently co-organized a workshop designed to improve how the subject is taught in public schools. He is also associate editor of Evolution: Education and Outreach, a journal written for science teachers, students and scientists. He recently created Evolver Zone, a free online resource for anyone interested in evolutionary biology.

He is also helping bring an evolution-inspired art exhibit to U of G this month. “This View of Life: Evolutionary Art in the Year of Darwin, 2009” highlights diverse artists’ views of Darwin’s ideas and evolution in general. It runs Oct. 9 to 30 in the science complex atrium.

Overall, the students did well on multiple choice questions, and their acceptance of evolution was very high. But it seems we could do a better job at providing students with the capability to actually use evolutionary concepts to explain phenomena.

Evolution: Education and Outreach vol. 2 iss. 3.

The most recent issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach (vol. 2, issue 3) is now available online. I decided to sit this one out after six consecutive contributions (links below), but I will be back in the next issue with a follow-up to my previous article on selection.

Evolution: Education and Outreach
Volume 2, Issue 3
Editorial
Greg Eldredge and Niles Eldredge

Why I Teach Evolution
Greg Eldredge

Evolution in Biology Education: Sparking Imaginations and Supporting Learning
Kristin P. Jenkins

Evolution Education in Utah: A State Office of Education–University Partnership Focuses on Why Evolution Matters
Jerald B. Johnson, Marta Adair, Byron J. Adams, Daniel J. Fairbanks, Velma Itamura, Duane E. Jeffery, Duane Merrell, Scott M. Ritter and Richard R. Tolman

Why Science Standards are Important to a Strong Science Curriculum and How States Measure Up
Louise S. Mead and Anton Mates

The Growing Visibility of Creationism in Northern Ireland: Are New Science Teachers Equipped to Deal with the Issues?
Conor McCrory and Colette Murphy

Attitudes of Students at a Private Christian Liberal Arts University Toward the Teaching of Evolution
Troy A. Ladine

Addressing Undergraduate Student Misconceptions about Natural Selection with an Interactive Simulated Laboratory
Joel K. Abraham, Eli Meir, Judy Perry, Jon C. Herron, Susan Maruca and Derek Stal

Phylogenetic Analysis: How Old are the Parts of Your Body?
Robert K. Kuzoff, Seth B. Kemmeter, Jeffrey S. McKinnon and Courtney P. Thompson

Using Avida-ED for Teaching and Learning About Evolution in Undergraduate Introductory Biology Courses
Elena Bray Speth, Tammy M. Long, Robert T. Pennock and Diane Ebert-May

Using Inquiry and Tree-Thinking to “March Through the Animal Phyla”: Teaching Introductory Comparative Biology in an Evolutionary Context
James J. Smith and Kendra Spence Cheruvelil

“Evolution for Everyone”: A Course that Expands Evolutionary Theory Beyond the Biological Sciences
Daniel Tumminelli O’Brien, David Sloan Wilson and Patricia H. Hawley

Teaching Evolution Concepts to Early Elementary School Students
Louis Nadelson, Rex Culp, Suzan Bunn, Ryan Burkhart, Robert Shetlar, Kellen Nixon and James Waldron

Overcoming the Effect of the Socio-cultural Context: Impact of Teaching Evolution in Tunisia
Saïda Aroua, Maryline Coquide and Salem Abbes

Teaching Evolution with Historical Narratives

Esther M. van Dijk and Ulrich Kattmann

Preservice Teacher Understanding and Vision of how to Teach Biological Evolution
Louis S. Nadelson

Still More “Fancy” and “Myth” than “Fact” in Students’ Conceptions of Evolution

Deborah L. Cunningham and Daniel J. Wescott

Evolution in Lego®: A Physical Simulation of Adaptation by Natural Selection

Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard and Morten Kanneworff

Does the Segregation of Evolution in Biology Textbooks and Introductory Courses Reinforce Students’ Faulty Mental Models of Biology and Evolution?

Ross H. Nehm, Therese M. Poole, Mark E. Lyford, Sally G. Hoskins, Laura Carruth, Brent E. Ewers and Patricia J. S. Colberg

From Newsroom to Classroom
Anastasia Thanukos

Science Standards Evolve
Eugenie C. Scott

Paleontology and Evolution in the News
Sidney Horenstein

Blogging Evolution

Adam M. Goldstein

Darwin: Origin and Evolution of an Exhibition
Chiara Ceci

In the Wake of Charles Darwin and Beyond: A Tribute to Ernst Mayr
Review of J. Haffer: Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy. The Life and Science of Ernst Mayr 1904–2005. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2007, 464 pp, $ 119, 00
U. Kutschera

A Permian Murder Mystery
Review of Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago, by Douglas H. Erwin. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2006. pp. vii + 296. S/b $22.95
Matthew Williams

How Charles Darwin’s Early Years Led Him to Revolutionize Biological Thought
Review of The Young Charles Darwin by Keith Thomson. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2009, Pp. xii + 276, $28.00
Joel S. Schwartz

The Comparative Biology of Cultural Inheritance
Review of The Question of Animal Culture, Edited by Kevin N. Laland and Bennett G. Galef. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. Pp. vii + 351. H/b $45.70
Lauren W. McCall

Nitrogen and the Carrying Capacity of the Earth
Review of Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food, by Valclav Smil. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001
Joseph L. Fail

My earlier articles:

EvoCast?

There has been some discussion in the comments section of the previous post about probable interest in a regular EvoCast (cf. Astronomy Cast) that people could listen to, presented by evolutionary biologists and covering basic processes and exciting discoveries in evolution. This, or something like a series of videos on Youtube, has crossed my mind. It would certainly fit nicely between Evolver Zone and E:EO. The question is, would this really be something people are keen to see? If I get the sense that there is a real interest in it, I may just follow up on it (though I already have plenty on my plate with the journal and other writing).

Let me know what you think!

Brief response to comments on E:EO.

Various bloggers on my must-read list have weighed in on the latest issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach, which focuses on transitional fossils (guest editor, Don Prothero). It is great to see the articles being discussed and recommended. A couple of minor responses to the apt comments (not criticisms per se, or at least mostly constructive ones).

@ Sandwalk: Larry is absolutely right that I did not get into the role of drift alongside natural selection in any significant way. This is a more advanced subject that will be covered in a follow-up article “What natural selection does and does not do”.

@ Laelaps: Why no humans? Special issue unto itself coming.

@ Pharyngula: Articles are not really useful for talking with creationists. I agree, but the target audience is teachers, students, postsecondary educators, researchers, and interested laypeople. That said, an article on effective strategies for entering into reasoned discussions with creationist proponents would be appropriate and welcome.

Evolution: Education and Outreach, Special issue on transitional fossils.

The latest issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach is now online. This is a special issue on transitional forms edited by Don Prothero, author of Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters. The papers are available without charge. Remember to also check out the special issue on the evolution of eyes edited by yours truly from last year.

Evolution: Education and Outreach
Vol 2, Iss 2

Editorials

Editorial
Niles Eldredge and Gregory Eldredge

A Question of Individuality: Charles Darwin, George Gaylord Simpson and Transitional Fossils

Niles Eldredge

Evolutionary Concepts

Understanding Natural Selection: Essential Concepts and Common Misconceptions
T. Ryan Gregory

Special Issue on Transitional Fossils

Introduction
Donald R. Prothero

Palaeontological and Molecular Evidence Linking Arthropods, Onychophorans, and other Ecdysozoa
Gregory D. Edgecombe

Monoplacophorans and the Origin and Relationships of Mollusks
David R. Lindberg

The Evolutionary Emergence of Vertebrates From Among Their Spineless Relatives
Philip C. J. Donoghue and Mark A. Purnell

The Fish-Tetrapod Transition: New Fossils and Interpretations
Jennifer A. Clack

The Evolution of Marine Reptiles
Ryosuke Motani

Evolutionary Transitions Among Dinosaurs: Examples from the Jurassic of China
James M. Clark and Xing Xu

Downsized Dinosaurs: The Evolutionary Transition to Modern Birds
Luis M. Chiappe

Dimetrodon Is Not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives of Mammals and their Evolution
Kenneth D. Angielczyk

From Land to Water: the Origin of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises
J. G. M. Thewissen, Lisa Noelle Cooper, John C. George and Sunil Bajpai

Evolutionary Transitions in the Fossil Record of Terrestrial Hoofed Mammals

Donald R. Prothero

Educational Papers

A Name by Any Other Tree
Anastasia Thanukos

Transforming Our Thinking about Transitional Forms
Louise S. Mead

Access to Evolution
Lara Eldredge

News

Paleontology and Evolution in the News
Sidney Horenstein

Book Reviews

The Charms of Nature: Darwin on Meaning and Value
Darwin Loves You: Natural Selection and the Re-enchantment of the World, by George Levine. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. pp. xxiii + 304, s/b $18.95
Adam M. Goldstein

Illuminating Charles Darwin’s Morality: Slavery, Humanity’s Origin and Unity, and Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory
Adrian Desmond and James Moore, Darwin’s Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin’s Views on Human Evolution. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Pp. xxi + 485. H/b $30.00
Joel Schwartz

Your Inner Fish
Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body, by Neil Shubin. Pantheon Books, 2008, 229 pages
Michael Gaspar

Evolver Zone.

Readers of this blog will soon notice some changes. This is because the Evolver Zone site has now been launched, and Genomicron will be fit within it. For now, it will remain a separate blog at this same location, but the look will be updated shortly. Meanwhile, have a look at the resource of multimedia and information about software, databases, journals, and web links at Evolver Zone (www.evolverzone.com).