1887

Controversy in Biology Classrooms—Citizen Science Approaches to Evolution and Applications to Climate Change Discussions

    Authors: Rachel A. Yoho1,2,*, Binaben H. Vanmali3,4,5
    VIEW AFFILIATIONS HIDE AFFILIATIONS
    Affiliations: 1: Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287; 2: School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-9709; 3: Arizona Science Education Collaborative, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-6505; 4: Human Dimensions of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501; 5: Learning Sciences Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2111
    AUTHOR AND ARTICLE INFORMATION AUTHOR AND ARTICLE INFORMATION
    • Published 01 March 2016
    • ©2016 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.

    • [open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
    • *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875701, Tempe, AZ 85287. E-mail: [email protected].
    Source: J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. March 2016 vol. 17 no. 1 110-114. doi:10.1128/jmbe.v17i1.1026
MyBook is a cheap paperback edition of the original book and will be sold at uniform, low price.
  • HTML
    58.15 Kb
  • PDF
    209.24 Kb
  • XML

    Abstract:

    The biological sciences encompass topics considered controversial by the American public, such as evolution and climate change. We believe that the development of climate change education in the biology classroom is better informed by an understanding of the history of the teaching of evolution. A common goal for science educators should be to engender a greater respect for and appreciation of science among students while teaching specific content knowledge. Citizen science has emerged as a viable yet underdeveloped method for engaging students of all ages in key scientific issues that impact society through authentic data-driven scientific research. Where successful, citizen science may open avenues of communication and engagement with the scientific process that would otherwise be more difficult to achieve. Citizen science projects demonstrate versatility in education and the ability to test hypotheses by collecting large amounts of often publishable data. We find a great possibility for science education research in the incorporation of citizen science projects in curriculum, especially with respect to “hot topics” of socioscientific debate based on our review of the findings of other authors. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Key Concept Ranking

Lead
0.8125
0.8125

References & Citations

1. Abell S, Martini M, George M 2001 “That’s what scientists have to do”: preservice elementary teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science during a moon investigation Int J Sci Ed 23 1095 1109 10.1080/09500690010025049 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690010025049
2. Aikenhead GS 1994 What is STS science teaching? 47 59 Solomon J, Aikenhead G STS education: international perspectives in reform Teachers College Press New York, NY
3. Albe V, Gombert M-J 2012 Students’ communication, argumentation and knowledge in a citizens’ conference on global warming Cult Stud Sci Educ 7 659 681 10.1007/s11422-012-9407-1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11422-012-9407-1
4. Alters BJ, Nelson CE 2002 Perspective: teaching evolution in higher education Evolution 56 1891 1901 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb00115.x 12449476 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb00115.x
5. Backstrand K 2003 Civic science for sustainability: reframing the role of experts, policy-makers and citizens in environmental governance Global Environ Polit 3 24 41 10.1162/152638003322757916 http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/152638003322757916
6. Bonney R, et al 2009 Citizen science: a developing tool for expanding science knowledge and scientific literacy BioScience 59 977 984 10.1525/bio.2009.59.11.9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/bio.2009.59.11.9
7. Bonney R, et al 2014 Next steps for citizen science Science 343 1436 1437 10.1126/science.1251554 24675940 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1251554
8. Brewer MS, Gardner GE 2013 Teaching evolution through the Hardy-Weinberg principle: a real-time, active-learning exercise using classroom response devices Am Biol Teach 75 476 479 10.1525/abt.2013.75.7.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/abt.2013.75.7.6
9. Bromham L, Oprandi P 2006 Evolution online: using a virtual learning environment to develop active learning in undergraduates J Biol Evol 41 21 25
10. Byrne J, Ideland M, Malmberg C, Grace M 2014 Climate change and everyday life: repertoires children use to negotiate a socio-scientific issue Int J Sci Educ 36 1491 1509 10.1080/09500693.2014.891159 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2014.891159
11. Cherif A, Adams G, Loehr J 2001 What on “Earth” is evolution? Am Biol Teach 63 569 591 10.1662/0002-7685(2001)063[0569:WOEIE]2.0.CO;2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1662/0002-7685(2001)063[0569:WOEIE]2.0.CO;2
12. Cohn JP 2008 Citizen science: can volunteers do real research? BioScience 58 192 197 10.1641/B580303 http://dx.doi.org/10.1641/B580303
13. Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2015 Citizen science blog [Online.] http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citsci/
14. Crawford BA, Zembal-Saul C, Munford D, Friedrichsen P 2005 Confronting prospective teachers’ ideas of evolution and scientific inquiry using technology and inquiry-based tasks J Res Sci Teach 42 613 637 10.1002/tea.20070 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tea.20070
15. Dickinson JL, et al 2012 The current state of citizen science as a tool for ecological research and public engagement Front Ecol Environ 10 291 297 10.1890/110236 http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/110236
16. Dickinson JL, Crain RL, Kern Reeve H, Schuldt JP 2013 Can evolutionary design of social networks make it easier to be ‘green’? Trends Ecol Evol 28 561 569 10.1016/j.tree.2013.05.011 23787089 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2013.05.011
17. Dremock F 2002 Evolutionary biology instruction: what students gain from learning through inquiry Princ Pract Math Sci Educ 5 2 13
18. eBird 2015 Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology [Online.] ebird.org
19. Erduran S, Jiménez-Aleixandre MP 2007 Argumentation in science education: perspectives from classroom-based research 1st ed Springer Netherlands [Online.] http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781402066696 10.1007/978-1-4020-6670-2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6670-2
20. Ferber P 2003 Teaching evolution & the nature of science Am Biol Teach 65 347 354 10.2307/4451513 http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4451513
21. Freeman S, et al 2014 Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111 8410 8415 10.1073/pnas.1319030111 24821756 4060654 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
22. Griffith JA, Brem SK 2004 Teaching evolutionary biology: pressures, stress, and coping J Res Sci Teaching 41 8 791 809 10.1002/tea.20027 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tea.20027
23. Hermann RS 2008 Evolution as a controversial issue: a review of instructional approaches Sci Educ 17 1011 1032 10.1007/s11191-007-9074-x http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11191-007-9074-x
24. Hildebrand D, Bilica K, Capps J 2008 Addressing controversies in science a pragmatic approach to evolution education Sci Educ 17 1033 1052 10.1007/s11191-006-9066-2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11191-006-9066-2
25. Jarvis M 2013 Science prize goes to undergrad course that incorporates faculty research AAAS, American Association for the Advancement of Science [Online.] www.aaas.org/news/science-prize-goes-undergrad-course-incorporates-faculty-research
26. Johnson R 2013 Tackling climate change in the science classroom Educ Horiz 91 12 15
27. Kawrykow A, et al 2012 Phylo: a citizen science approach for improving multiple sequence alignment PLoS One 7 e31362 10.1371/journal.pone.0031362 22412834 3296692 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031362
28. Kuhn D 2010 Teaching and learning science as argument Sci Ed 94 810 824 10.1002/sce.20395 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sce.20395
29. Kupperman JJ 1985 Why some topics are controversial Educ Leadership 42 73 76
30. Kurpius J, Guralnick R, Johnson J, Monk A, Scotchmoor J, Stefanski M 2015 Understanding geologic time [Online.] http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/geotime/index.html
31. Labov JB, Olson S 2012 Thinking evolutionarily—evolution education across the life sciences 1st ed The National Academies Press Washington, DC [Online.] http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13403/thinking-evolutionarily-evolution-education-across-the-life-sciences-summary-of
32. Lederman NG, Wade PD, Bell RL 1998 Assessing the nature of science: what is the nature of our assessments? Sci Educ 7 595 615 10.1023/A:1008601707321 http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1008601707321
33. Lederman NG, Lederman JS 2004 Revising instruction to teach nature of science Sci Teach 71 36 39
34. Lederman NG 2006 Nature of science: past, present, and future 831 879 Abell SK, Lederman NG Handbook of research on science education Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Mahwah, NJ
35. Lederman NG, Lederman JS 2014 Research on teaching and learning of nature of science 600 620 Lederman NG, Abell SK Handbook of research on science education II Routledge New York, NY
36. Liu CH, Fan J, Hui P, Crowcroft J, Ding G 2013 QOI-aware energy-efficient participatory crowdsourcing IEEE Sensors J 13 3742 3753 10.1109/JSEN.2013.2265936 http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2013.2265936
37. McLelland CV 2006 The nature of science and the scientific method The Geological Society of America [Online.] www.geosociety.org/education/NatureScience.pdf
38. Morishita F 1991 Teaching about controversial issues: resolving conflict between creationism and evolution through law-related education Am Biol Teach 53 91 93 10.2307/4449228 http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4449228
39. Motel S 2014 Polls show most Americans believe in climate change, but give it low priority Pew Research Center [Online.] http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/23/most-americans-believe-in-climate-change-but-give-it-low-priority/
40. National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2015 Climate change—how do we know? Scientific Consensus. Global Climate Change. Vital Signs of the Planet [Online.] http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
41. National Park Service 2015 Climate change Citizen Science [Online.] www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/citizenscience.htm
42. National Research Council 2011 Forrest S, Feder MA Climate change education: goals, audiences, and strategies A workshop summary Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. The National Academies Press Washington, DC [Online.] www.nap.edu/catalog/13224/climate-change-education-goals-audiences-and-strategies-a-workshop-summary
43. Pedretti E 1999 Decision-making and STS education: exploring scientific knowledge and social responsibility in schools and science centers through an issues-based approach School Sci Math 99 174 181 10.1111/j.1949-8594.1999.tb17471.x http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1999.tb17471.x
44. Pedretti EG, Bencze L, Hewitt J, Romkey L, Jivraj A 2008 Promoting issues-based STSE perspectives in science teacher education: problems of identity and ideology Sci Educ 17 941 960 10.1007/s11191-006-9060-8 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11191-006-9060-8
45. Posner GJ, Strike KA, Hewson PW, Gertzog WA 1982 Accommodation of a scientific conception: toward a theory of conceptual change Sci Educ 66 211 227 10.1002/sce.3730660207 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sce.3730660207
46. Satterfield DA, Maerz JC, Altizer S 2015 Loss of migratory behaviour increases infection risk for a butterfly host Proc R Soc B 282 2014 734 10.1098/rspb.2014.1734 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1734
47. Scharmann LC, Smith MU, James MC, Jensen M 2005 Explicit reflective nature of science instruction: evolution, intelligent design, and umbrellaology J Sci Teach Educ 16 27 41 10.1007/s10972-005-6990-y http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10972-005-6990-y
48. Silvertown J 2009 A new dawn for citizen science Trends Ecol Evol 24 467 471 10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.017 19586682 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.017
49. Silvertown J, et al 2011 Citizen science reveals unexpected continental-scale evolutionary change in a model organism PloS One 6 e18927 10.1371/journal.pone.0018927 21556137 3083392 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018927
50. Sullivan BL, et al 2014 The eBird enterprise: an integrated approach to development and application of citizen science Biol Cons 169 31 40 10.1016/j.biocon.2013.11.003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2013.11.003
51. Trumbull DJ, Bonney R, Bascom D, Cabral A 2000 Thinking scientifically during participation in a citizen-science project Sci Educ 84 265 275 10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(200003)84:2<265::AID-SCE7>3.0.CO;2-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(200003)84:2<265::AID-SCE7>3.0.CO;2-5
52. Tsurusaki BK, Anderson CW 2010 Students’ understanding of connections between human engineered and natural environmental systems Int J Environ Sci Educ 5 407 433
53. Union of Concerned Scientists 2015 You + your computer = carbon detective [Online.] www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/what_you_can_do/climate-change-citizen-science.html#.VZoHrmC1JFK
54. Wals AEJ, Brody M, Dillon J, Stevenson RB 2014 Convergence between science and environmental education Science 344 583 584 10.1126/science.1250515 24812386 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1250515
55. Working Group on Teaching Evolution, Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Academy of Sciences 2008 Teaching about evolution and the Nature of Sciences The National Academies Press Washington, DC [Online.] www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5787
56. Worthington JP, et al 2012 Evolution MegaLab: a case study in citizen science methods Methods Ecol Evol 3 303 309 10.1111/j.2041-210X.2011.00164.x http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2011.00164.x
57. Zeidler D, Sadler T, Simmons M, Howes E 2005 Beyond STS: a research-based framework for socioscientific issues education Sci Educ 89 357 377 10.1002/sce.20048 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sce.20048
58. Zeidler DL, Sadler TD 2008 Social and ethical issues in science education: a prelude to action Sci Educ 17 799 803 10.1007/s11191-007-9130-6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11191-007-9130-6
59. Zooniverse People-powered research zooniverse.org

Supplemental Material

No supplementary material available for this content.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/jmbe/10.1128/jmbe.v17i1.1026
2016-03-01
2019-10-22

Abstract:

The biological sciences encompass topics considered controversial by the American public, such as evolution and climate change. We believe that the development of climate change education in the biology classroom is better informed by an understanding of the history of the teaching of evolution. A common goal for science educators should be to engender a greater respect for and appreciation of science among students while teaching specific content knowledge. Citizen science has emerged as a viable yet underdeveloped method for engaging students of all ages in key scientific issues that impact society through authentic data-driven scientific research. Where successful, citizen science may open avenues of communication and engagement with the scientific process that would otherwise be more difficult to achieve. Citizen science projects demonstrate versatility in education and the ability to test hypotheses by collecting large amounts of often publishable data. We find a great possibility for science education research in the incorporation of citizen science projects in curriculum, especially with respect to “hot topics” of socioscientific debate based on our review of the findings of other authors. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Highlighted Text: Show | Hide
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/jmbe/17/1/jmbe-17-110.xml.a.html?itemId=/content/journal/jmbe/10.1128/jmbe.v17i1.1026&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Author and Article Information

  • Published 01 March 2016
  • ©2016 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.

  • [open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
  • *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875701, Tempe, AZ 85287. E-mail: [email protected].

Back to top
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Please check the format of the address you have entered.
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error