(from: Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast, May 8, 2009) A new study from the University of Minnesota finds that high school biology teachers greatly impact how college biology majors view evolution. The report, published in the May issue of BioScience, surveyed 1,000 students taking introductory biology classes at the University of Minnesota to gauge how biology majors view evolution compared to non-majors. Researchers found student views were quite close, and that high school biology teachers highly influence whether students question evolution based on creationism. The article incorporates prior studies that found more than 25 percent of U.S. high school biology teachers do not know it’s unconstitutional to teach creationism. One third didn’t major in biology in college and never studied evolution. One fourth believe creationism can be proven scientifically. There are few consequences for teachers who do not cover evolution or who teach creationism. “I was shocked that there weren’t bigger differences between majors and non-majors,” said Sehoya Cotner, associate professor of biology and co-author of the study. “Evolution is the foundation of the entire discipline. It leads me to believe that these students are probably interested in biology for reasons besides gaining a full understanding and appreciation of the science.”
Read more: http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1681554/teachers_influence_student_views_of_evolution__creationism/index.html See an abstract of the report: http://www.bioone.org/toc/bisi/59/5