Current Issue Home Page Recognizing Student Misconceptions about Science and Evolution Daniel J. Wescott Department of Anthropology University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia , Missouri, USA Deborah L. Cunningham Department of Anthropology University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia , Missouri, USA Abstract It is well documented that student misconceptions can create barriers to learning, especially in introductory biological science courses. In this paper, we examine some of the misconceptions that students enrolled in Introduction to Biological Anthropology at the University of Missouri-Columbia have about the nature of science and evolutionary processes, and compare them to published data. We then combine these results with a review of the educational literature to illustrate why it is important that instructors identify and fully comprehend the misconceptions of their own students as a first step in assisting their students achieve conceptual change. Introduction Most students enter introductory biological science courses with misconceptions about the nature of science and evolutionary theory that can impede their ability to understand the scientific explanations presented in class (Bishop & Anderson, 1990; Brumby, 1984; Posner, Strike, Hewson, & Gertzog, 1982; Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992; Wandersee, Mintzes, & Novak, 1994; Wilson, 2001). Although the students’ misconceptions are often naïve, they frequently have strong explanatory power to the student (Bahar, 2003; Fisher & Lipson, 1986; Greene, 1990). Furthermore, these misconceptions are often deeply rooted, extremely complex, and reinforced by the popular media, instructors and textbooks attempting to simplify concepts, and other sources (Bishop & Anderson, 1990; Losh, Tavani, Njorge, Wilke & McAuley, 2003; Modell, Michael, & Wenderoth, 2005; Wandersee, Mintzes, & Novak, 1994). As a result, it is often difficult or impossible for students to recognize and prevail over these misconceptions in biological science courses. But, if the students fail to recognize and reject their misconceptions and fully comprehend the scientifically accurate explanation offered in class, they will commonly fall back on their former conceptions (Greene, 1990; Hellden & Solomon, 2004; Mintzes, Wandersee, & Novak, 2000; Wandersee, Mintzes & Arnaudin, 1989). Research suggests that even science graduate students continue to cling to misconceptions about evolution (Brumby, 1984; Mintzes, Wandersee & Novak, 2001). Student misconceptions in science courses have been addressed by numerous authors (e.g., Bishop & Anderson, 1990; Greene, 1990; Wandersee, Mintzes, & Novak, 1994; Wilson, 2001), but we contend that it is vital for instructors to investigate the misconceptions of their own students as a first step in helping students recognize conceptual difficulties and undergo conceptual change. While students across the country have many similar misconceptions about science and evolution, these misconceptions can vary by sex, age, geographical location, and student motivation or interest, between urban and rural areas, and can change over time (Almquist & Cronin, 1988; Losh, Tavani, Njoroge, Wilke & McAuley, 2003; Morrison & Lederman, 2003; Palmer, 2003). In this paper, we discuss questionnaire results of students entering Introduction to Biological Anthropology (IBA) at the University of Missouri- Columbia (UMC) and compare them to published results in order to identify common themes or discrepancies between the misconceptions of UMC students and those of college students in other parts of the country. We developed the questionnaire in order to reveal student misconceptions about the nature of science and evolutionary processes. We then intertwine these results with a review of the educational literature to illustrate why it is important for instructors to identify and fully comprehend their own students’ misconceptions as a first step in helping their students achieve successful conceptual change. Project Methodology Participants and Course Participants included 547 undergraduate students (243 males and 304 females) enrolled in IBA at UMC during the Fall 2002, Fall 2003, and Winter 2003 semesters. The majority (92%) of the students were under 22 years of age. Introduction to Biological Anthropology is a sophomore level course that fulfills the university’s general education requirement for Biological Sciences. Normal Page 1 of 6 MountainRise 7/7/2005 http://facctr.wcu.edu/mountainrise/archive/vol2no2/html/science_evolution.html