Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Evolution (Biology); Natural selection;
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between cognitive level and misconceptions regarding the concepts of natural selection and evolution in twenty-eight ninth grade students prior to instruction in tenth grade biology. In addition, the study examined the nature of student misconceptions. There were three major questions which guided the study: (a) What knowledge do ninth grade students possess regarding the concepts of natural selection and evolution prior to instruction in tenth grade? (b) What are the specific misconceptions that ninth grade students possess regarding the concepts of natural selection and evolution? (c) To what extent does the cognitive level of the student influence their pre-instructional conceptions regarding natural selection and evolution? Student cognitive level was assessed using a group test, Anton E. Lawson's Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning. Scores on this test arranged students along a continuum from concrete reasoners to formal reasoners. Information regarding knowledge of natural selection and evolution concepts was obtained using individual interviews. The interviews were analyzed using a modified Bishop and Anderson (1990) coding scheme to obtain a conception score for each student. A Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient was calculated comparing scores on the Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning and the interview conception score. A chi-square test of independence was also used to determine if cognitive level, as measured by the Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning, and knowledge regarding natural selection and evolution, as measured by individual interview, were independent variables. Lastly, student interviews were analyzed qualitatively to identify patterns in student conceptions. The results of this study indicate that many students have misconceptions regarding the concepts of natural selection and evolution. The average score on the natural selection and evolution interview was -7.4 on a scale from -36 to +36. A positive score indicated more knowledge regarding the concepts, and a negative indicated less knowledge regarding the concepts. Six students out of the twenty-eight interviewed received a positive conception score. Students seemed to have an understanding about evolution as a phenomenon. To explain the mechanism of evolution, however, they used what is commonly referred to as Lamarkian reasoning. Students also had a strong focus on individual organisms instead of populations. Correlation between scores on the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning and the interview questions were calculated using the Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient. The correlation between cognitive level and overall conception score was 0.05. This correlation was not significant were p <0.05, indicating the lack of significant relationship between cognitive level and pre-instructional knowledge of natural selection and evolution concepts. Further, the calculated chi-square value also failed to show significance where p <0.05. This indicates that these two variables are independent of each other.
Year of Submission
1995
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Biology
First Advisor
David McCalley
Second Advisor
Daryl Smith
Third Advisor
Robert Ward
Date Original
1995
Object Description
1 PDF file (113 leaves)
Copyright
©1995 Terence John Coleman
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Coleman, Terence John, "Pre-instructional Student Conceptions of Natural Selection and Evolution and Their Relationship to Cognitive Level" (1995). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2122.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2122
Comments
If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.