There is ample evidence in the educational literature that student misconceptions of information will inhibit the learning of concepts related to the misinformation. This information on “bioliteracy” was collected from faculty and the science education literature.
- Students believe that all genes program for visible traits
- Students are unfamiliar with the exact nature of regulatory genes in determining traits
- Students believe that only the observable phenotype is subject to selection
- Students do not fully understand the role of genetic drift in variation
- Students believe that vestigial traits disappear over time because of disuse
- Students believe that acquired traits are inherited
- Student believe evolution is driven to make “better” organisms
- Students believe that organisms adapt to change rather than being selected
- Students do not take into account mutation in determining population genetics
- Students believe selection only kills off weaker individuals
- Students believe “fitness” is an absolute set of characteristics
- Students believe that species are genetically distinct and fixed
- Students are not familiar with the similarity of embryological development between different groups of organisms
- Student are unaware that plants undergo embryological development
Stress that the environment doesn’t cause changes in characteristics of an individual; instead it causes changes in the species itself. The changing environment opens up new habitats for individuals possessing different allelic combinations to thrive and be successful which increase their fitness. Species that are unable to change with the environment will eventually die out due to decreased fitness. There are advantages to possessing genes that enable flexibility – being a “jack of all trades” as opposed to being a specialist. Consider the human types that are most likely to survive catastrophes – those that can adjust to all circumstances, are inventive, creative, and generally able to make something workable out of string and sealing wax.
Application• Have students describe examples of artificial selection at the grocery store .
• Have students why the body size of coyotes living in urban areas is smaller than those in the wilderness .
• Ask students to explain how the disappearance of alleles from a population can lead to speciation .
Analysis• Ask students to hypothesize about the cockroaches remained virtually unchanged for millions of years .
Synthesis• Ask students to explain what conditions must be necessary for humans to evolve into new hominid species .
• Ask students to explain if a complete reliance on computers to calculate everyday tasks would lead to populations of people with smaller brains
• Ask students to describe how a plant can speciate in one generation without undergoing changes in chromosome number .
Evaluation• Ask students to debate the value of selective breeding in agricultural animals .
• Ask students to evaluate the biological consequences of extinctions caused by human activity in an environment .
• Ask students toassess the accuracy of using protein differences to distinguish the differences and similarities between two related species .
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