Methods of Teaching Evolutionary Concepts in Kenyan High Schools

Methods of Teaching Evolutionary Concepts in Kenyan High Schools
Author: Philemon Kiptoo Bureti
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2012-07
Genre:
ISBN: 9783659179327
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The subject of appropriateness of the methods of teaching evolutionary concepts in Kenyan high schools and the ability of the current biology teachers to enable their students to achieve high performance in national examinations is increasingly capturing the attention of teachers, school managers, Researchers and policy makers in Kenya . The growing interest stems and reflects the increased National concern over the low level of students' performance in biology and more specifically in questions about evolution partially caused by inappropriate or poor teaching methods. The topic which is considered as one of the core foundations of biological studies is a challenge to most teachers because teaching it tends to attract complex socio- political responses from the learners whose religious and cultural backgrounds vary and have different impacts on their perceptions of critical evolutionary concepts like origin of life and theories that seem to lack scientific integrity upon which the teaching and learning of scientific concepts is expected to be based.

Evolution Education Re-considered

Evolution Education Re-considered
Author: Ute Harms
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2019-07-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030146987
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This collection presents research-based interventions using existing knowledge to produce new pedagogies to teach evolution to learners more successfully, whether in schools or elsewhere. ‘Success’ here is measured as cognitive gains, as acceptance of evolution or an increased desire to continue to learn about it. Aside from introductory and concluding chapters by the editors, each chapter consists of a research-based intervention intended to enable evolution to be taught successfully; all these interventions have been researched and evaluated by the chapters’ authors and the findings are presented along with discussions of the implications. The result is an important compendium of studies from around the word conducted both inside and outside of school. The volume is unique and provides an essential reference point and platform for future work for the foreseeable future.

Resources in Education

Resources in Education
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 306
Release: 1998
Genre: Education
ISBN:
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Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science

Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science
Author: National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 150
Release: 1998-05-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309063647
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Today many school students are shielded from one of the most important concepts in modern science: evolution. In engaging and conversational style, Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science provides a well-structured framework for understanding and teaching evolution. Written for teachers, parents, and community officials as well as scientists and educators, this book describes how evolution reveals both the great diversity and similarity among the Earth's organisms; it explores how scientists approach the question of evolution; and it illustrates the nature of science as a way of knowing about the natural world. In addition, the book provides answers to frequently asked questions to help readers understand many of the issues and misconceptions about evolution. The book includes sample activities for teaching about evolution and the nature of science. For example, the book includes activities that investigate fossil footprints and population growth that teachers of science can use to introduce principles of evolution. Background information, materials, and step-by-step presentations are provided for each activity. In addition, this volume: Presents the evidence for evolution, including how evolution can be observed today. Explains the nature of science through a variety of examples. Describes how science differs from other human endeavors and why evolution is one of the best avenues for helping students understand this distinction. Answers frequently asked questions about evolution. Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science builds on the 1996 National Science Education Standards released by the National Research Councilâ€"and offers detailed guidance on how to evaluate and choose instructional materials that support the standards. Comprehensive and practical, this book brings one of today's educational challenges into focus in a balanced and reasoned discussion. It will be of special interest to teachers of science, school administrators, and interested members of the community.

Contemporary Science Teaching Approaches

Contemporary Science Teaching Approaches
Author: Dr. Funda Ornek
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2012-05-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1617356107
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Contemporary science teaching approaches focus on fostering students to construct new scientific knowledge as a process of inquiry rather than having them act as passive learners memorizing stated scientific facts. Although this perspective of teaching science is clearly emphasized in the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996), it is however challenging to achieve in the classroom. Science teaching approaches should enhance students’ conceptual understanding of scientific concepts which can be later utilized by students in deeper recognition of real world (Marsak & Janouskova, 2007). This book identifies and describes several different contemporary science teaching approaches and presents recent applications of these approaches in promoting interest among students. It promotes conceptual understanding of science concepts among them as well. This book identifies pertinent issues related to strategies of teaching science and describes best practice The chapters in this book are culmination of years of extensive research and development efforts to understand more about how to teach science by the distinguished scholars and practicing teachers.

Learning of Genetics and Evolution

Learning of Genetics and Evolution
Author: Aineah Wang'anya Wambasi
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN: 9783659282713
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This study was conducted to establish prior perceptions and ideas held by students on the topics of Genetics and Evolution. The students, as used here refers to learners in the Boys', the Girls', Mixed secondary schools and the Genders as independent variables, while the perceptions and ideas characterized the dependent variables. The study was guided by Bruner's constructivist theory. Methodology was a stratified random sampling of the secondary schools. Data collection used two Questionnaires: Students' Questionnaire and Teachers' Questionnaire. The respondents were 269 students selected randomly from 9470 form three students and 18 Biology Teachers of 77 Teachers of Biology in Kakamega district, Kenya. The data analyzed using frequencies, percentages and chi-square test. The study established that the students found the concepts and sub-concepts difficult or the teachers had not used best strategies to teach them evidenced from the vague and incoherence of wrong versions. Social-cultural and religious teachings were the sources of the wrong versions and misconceptions by students. The teachers found teaching of Genetics and Evolution challenging as was evidenced by poor coverage

What Does it Mean to be Human?

What Does it Mean to be Human?
Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2010
Genre: Human beings
ISBN: 1426206062
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This generously illustrated book tells the story of the human family, showing how our species' physical traits and behaviors evolved over millions of years as our ancestors adapted to dramatic environmental changes. In What Does It Means to Be Human? Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, and Chris Sloan, National Geographic's paleoanthropolgy expert, delve into our distant past to explain when, why, and how we acquired the unique biological and cultural qualities that govern our most fundamental connections and interactions with other people and with the natural world. Drawing on the latest research, they conclude that we are the last survivors of a once-diverse family tree, and that our evolution was shaped by one of the most unstable eras in Earth's environmental history. The book presents a wealth of attractive new material especially developed for the Hall's displays, from life-like reconstructions of our ancestors sculpted by the acclaimed John Gurche to photographs from National Geographic and Smithsonian archives, along with informative graphics and illustrations. In coordination with the exhibit opening, the PBS program NOVA will present a related three-part television series, and the museum will launch a website expected to draw 40 million visitors.

Natural Science Education, Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Schools in Kenya

Natural Science Education, Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Schools in Kenya
Author: Darren M. O’Hern
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2014-05-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9462095426
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Through a multi-sited qualitative study of three Kenyan secondary schools in rural Taita Hills and urban Nairobi, the volume explores the ways the dichotomy between “Western” and “indigenous” knowledge operates in Kenyan education. In particular, it examines views on natural sciences expressed by the students, teachers, the state’s curricula documents, and schools’ exam-oriented pedagogical approaches. O’Hern and Nozaki question state and local education policies and practices as they relate to natural science subjects such as agriculture, biology, and geography and their dismissal of indigenous knowledge about environment, nature, and sustainable development. They suggest the need to develop critical postcolonial curriculum policies and practices of science education to overcome knowledge-oriented binaries, emphasize sustainable development, and address the problems of inequality, the center and periphery divide, and social, cultural, and environmental injustices in Kenya and, by implication, elsewhere. “In an era of environmental crisis and devastation, education that supports sustainability and survival of our planet is needed. Within a broader sociopolitical context of post-colonialism and globalization, this volume points out possibilities and challenges to achieve such an education. The authors propose a critical, postcolonial approach that acknowledges the contextual and situational production of all knowledge, and that de-dichotomizes indigenous from ‘Western’ scientific knowledge.” Eric (Rico) Gutstein, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)