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A few primary teachers will have completed some post 16
study or even have a degree in biology, and about half of
the secondary science teachers will have a degree with some
biology content. However that means that a substantial
number of trainee teachers of both primary and secondary
phases will have an understanding of Biology equivalent only
to a grade C at GCSE. The aim of these five ‘biology’
units is to provide support for these trainees (via their
tutors) so that they can either teach to GCSE level, or
acquire an understanding at that level so they have the
confidence to teach at primary school. The emphasis is on
the conceptual changes needed by learners (tutors, teachers
and their pupils) to come to an understanding of living
things.
The English National Curriculum has spelt out this
genetics section in some detail: Variation,
inheritance and evolution.
Pupils should be taught:
a. about environmental and inherited causes of
variation within a species
Classification
b. to classify living things into the major taxonomic
groups
Inheritance
c. that selective breeding can lead to new varieties.
Young children, like many people in the past, tend to
accept that we have always been, this is how we are. The
concept of evolution is hard to grasp at first. Once
accepted, the mechanisms of evolution that scientists are
beginning to work out become easier to comprehend. It is
important that our intending teachers are aware of this
conceptual development, so it is not enough just to
understand the biological concepts, but also they need to
know how children get to change their naïve outlook towards
this deeper scientific model.
Children's misconceptions about causes of variation:
- Young children do not realise the causes of
variation - living things are different because they
are ‘just born that way’ or ‘God made them that
way’
- Older children often believe that variation results
from environmental change - plants ‘change’ to
suit the environment, or some people are tall because
they have eaten a lot of food
- The Lamarkian view that environmental change can be
inherited: eg if a dog looses its tail, its puppies
may be born tail-less
Children's misconceptions about time in relation to the
age of things:
- Young children often do not realise that something
could be very much older than them. They often judge
the age of things by appearances
- When discussing past life forms, older children
often mix fact with fantasy - dinosaurs are frequently
associated with cavemen, who are given as the cause of
the dinosaurs’ extinction
Children are exposed to ideas about genetics and
evolution only gradually as they get older. Even so they
will pick up naïve ideas which we need to take into account
as we try to help them develop a deeper understanding of
genetics and evolution.
In the primary school they become aware of the
differences between people, but they also need to realise
that we are all very similar, and this similarity extends
through the whole of life.
As their sense of time past develops, so children can
begin to appreciate the story of life on this planet.
Fossils and dinosaurs help. Selective breeding which leads
to so many types of dog can be used to introduce natural
selection as a mechanism of evolution.
This suggests some issues that tutors might want to share
with their trainee teacher, both primary and secondary
during their ‘college’ session. The text is in download
4 and the discussion is supported by the PowerPoint
presentation of download 2.
Science and Plants for Schools (SAPs) has some excellent
practical ideas for use in the classroom:
Access the Teaching Resources section of their web site
to find PowerPoint presentations created for hands-on,
inquiry-driven Biotechnology Explorer workshop
series. These PowerPoint presentations and laboratory quick
guides are available for educational use only.
Download 5 Ideas for schools has some suggestions
for intending primary teachers for activities suitable for
use in school. Some of these are worth doing with the
trainee teachers in college sessions to give them a flavour
of the school activities. Although practical work is
important in school it is probably more important that
intending teachers think about what they hope their pupils
will learn from the practical work they do, rather than
simply carrying it out themselves. After all most of them
have had the experiences, but they are unlikely to have
thought about the way children’s ideas can be challenged
during the practical work they do.
Secondary school intending teachers will have plenty of
opportunity in school to observe and try out the various
practical experiences pupils in school will have, so once
again the important thing in ‘college’ sessions is to
allow them to reflect on what purpose the practical work
serves.
-
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/home.php
Understanding Evolution is a non-commercial,
education website, teaching the science and history of
evolutionary biology. It’s aim is to help you
understand what evolution is, how it works, how it
factors into your life, how research in evolutionary
biology is performed, and how ideas in this area have
changed over time. The site is a collaborative project
of the University of California Museum of Paleontology
<http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu> and the National
Center for Science Education <http://www.natcenscied.org>.
(note the US spellings)
-
Littledyke, M., Ross, K., and
Lakin, L.(2000) Science Knowledge and the Environment,
London. David Fulton.
(Chapter 8 gives some background information about
human evolution and an explanation about the development
of modern day wheat.)
Downloads in this Unit:
Section Developed by:
Liz Lakin, St Martin’s College, Ambleside
(and Keith Ross, University of Gloucestershire)
September 2006
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