Date of Award
1-1-2010
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
First Advisor
James E. Platt, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Phillip Danielson
Third Advisor
Kathy Green
Fourth Advisor
Steven Iona
Keywords
Classroom Test of Evolutionary Reasoning, Evolution, Teacher, Understanding
Abstract
In order to assess the evolutionary understanding of high school biology teachers, an instrument entitled the Classroom Test of Evolutionary Reasoning (CTER) was developed. Content, response process, relations to another variable (the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection, or CINS), and internal structure evidence were compiled. The second version of the CTER was found to have adequate reliability and validity estimates to allow it to continue to be used as a measurement tool for an understanding of evolution. When assessing a sample of teachers (n = 724), the mean score was 6.35 out of a possible 13 points. The sample was found to possess an adequate understanding of Lamarkian evolution, but had difficulties with common ancestry, evolutionary trees, transitional fossils, and homologous structures.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Patricia Eileen Palko
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
104 p.
Recommended Citation
Palko, Patricia Eileen, "Investigating Instructors' Conceptions of Evolution Through the Development of the Classroom Test of Evolutionary Reasoning" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 898.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/898
Copyright date
2010
Discipline
Science Education, Biology