What knowledge do you need to be an effective instructor? One key type of knowledge is pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), which includes awareness of how students are likely to think about a topic and where they will struggle as they learn that topic. We propose PCK as a valuable framework for reflecting on your own knowledge for teaching topics in evolution. We have created a searchable file that uses PCK as a framework to organize over 400 peer-reviewed papers from 40+ journals to give you better access to relevant resources for teaching evolution to undergraduates and advanced high school students. None of us have time to read 400 papers to inform our teaching, so we provide tips to maximize your use of this collective knowledge in the time you have available. We have written these to be useful to instructors across career stages.

Recent reforms in K-16 science education advocate for the integration of science content and practice. However, engaging students in authentic science practices can be particularly challenging for certain subjects such as evolution. We describe Avida-ED, a research-based platform for digital evolution that overcomes many of the challenges associated with using biological model organisms in the classroom. We then report the findings of a nationwide, multiple-case study on classroom implementation of Avida-ED and its influence on student understanding and acceptance of evolution. We found that engagement in lessons with Avida-ED both supported student learning of fundamental evolution concepts and was associated with an increase in student acceptance of evolution as evidence-based science. In addition, we found a significant, positive association between increased understanding and acceptance. We discuss the implications of supporting reform-based pedagogical practices with tools such as Avida-ED that integrate science content with authentic science practice.

A paradigm shift away from viewing evolution primarily in terms of adaptation – the “adaptationist programme” of Gould and Lewontin – began in evolutionary research more than 35 years ago, but that shift has yet to occur within evolutionary education research or within teaching standards. We review three instruments that can help education researchers and educators undertake this paradigm shift. The instruments assess how biology undergraduates understand three evolutionary processes other than natural selection: genetic drift, dominance relationships among allelic pairs, and evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). Testing with these instruments reveals that students often explain a diversity of evolutionary mechanisms incorrectly by invoking misconceptions about natural selection. We propose that increasing the emphasis on teaching evolutionary processes other than natural selection could result in a better understanding of natural selection and a better understanding of all evolutionary processes. Finally, we propose two strategies for accomplishing this goal, interleaving natural selection with other evolutionary processes and the development of bridging analogies to describe evolutionary concepts.

Evolution is widely regarded as biology's unifying theme, yet rates of rejection of evolutionary science remain high. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cognitive dissonance leading to an emotional response is a barrier to learning about and accepting evolution. We explored the hypothesis that students whose worldviews may be inconsistent with the acceptance of evolution generate detectable emotional responses in the form of physiological changes when exposed to evolutionary themes. Physiological data (respiratory rate, galvanic skin response, and heart rate) were collected from participants while they were asked “yes/no” questions, some of which referenced evolution. Questions were of three categories: relevant, irrelevant, and control. Authenticity of response rates to relevant questions such as “Do you believe in evolution?” were verified using visual inspection to compare degree of response rates with control questions, such as “Have you ever cheated on a test?” Our results support our hypothesis. Of the 33 participants included in our study, a majority of them produced detectable physiological changes indicating emotional responses when asked questions referencing evolution. The highest response rate (79%) was generated by the question “Do you believe in evolution?” The implications of an emotional response in students when presented with instruction in evolutionary theory are discussed.

Students regard evolutionary theory differently than science in general. Students’ reported confidence in their ability to understand science in general (e.g., posing scientific questions, interpreting tables and graphs, and understanding the content of their biology course) significantly outweighed their confidence in understanding evolution. We also show that those students with little incoming confidence in their understanding of evolution demonstrated more confidence and the most improved performance by the end of the semester. Collectively, our data indicate that regardless of prior experiences with evolution education, and in spite of myriad social challenges to teaching evolution, students can learn evolution.

A survey of Florida teachers reveals many differences in comfort level with teaching evolution according to the state's science teaching standards, general attitudes and beliefs about evolution, and the extent to which teachers are criticized, censured, disparaged, or reprehended for their beliefs about the teaching of evolution.