Table of Contents

Foreword
Eugenie C. Scott
Section 1: Folk Theories, Conceptual and Perceptual Constraints
1 "Two-thousand Years of Stasis": How Psychological Essentialism Impedes Evolutionary Understanding
Susan A. Gelman and Marjorie Rhodes
2 Trees, Fish, and Other Fictions: Folk Biological Thought and its Implications for Understanding Evolutionary Biology
John D. Coley and Tara M. Muratore
3 Cognitive Constraints on the Understanding and Acceptance of Evolution
Andrew Shtulman and Prassede Calabi
4 Teleological Minds: How Natural Intuitions about Agency and Purpose Influence Learning About Evolution
Deborah Kelemen
5 The Promise and Challenges of Introducing Tree Thinking into Evolution Education
Kefyn M. Catley, Laura R. Novick, and Daniel J. Funk
6 Narrative Spaces in the Representation and Understanding of Evolution
Camillia Matuk and David Uttal
7 Misunderstanding Emergent Causal Mechanism in Natural Selection
Michelene T. H. Chi, Agnieszka Kosminska Kristensen and Rod Roscoe
8 Encountering Counterintuitive Ideas: Building a Developmental Learning Progression for Evolution.
E. Margaret Evans, Karl S. Rosengren, Jonathan D. Lane, and Kristin S. Price
9 Commentary on Section 1: Constrained Learning: Reframing the Problem of Evolution Understanding and Implications for Science Education
Karl S. Rosengren, and E. Margaret Evans
SECTION IIA: EPISTEMOLOGICAL ISSUES
10 Model-Based Instruction: Fostering Change in Evolutionary Conceptions and in Epistemic Practices
Clark A. Chinn and Luke A. Buckland
11 Why Don't Americans Accept Evolution As Much As People in Peer Nations Do? A Theory (Reinforced Theistic Manifest Destiny) and Some Pertinent Evidence
Michael Andrew Ranney
12 Heuristics and the Counterintuitive in Science and Religion
Ryan D. Tweney
SECTION IIB: IMPLEMENTING EDUCATION IN EVOLUTION: FORMAL EDUCATION
13 Challenges and Opportunities for Teaching and Designing Effective K-12 Evolution Curricula
Paul M. Beardsley, Mark V. Bloom, and Sarah B. Wise
14 Why Don't Undergraduates Really "Get" Evolution? What Can Faculty Do?
Craig E. Nelson
15 An Intentional Approach to Teaching Evolution: Making Students Aware of the Factors Influencing Learning of Microevolution and Macroevolution
Sherry A. Southerland and Louis S. Nadelson
SECTION IIC: IMPLEMENTING EDUCATION IN EVOLUTION: INFORMAL EDUCATION
16 Pattern and Process: Natural History Museum Exhibits in Evolution
Judy Diamond and Patrick Kociolek
17 Walking Whales and Singing Flies: An Evolution Exhibit and Assessment of its Impact
Judy Diamond, E. Margaret Evans, and Amy N. Speigel
18 Making Connections: Evolution and the Nature and Process of Science
Anna Thanukos and Judy Scotchmoor
19 Commentary on Section II: Bringing Multipke Levels of Analysis to Bear on Evolution Teaching and Learning
Sarah K. Brem and Gale M. Sinatra

About the Author

Karl S. Rosengren is a Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University. He has published widely in the fields of cognitive and motor development. In his current research he examines cultural influences in the development of causal reasoning and how children acquire different types of beliefs. He is a fellow of APS.

Sarah K. Brem is an Associate Professor in the School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University. A cognitive scientist, her research focuses on public use and understanding of scientific and technical information. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Early Career Award.

E. Margaret Evans is an Associate Research Scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan. Her research, funded by NSF and the Spencer Foundation, focuses on the cognitive and cultural factors influencing the developmental of scientific and religious concepts. In her current studies she investigates the emergence of developmental learning progressions for evolution as children and their parents encounter museum exhibitions on evolution.

Gale M. Sinatra is a Professor at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. She has served as an editor of Educational Psychologist and the Vice President of AERA's Division C, Learning and Instruction. She is a fellow of APA and AERA. Her research focuses on the role of emotions and motivation in reasoning about socio-scientific issues.

Reviews

"...likely to have something new for both teachers and researchers, and may be of interest to general readers hoping to learn more about the psychological underpinnings of people's understanding (or misunderstanding) and acceptance (or rejection) of evolution. This is an important book on an important set of topics, sure to elevate discussion (if not alleviate stress) when it comes to the challenges of teaching and learning about evolution."
--Tania Lombrozo, Reports of the National Center for Science Education
"No books in the crowded field of evolutionary biology come close to tackling such a rich
array of topics. This reason alone makes Evolution Challenges essential reading for anyone with an interest in science education. Evolution Challenges is without question one of the most outstanding scholarly titles on evolution education that I have read in the past 20 years. The diversity of scholarly perspectives and methodological approaches in this collection exemplifes why evolution education continues to be one of the most fecund, fascinating and informative areas of
science education research. I expect this innovative collection of studies to impact how the community envisions the challenges of evolution education for years to come." --Ross H. Nehm, Science & Education
Some of the most notable strengths of this edited volume include: unprecedented disciplinary diversity--more than 30 contributors from cognitive developmental psychology, evolutionary biology, paleontology, science education, educational psychology, and informal education; broad conceptual coverage of evolution education--notably cognition, folkbiology,
micro- and macroevolution, and museum education; an assembly of accomplished authors well-known for their scholarship in the growing field of evolution education. No books in the crowded field of evolutionary biology come close to tackling such a rich array of topics. This reason alone makes Evolution Challenges essential reading for anyone with an interest in science education. Evolution Challenges is without question one of the most outstanding scholarly titles on evolution education
that I have read in the past 20 years." --Ross H. Nehm, Science & Education