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My father and I recently decided to introduce evolution, especially human evolution, to a group of 9th grade Biology students. We got numerous sets of replicated skulls (human, chimp, Neanderthal, Homo habilis, Homo ergaster, etc). But before jumping in, we talked about various creation "tales" - the primordial egg, where there was a giant egg that burst and released everything we know now into their current positions; dismembered gods (my personal favorite), where one got killed another and dismembered her - and life as we know it developed from those various parts; etc. We threw in the more-or-less Christian idea of primordial pairs, as well. At each step, we asked whether these ideas were testable and why or why not. We also talked about how these ideas are not inherently wrong just because it was untestable - just that they cannot be dealt with scientifically.
After that, we talked about evolution and whether it was testable - and what would qualify as a test. From there, we were able to talk about various evidence, predictions, etc. After all that, we started on the skulls, first comparing the human and chimp and talking about some of the differences we can see - size and shape of brain, brow ridge, presence of chin, shape of teeth and palate, etc. We told the kids the chimp appeared to be the least changed from a common ancestor, then we asked them to work in groups (about 4 to a group) and put their skulls in what appeared to them to be the order these species appeared in the fossil record.
It was fascinating to watch the behaviors at this point - but in particular, no one appeared to be threatened by the discussion. Apparently we had done enough to keep the kids from feeling threatened. There were no calls or visits from concerned parents, either, and 100% of the feedback I've gotten from the kids has been positive.
It should be noted that I am in Utah in a strongly Mormon community. But I had an advantage in that my dad is affiliated with Brigham Young University, and I introduced him as having worked to develop the evolution program there. Certainly that disarmed a lot of the potential problems. But I think our approach, demonstrating awareness of various religious beliefs without denigrating them, identifying the crucial point of testability, etc really helped.
No, we didn't get into any of the details, mechanisms, etc - we had only about 75 minutes with each group (three groups). No one would claim that these kids have any major understanding of evolution. But sometimes our job as informal educators is to open minds to possibilities, and I feel that we did that. If these kids can stop seeing evolution as a threat, there's a better chance that they will learn more about the mechanisms - hopefully enough to make informed choices when it comes their time to vote, for instance. And perhaps we can blur some of the lines between the "tribes" (nice choice of words, Ian) - or the beliefs associated with certain tribes. Recognizing that one does not have to be an atheist to accept evolution is an important realization for many people, and since this particular theory threatens so many people's tribes (or their beliefs about their tribes), I think one of the best things we can do is to break down those walls. No, that doesn't provide a full understanding of evolution, but we can rarely, if ever, bring people in and give them a full understanding of any scientific theory. If we can open their minds, I think we've done our job.
Kodi R. Jeffery, Ph.D
Informal Science Educator
801-368-6284
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-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian Russell
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 11:45 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Creationists as proponents of academic freedom
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
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Hasn't this been a stimulating discussion!
The shoaling-fish-model is a powerful and alarming metaphor for human
decision-making in what we may have mistakenly termed The Age of Reason.
I also believe it is relevant to the original topic, and particularly to the
revelation that huge numbers of people support or oppose evolution with no
real understanding of what they are supporting or opposing.
Charles Carlson has certainly convinced me that we are all influenced by our
inner fish to some extent. Yet we are not fish: we are primates and in
primates shoals have evolved into tribes. Each of us is strongly influenced
by our inner tribesman. (Sorry, I just couldn't write tribesperson.) Or are
scientists immune to football fanaticism?
It seems that we have 'multiple intelligences'. I propose that each modern
human also has 'multiple tribes', including ethnicity, religion, politics
and often of course a football team...
Religion especially is about cultural identity, not actually just about what
people believe or what people understand. Much of an individual's personal
identity is invested in the religion they profess (here it is important to
include atheism, incidentally).
Seen in this light, all the really divisive issues in religion, politics,
football etc. are those which have become us-versus-them 'tribal markings'.
Can you see where I'm going with this? Anti-evolutionism has become
established as a tribal marking for anyone whose sense of personal identity
is heavily invested in 'belonging' to a particular religion. Similarly,
pro-evolutionism is an equally recognised tribal marking for anyone calling
themselves an atheist.
I think it is terribly important to recognise this irrational component of
human thinking. It shows why information about evolution does not reliably
change people's beliefs. It may also show why children are easier to win
over than adults. To my mind, it certainly fits with people opposing or
supporting evolution without understanding it.
I have had a fair bit of success in presenting evolution to church groups. I
now realise that my success has been based on attacking an audience's
prejudices about their tribal markings and the tribal marking of their
perceived enemies. I demonstrate to them that anti-evolutionism is not an
essential part of being a Christian (speaking to an audience of Christians).
I also demonstrate that not all individuals marked as pro-evolutionists are
anti-Christian or eat babies. I can report that this approach is Highly
effective. I spoke about it at last year's ECSITE Conference in Dortmund:
"Darwin's Bulldogs & Darwin's Church mice".
Promoting public engagement with science
through a contagious delight in phenomena
*
[log in to unmask] * http://www.interactives.co.uk
*
Give people facts and you feed their minds for an hour.
Awaken curiosity and they feed their own minds for a lifetime.
*
Ian Russell (Twitter: ianrusselluk)
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
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