Ακίνδυνη Εξέλιξη

Συνέντευξη του Ζαχαρία Σκούρα στην Γιάννα Παπαδάκου (διάρκεια σχεδόν 10 λεπτά, σε mp3 σχεδόν 4,5 μεγαβυτία)

Σχετικά με τη διδασκαλία της θεωρίας της εξέλιξης εννοείται.

Δόθηκε στις 21/8/2006 στο ραδιόφωνο του Σκάι. Για το πρόβλημα του ήχου, μόνο πάνω στη φωνή του Σκούρα, ευθύνεται είτε η θεία πρόνοια (μετά ή άνευ εισαγωγικών) είτε ο ηχολήπτης του Σκάι. Διαλέγετε και παίρνετε.

Πάντως μου κάνει εντύπωση αυτή η πίστη πως η μεταφορά της θεωρίας της εξέλιξης από τη διδακτέα στην εξεταστέα ύλη θα έχει τα υποσχόμενα αποτελέσματα. Γιατί το λέω αυτό;

What was apparent was that there was not a massive amount of difference between the two groups. The students who answered the questions correctly were in a clear minority in both groups. This strongly points towards a great deal of confusion about the nature of evolution and what is meant by the term 'theory'. The group who were given material to read about evolution and ID had an improved percentage of correct answers over the group who read nothing. This strongly points towards the benefits of teaching students about evolution and actively explaining why ID is wrong.

Interestingly both sets of students had relatively high numbers who used the 'don't know' option. This would again point towards a high level of confusion. Within the set of students who undertook the reading, only 3% answered 'don't know' to the question “What is evolution?”, perhaps suggesting that the reading had been of benefit. At the same time 59% answered that evolution was only one of many theories that lacks evidence. This is hardly a percentage that inspires confidence in the biology teaching of secondary schools! On a serious note it does strongly indicate that there is a real problem that needs to be addressed at university level if we are not to fail our students, and one wonders if the biology teachers are merely the result of this problem in the first place! Evolution is not as clear-cut in young people’s minds as we would like it to be; it is not enough to simply teach why A is wrong and B is right, trusting that the inherent logic is taken as read. Teaching methods must evolve to combat a new species of ignorance: intelligent design.

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