{"id":3595,"date":"2021-04-07T19:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T23:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/edt431-531\/?p=3595"},"modified":"2021-04-07T19:40:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T23:40:00","slug":"unlearning-preconceived-ideas-addressing-alternate-conceptions-in-the-biology-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/2021\/04\/unlearning-preconceived-ideas-addressing-alternate-conceptions-in-the-biology-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlearning Preconceived Ideas: Addressing Alternate Conceptions in the Biology Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’m sure we are all familiar with the ideas that human blood is blue in the veins, or humans evolved from apes. These are known scientific facts, right? Actually, I, and my fellow aspiring science teachers, are here to tell you that those two widely accepted scientific ideas are WRONG! It is one of the most important jobs of a science teacher to address alternate conceptions of ideas that are thought<\/em> to be scientific fact. In this blog post, I am going to outline three different ways that we can do this in our science classrooms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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from google: https:\/\/evolution.berkeley.edu\/misconceps\/IIBcrisis.shtml<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Before debunking scientific myths, which the part that we are all waiting for, I am first going to explain a littler bit more about misconceptions and how we can respectfully “debunk” them in our classroom in an informed way. Students may acquire different misconceptions about scientific facts due to lack of exposure to the content, upbringing, or influence from peers. Regardless of how students might have learned false information, it is our job as a science teacher to help them ‘unlearn’ it in an informed manner, while still respecting their original acquisition of information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biology Debunking: 3 different classroom approaches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Approach 1: Human Evolution<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the more common misconceptions that students have have to do with the evolution unit. We can start this unit by first addressing common misconceptions by asking students what they know about evolution before even learning the unit. Depending on their upbringing and different influences, students may have differing opinions on evolution; this is important to keep in mind while bringing up this topic and debunking misconceptions on this topic. Ensure that you are being respectful when correcting the original thoughts of studnets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Misconception Addressed: Humans have evolved from apes<\/li>
  • Misconception ‘Debunked’: Humans have common ancestors with Apes that have evolved over time into the separate species of apes and humans<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    A great way to debunk this misconception early is to show students this youtube video before getting into notes on the unit: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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