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Transforming Misconceptions: Using Transformative Experience to Promote Positive Affect and Conceptual Change in Students Learning About Biological Evolution
Author(s) -
HEDDY BENJAMIN C.,
SINATRA GALE M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.209
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1098-237X
pISSN - 0036-8326
DOI - 10.1002/sce.21072
Subject(s) - transformative learning , conceptual change , affect (linguistics) , psychology , mathematics education , conceptual framework , pedagogy , sociology , social science , communication
Teaching and learning about complex scientific content, such as biological evolution, is challenging in part because students have a difficult time seeing the relevance of evolution in their everyday lives. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science (TTES) model (Pugh, 2002) for facilitating conceptual change and positive affect in college students learning about evolution. Fifty‐five undergraduates experienced instruction on six key evolution concepts (adaptation, variation, inheritance, speciation, domestication, and extinction). Instruction enhanced with the TTES model was compared to a conceptual change intervention, using refutation text and discussion. Outcomes were assessed using the Evolutionary Reasoning Scale (Shtulman, 2006), the Transformative Experience Survey (Pugh, Linnenbrink‐Garcia, Koskey, Stewart, & Manzey, 2010a), and the Evolution Emotions Survey. The results showed that the group that experienced the TTES model showed higher levels of transformative experience and greater conceptual change than the comparison group. In addition, the treatment group showed an increase in enjoyment of the evolution content over the course of instruction. Implications for transformative experience as a conceptual change pedagogical technique are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 97:723–744, 2013