Students' conceptual ecologies and the process of conceptual change in evolution

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Abstract
Using conceptual change as a theoretical lens, the purpose of this study is to describe the structure of a learner's conceptual ecology within a specific content area (biological evolution) and to illustrate how this ecology influences the process of conceptual change. Data were gathered using participant observations in a high school Biology II classroom as well as a series of 17 open‐ended and structured interviews with each of four research participants. The interviews were designed to illustrate the participants' approaches to biology as well as to describe their changing conceptual frameworks for evolutionary theory. Interview techniques used include: concept mapping, drawing interviews, discussion of pre‐ and posttests, and sorting tasks. A learner's conceptual ecology for evolution was found to include prior conceptions related to evolutionary theory (both scientific and alternative), scientific and religious orientations, view of the biological world, and acceptance of evolutionary theory. However, the data demonstrate that the actions of these aspects of the conceptual ecology can vary among individuals and no single controlling mechanism was isolated. Most importantly, the data demonstrate that conceptual change has significant affective cornponents as evidence is evaluated by learners and this evaluation is often based on extralogical criteria. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.