Examines how the theory of evolution was received by the scientific community at the time of its inception to provide insight into some of the difficulties that students have in learning some important biological concepts. Contains 82 references. (DDR)

This position paper supports the exclusion of the special creation doctrine in science classrooms. Reviews the current controversy concerning legislative actions mandating the teaching of scientific creation in classrooms, presents creationists' and evolutionists' viewpoints, and discusses the philosophical disparity between creation and…

Describes and discusses an epistemological approach to the education of science teachers that emphasizes similarities in knowledge and modes of acquiring knowledge among children, scientists in their historical contexts, and student teachers. (ZWH)

Assesses students' learning of evolution by natural selection within four different sections of an introductory biology course where each section used a different combination of curricular materials and instruction. Reports that comparisons between sections support the use of paired problem-solving instructional strategy in conjunction with the…