CTS Guide: Natural Section, pp 136-137- Section IV Research Summaries

How Organisms Evolve Through Natural Selection

• A common misconception students have about natural selection is the idea that organisms evolve in response to their needs or desires. This misconception, sometimes referred to as "teleological thinking," suggests that organisms evolve certain traits because they need them or because they want to adapt to their environment (Linn & Eylon, 2011).

• Many students tend to see adaptation as an intention by the organism to satisfy a desire or need for survival. They tend to believe in the Lamarckian theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics. This belief is common both before and after instruction in genetics and evolution (Driver et al. 1994).

• An older study by Brumby (1979) of Australian and English biology students showed that even after studying upper-level biology, only 18% of the students could correctly apply natural selection to evolutionary change. Most believed that individuals can adapt to change in the environment if they need to (Lamarckian belief) and that these adaptations are then inherited.

Natural Selection and Variation

• Some students may believe that natural selection directly creates genetic variation, when in fact, it acts on existing variation within a population (Meir et al. 2007).

Survival of the Fittest Interpretation

• Many people mistakenly think that the biggest individual is the fittest (BSCS 2005).