Young Children Can Be Taught Basic Natural Selection Using a Picture-Storybook Intervention
Deborah Kelemen1
Natalie A. Emmons1
Rebecca Seston Schillaci1
Patricia A. Ganea2
1Department of Psychology, Boston University
2Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Deborah Kelemen, Boston University, Department of Psychology, 64 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 E-mail: dkelemen@bu.edu
Natalie A. Emmons, Boston University, Department of Psychology, 64 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 E-mail: nemmons@bu.edu
Author Contributions D. Kelemen and P. A. Ganea developed the initial concept. D. Kelemen, R. Seston Schillaci, and P. A. Ganea contributed to the design of Experiment 1. R. Seston Schillaci performed data collection for that experiment, and R. Seston Schillaci, D. Kelemen, and N. A. Emmons conducted the analyses. N. A. Emmons, D. Kelemen, and R. Seston Schillaci contributed to the concept and design of Experiment 2. N. A. Emmons performed data collection for that experiment, and N. A. Emmons and R. Seston Schillaci conducted the analyses. D. Kelemen, N. A. Emmons, and R. Seston Schillaci drafted the manuscript, and P. A. Ganea provided revisions. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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Abstract
Adaptation by natural selection is a core mechanism of evolution. It is also one of the most widely misunderstood scientific processes. Misconceptions are rooted in cognitive biases found in preschoolers, yet concerns about complexity mean that adaptation by natural selection is generally not comprehensively taught until adolescence. This is long after untutored theoretical misunderstandings are likely to have become entrenched. In a novel approach, we explored 5- to 8-year-olds’ capacities to learn a basic but theoretically coherent mechanistic explanation of adaptation through a custom storybook intervention. Experiment 1 showed that children understood the population-based logic of natural selection and also generalized it. Furthermore, learning endured 3 months later. Experiment 2 replicated these results and showed that children understood and applied an even more nuanced mechanistic causal explanation. The findings demonstrate that, contrary to conventional educational wisdom, basic natural selection is teachable in early childhood. Theory-driven interventions using picture storybooks with rich explanatory structure are beneficial.
evolution natural selection learning children childhood development science education cognition
NOTA DESTE BLOGGER:
A falência epistemológica do Darwinismo é tão fragorosa, tão patente na literatura especializada, especialmente a incapacidade evolucionária da seleção natural, que esta pedagogia desenvolvida para alcançar e conquistar corações e mentes de crianças nos remete às escolas dos lenços vermelhos em que as crianças eram ensinadas os DOGMAS MARXISTAS!!!
O nome disso não é EDUCAÇÃO, o nome disso é DOUTRINAÇÃO!!! Brevemente será copiado nas diretrizes educacionais do MEC sem nenhuma contraposição pedagógica!
O nome disso não é EDUCAÇÃO, o nome disso é DOUTRINAÇÃO!!! Brevemente será copiado nas diretrizes educacionais do MEC sem nenhuma contraposição pedagógica!
