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Using the Evolutionary Attitudes and Literacy Survey with a pre-test/post-test comparison, an experimental group completed pre-laboratory work using the “Evo in the News” articles, while a control group completed similar work without exposure. Results showed significant improvement in the experimental group’s perceptions of evolution’s relevance to real-world scientific problems and daily life, supporting cost-effective classroom integration.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/evo-in-the-news-understanding-evolution-and-students-attitudes-toward-the-relevance-of-evolutionary-biology/594589/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/evo-in-the-news-understanding-evolution-and-students-attitudes-toward-the-relevance-of-evolutionary-biology/594589.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Ben ","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-25","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":26},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"How did the study evaluate the impact of “Evo in the News” on students?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It used a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with an experimental group assigned “Evo in the News” pre-laboratory articles and a control group assigned similar work without that exposure.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What instrument measured students’ attitudes toward evolution?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Students’ attitudes toward evolution and related changes were measured using the Evolutionary Attitudes and Literacy Survey.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What was the main outcome for the experimental group?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"At the semester’s end, the experimental group showed significant improvement in perceiving the relevance of evolution to real-world scientific problems and to their daily lives, unlike the control group.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},594589,1792888111,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":26,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":101,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},2336478951081,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","“Evo in the News:” Understanding Evolution and Students’Attitudes Toward the Relevance of Evolutionary Biology  \nLynn M. Infanti and Jason R. Wiles*  \nDepartment of Science Teaching, Syracuse University, 101 Heroy, Syracuse, NY 13244  \n*Corresponding Author: [j](jrwiles@syr.edu)[rwiles@syr.edu](jrwiles@syr.edu)  \nAbstract: This investigation evaluated the effects of exposure to the “Evo in the News” section of the Understanding Evolution website on students’ attitudes toward biological evolution in undergraduates in a mixedmajors introductory biology course at Syracuse University. Students’ attitudes toward evolution and changes therein were measured using the Evolutionary Attitudes and Literacy Survey. We employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test/post-test comparison wherein an experimental group was assigned pre-laboratory work using“Evo in the News” articles while a control group was assigned similar pre-lab work without exposure to “Evo in the News.” At the conclusion of the semester, the experimental group showed significant improvement in their perceptions ofthe relevance of evolution to understanding real-world scientific problems and to their daily lives while the control group did not. Incorporating “Evo in the News” activities into an introductory biology course is a cost-effective and non-labor-intensive way to expose students to ongoing, practical science research based on evolutionary theory. This study supported the hypothesis that exposure to real-world applications of evolutionary theory such as those featured in “Evo in the News” is correlated with increases in students’ attitudes toward evolutionary science, particularly with regard to their perceptions ofits relevance.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nBiology is a broad and complex field of study, encompassing areas as diverse as biochemistry and ecology and everything in between. There are, however, unifying principles that tie together the study of all of these seemingly independent subtopics. Among the most central of these unifying principles is biological evolution (Alles, 2001; Dobzhansky, 1972; Gould, 2001; Linhart, 1997; Wiles, 2010) .  \nThe teaching of evolution though, particularly in the United States, has been beset with difficulties that have led to poor understanding of evolution among the general public (Alters, 2005; Alters & Alters, 2001; Cobern, 1994; Demastes et al., 1995; Lawson & Worsnop, 1992; Scott, 2004; Sinclair & Pendarvis, 1998; Wiles & Ashgar, 2007; Wiles, 2010) . Numerous polls ofthe general public have demonstrated that, compared to citizens of other industrialized nations, Americans exhibit a striking lack of understanding and acceptance of evolution and related aspects of science (Miller et al., 2006; Wiles, 2010) . In addition, it appears that a substantial portion of the American public tends toeschew evidence-based scientific theories on the history and diversity of life on Earth and, instead, favors non-scientific explanations that are rooted in religious creationism, including its recent incarnation known as “intelligent design”(Alters & Alters, 2001; Nelson, 2008; Wiles, 2010) .  \nConsidering the social divide over evolution and its implications for teaching, Wilson (2005) asserted that regarding evolution there are “two walls of resistance, one denying the theory altogether and the  \nother denying its relevance to human affairs”(p.364) . Wilson’s (2005) EVoS program was designed to overcome both of these walls; however, the program requires replacing the introductory biology courses that have become firmly entrenched at most universities with a full course centered on evolution and its applications. Herein we explore a potential means of surmounting at least the second of these walls within the context of an existing biology course with minimal curricular change. Students may find difficult concepts such as evolution more engaging and potentially easier to understand when they are able to see the relevance of the content (Hill","cbCaieNjFtWZAQd8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieNjFtWZAQd8","pdf",104890,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Challenges in teaching evolution\n## Social resistance and relevance barriers\n## Pedagogical media and supporting resources\n## Purpose and study context","[{\"question\":\"How did the study evaluate the impact of “Evo in the News” on students?\",\"answer\":\"It used a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with an experimental group assigned “Evo in the News” pre-laboratory articles and a control group assigned similar work without that exposure.\"},{\"question\":\"What instrument measured students’ attitudes toward evolution?\",\"answer\":\"Students’ attitudes toward evolution and related changes were measured using the Evolutionary Attitudes and Literacy Survey.\"},{\"question\":\"What was the main outcome for the experimental group?\",\"answer\":\"At the semester’s end, the experimental group showed significant improvement in perceiving the relevance of evolution to real-world scientific problems and to their daily lives, unlike the control group.\"}]","Evo in the News - Understanding Evolution and Students’ Attitudes Toward the Relevance of Evolutionary Biology | PDF",1792079446,15]