Evolving How We Teach Evolution

By Linda Crouch posted 11-07-2025 14:37

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How confident are you in teaching evolution? Whether you're a classroom teacher, home educator, or work in an educational setting such as a museum, the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath wants to support you in teaching this fundamental concept clearly and effectively.

At the recent National Secondary Science Conference, Beth Morillo-Hall from the Milner Centre shared exciting developments—including free training and classroom resources designed to deepen understanding and spark curiosity in evolution.

If you’re not yet familiar with the Centre’s research published in 2017, it’s worth a closer look. The findings revealed that:

Students who were taught genetics before evolution scored 7% higher on evolution-related knowledge assessments than those who studied evolution first.

There was also an improvement in performance on genetics questions when this sequencing was used. This suggests that reordering your biology curriculum to introduce genetics first could enhance student understanding of both topics.
Read more in The Conversation article

What Is Evoscope?

Beth introduced Evoscope—an innovative, free-of-charge educational package that includes:

Teacher training to build subject knowledge and confidence
A practical investigation in which students observe bacteria evolving the ability to move
An assessment game that evaluates learning in a low-stakes, engaging way

These resources are designed to make the abstract concepts of evolution tangible, memorable, and relevant for students of all ages.

Get Involved

Whether you’re looking to enrich your evolution teaching, rework your biology curriculum, or try something new in the classroom, Evoscope offers a flexible, research-informed solution.

🔗 Register your interest in the Evoscope programme

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Nicholas Souter

12-07-2025 07:16

While genetics explains the process of evolution, teachers’ confidence in this area is confused by the “controversy” that stretches back as far as the publication of Darwin/Wallace’s theory, and the over publicised 1860 Oxford evolution debate.

Do we give the "controversy" to much credence?

We discussed this:

“Teachers need to recognise that family, friends, the media and even they contribute to a child’s awareness of the world around them. Children’s reliance on sources during the early years can also be unquestioning, e.g. ‘the teacher said so’. As written earlier, learning science involves developing a series of skills that involve observations, hypothesis testing and experimentation.

“Faith and science are alternative philosophies. Science and religion may provide opposing ideas, notably where host communities’ views oppose scientific ideas, in particular those relating to Darwin’s theory of evolution (e.g. the creationist movement).

“The associated undermining of the science curriculum to provide a ‘balanced’ coverage between creationism and evolution is an example of curricular, not scientific, controversy.

“Such conflict need not exist. It does not exist in science, nor does it exist in most religious thinking. Many past and current scientists have held and continue to hold strong religious beliefs. The Jesuit scholars within Roman Catholicism were responsible for great strides in astronomy for example.

“The scientific evidence to support evolutionary theory is overwhelming; belief in the existence of God is accepted by all major monotheistic faiths. Each describes different philosophical viewpoints. Whilst science changes our perceptions of the natural world, which is perhaps its prime purpose, it cannot be used to prove or disprove the existence of God through experimentation. In June 2019, Professor Brian Cox explained that he could not be sure there was no God, continuing that science cannot answer every question (Cox, 2019). The rhetoric of religious questions lies in different domains and frequently invites questions that seek to explain our existence.”

(From Chambers, Paul., Souter, Nicholas. Explaining Primary Science, (3rdedn.). (2024), London: SAGE, p. 15)