E-word in the classroom

Wichita-area teachers say they concentrate on helping students think critically instead of just teaching the theory
BY JOSH FUNKWichita (Kan.) Eagle
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/11110532.htm

When biology teacher Judith Spor introduced a new unit to her students recently, she jokingly warned them that she was getting ready to use the "E-word": evolution.
Spor jokes about evolution with her students at Northeast Magnet High School because the ongoing political debate over state science standards makes the theory controversial.
But Spor, and other Wichita-area teachers, said that the topic doesn't generate much controversy in science class.
"In the past 26 years, I've only had one parent call me concerned about their kid being exposed to evolution, and that was in 1975," said Pat Paske, who teaches science at Derby High School. "In sex education, you get 15 to 20 calls a year."
Differences over how evolution should be taught are at the heart of the debate over new science standards the State Board of Education will adopt later this summer.
But science teachers in Wichita and Derby said they didn't change how they taught evolution in 1999, the last time the standards changed, and they don't expect to change now. Not even if the state board decides to encourage more critical analysis of evolution.
The board influences science teaching only in that the standards dictate what's included on the state science test. Ultimately, local districts decide for themselves what's taught.
In Spor's class, students watched the comic movie "Evolution" as part of her introduction to the unit on how things change over time. Then they had to write an essay about how the movie relates to class.
"A lot of the questions I hear are from kids who heard some news about it but didn't understand what it was about," said Spor, who also teaches biology at Cowley County Community College.
Wichita and Derby teachers said they focus on scientific evidence in their classrooms. They encourage students to explore outside of class any other ideas about how life changes over time.
"You have the right to believe in what you believe in, but I teach science, and that's what we're going to deal with in class," said Randy Mousley, who teaches at Wichita's Stucky Middle School.
By the time teachers get to the unit on evolution, usually in January, students have spent a semester learning about the scientific method and how theories explain what scientists have observed and verified through research.
Barry Raugust, who teaches at East High School, said he tells students to stick to the rules of science in his class. That includes considering only natural evidence that can be observed and measured, and only theories that have withstood scrutiny from other scientists.
He also tells them that science is limited by those rules.
"Any theory in science is never going to explain everything you observe," Raugust said.
Sandy Tauer, instructional coordinator for science and math in Derby, agreed.
"It's important to remember that science cannot answer all questions," she said.
And there is no way to cover everything in one year of high school biology because there is so much to cover and because new research is constantly adding to what scientists know, Derby science teacher Elizabeth James said.
"We can't teach kids all they need to know," James said. "We don't even know what they'll need to know 20 or 30 years away."
That's why science teachers put more emphasis on helping students understand the scientific method than on having them memorize certain theories.
James said that gives them a skill they can carry through their remaining school years: how to develop and test a hypothesis. In other words, to think critically for themselves.
"I never say, 'This is what it is, memorize it,' " James said. "I want them to understand what we think and why we think it is."
Every year one or two of the 140 biology students in Derby might question the theory of evolution, Tauer said, but the district requires students only to understand the theory. That matches the current language of the state standards.
"You have to know what these things mean," she said. "You don't have to believe them."
Tauer said the Derby district tells teachers who are questioned about evolution to:
• Be respectful and acknowledge that different people have different viewpoints and beliefs about where life originates.
• Explain that what's taught in school is the most accepted viewpoint in science.
• Encourage students to do additional research or meet with their teacher outside class to pursue the subject further.
Wichita science curriculum specialist Sharon McCue said the district wants to make sure students are also prepared for college entrance exams and college science courses.
"We're not only looking at state standards, but also at the ACTs," McCue said.