The tree thinking in Biology education

• Grant number: 14/22947-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Educational Teaching and Learning
• Principal Investigator: André Victor Lucci Freitas
• Grantee: Marcela Dambrosio
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Phylogenetic Systematics is the scientific field that studies the genealogical relationships among organisms and a phylogenetic tree is the most direct visual representation of evolution. It has achieved an important position in evolutionary studies, although, there still a lack of its comprehension among the public and even among the scientists. Not only there are many people unable to interpret evolutionary trees, but the idea of progress in evolution is also commonly widespread as well. Among the most common misunderstandings, the idea of progress in evolution is undoubtedly the one, which contradicts the most modern ideas about the evolutionary process. The present analysis aims at diagnosing the idea of progress in evolution and other misconceptions in undergraduate biology students. Furthermore, it aims to verify the possibility of using tree thinking teaching as a pedagogical tool for dismissing the misleading idea of progress in evolution.