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What Is BYU Doing for Science Education in Utah?
An article in the journal Evolution: Education and Outreach describes an outreach program in Utah for aiding the teaching of evolution in state public schools. The program is called the Utah Evolution Education Program and six of the nine authors of the article are BYU faculty (plus at least one former). From the article, Evolution Education in Utah: A State Office of Education–University Partnership Focuses on Why Evolution Matters:
The Utah Evolution Education Program is a partnership between the Utah State Office of Education, individual school districts throughout the state, and a group of seven university professors with backgrounds in evolutionary biology, genetics, and geology. Our primary goal is to provide resources to teachers as they apply the state science standards in biology and earth systems, both of which rely on knowledge of the theory of evolution. Beyond this, our efforts are focused on creating a forum in which school boards, public school administrators, public school teachers, and our university team can openly discuss concerns and challenges to teaching evolution in each respective school district. Finally, our program is designed to empower public school teachers with recent advances in evolutionary biology that can be integrated into their curricula and that clearly illustrate the value of evolutionary biology as a theory with practical applications to improve the human condition. In short, our approach is to show all members of the public school community—including elected school boards, administrators, public school teachers, and ultimately students—what evolution is and why it matters.If you would like more detail, go read the whole thing. Oh, and Go Cougars!
8 comments:
Yes, go Cougars indeed! and interesting article.
Tolman and Fairbanks both previously taught at BYU. I had classes from both of them there.
Velma Itamura, apparently the only one who hasn't taught at BYU, was fired from her job in April 2009 for reasons that are still unclear. See http://kvnuforthepeople.com/2009/04/23/state-science-cirriculum-developer-fired/
Evolutionary ideas are sometimes perceived as having NO practical value. The cited article identifies four hugh areas: medicine, forensics, agriculture, & conservation.
It is important for the public to realize that evolution as science is NOT going away. The basic facts are here to stay, just like gravity and the spherical nature of our planet.
Ignorance of evolution comes at one's peril.
I am glad to read that BYU is STILL aggressively promoting the topic.
That is so cool! Any chance of having Chris Buttars declared evolutionarily incompetent to be in government? =:)
Seriously though, is there any measurable resistance to this? Any responses of shock or dismay by the conservative population?
"Ignorance of evolution comes at one's peril."
Well said.
It's a shame that more people don't realize that evolution is one of the most well supported sciences we have. It is essential to every aspect of biology. I'm very proud of the fact that BYU is a national leader in evolutionary studies.
LDS should be leaders in every science, including evolution. (I still find it sad that there are those who write that BYU biology has gone astray because they embrace a narrow literalism that damages both science and the scriptures.)
Go Cougars indeed.
Whoops, that came out badly. BYU doesn't embrace a literalism, the so-called defenders of ID and creationism do.
Re: "BYU doesn't embrace a literalism, the so-called defenders of ID and creationism do."
I think people interested in this debate should avoid broad stroke categorizations of people who oppose some evolutionary concepts.
I know a few YECs who oppose all of evolution.
I know some IDers who oppose certain aspects of evolution but accept other aspects of the theory.
And there are people like myself who accept some parts of evolution but are very skeptical of other parts for philosophical, scientific, and theological reasons.
Too often we bunch everyone who is critical of evolution into the YEC camp. This tactic is a convenient generic straw man for attacking anyone who opposes evolution as a blundering biblical literalist.
There are sound philosophical of science and theological reasons for claiming that certain parts of evolutionary theory are suspect. While I expect proponents of the theory to defend it rigorously, I expect reasonable scholars to acknowledge that no scientific theory is infallible or exempt from change (e.g., luminiferous ether, phlogiston), including faculty at BYU.
-The cougars are going.
Nice blog
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