Tanner Mortimer, Utah Valley University
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Surveys show that nearly half of all Americans reject evolution as an explanation of the origin and diversity of life on Earth, especially when concerning human evolution. (Gallup 2007). Furthermore, there is a correlation between the rejections of evolutionary science with a belief in a Christian God-creator (Gallup 2007).
Objective: The goal of this study is to explore the student perceptions and knowledge of evolution at UVU by carrying out interviews coupled with a pre-test post-test survey.
Methods: Dr. Ogden and Dr. Holt have been gathering data from the non-majors and Biology majors introductory courses for the past year. We will use a subsample of these participants, and carry out a private interview to more fully understand the reasons why students accept or don’t accept evolution at the beginning of the semester. We also want to examine why students change or don’t change their minds by the end of the semester. We plan quantify the qualitative answers by the use of an organized structure of coding.
Results: Preliminary results suggest that as students gained knowledge of evolution, the confliction of their worldviews decreased. However, those students who had a strong sense of God-mediated control also had, in general, a negative attitude towards evolution.