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Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Improving Student Outcomes with an Adaptable Molecular Cloning Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

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Published on: November 15, 2024

Teaching genetics prior to teaching evolution improves evolution understanding but not acceptance.

Rebecca Mead¹, Momna Hejmadi¹, Laurence D Hurst¹

¹The Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, England.

|May 26, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Teaching genetics before evolution significantly improves student understanding of evolution, especially for lower-ability learners. This simple change enhances knowledge retention and requires no additional resources.

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Area of Science:

Science Education
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics Education

Background:

Genetics and evolution are often taught separately to secondary students.
The optimal teaching order for genetics and evolution is not well-established.
Microevolution can be viewed as an extension of genetics concepts.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of teaching order on student understanding of evolution and genetics.
To determine if prior genetics instruction improves evolution comprehension.
To assess long-term retention and acceptance of evolutionary concepts.

Main Methods:

A large-scale trial involving secondary school students (14-16 years old).
Students were taught genetics and evolution in different orders.
Understanding and acceptance were assessed using modified questionnaires before, immediately after, and months post-instruction.

Main Results:

Teaching increased both understanding and acceptance of evolution, with long-term retention observed.
Teaching genetics before evolution significantly improved evolution understanding by 7% compared to the inverse order.
Lower-ability students showed improved evolution understanding only when genetics was taught first.
Teaching genetics first also enhanced genetics knowledge.

Conclusions:

Teaching genetics prior to evolution is a highly effective, zero-cost intervention to improve student understanding of evolution.
The order of instruction significantly impacts learning outcomes, particularly for students with lower prior attainment.
While knowledge improved, acceptance of evolution was not significantly affected by teaching order, indicating a weak correlation between knowledge and acceptance.