“REFRAMING THE DEBATE OVER TEACHING EVOLUTION”

or

(“Beyond Scopes and Dover: The issue of teaching evolution is more complicated than you thought.”)

Presented by:
Michael Kohut, M.S.
(formerly Michael Tidwell)
Doctoral student in Anthropology, Vanderbilt University

SATURDAY, MARCH 20TH – 2:00 P.M.

FIRST UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
1808 Woodmont Blvd.

Sponsored by:
AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE – NASHVILLE CHAPTER

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Questions or further information:
Dave Thomas
(615) 262-8035
born2step@gmail.com

Mike Kohut is PhD candidate in anthropology at Vanderbilt University.

He will be discussing preliminary findings from ongoing research in Eastern Tennessee, where he is studying implementation of the new state science standards, particularly how teachers are covering the topic of evolution (referred euphemistically in the standards as “change over time”). In the presentation, Kohut will provide an overview of the ongoing project and summarize results from personal interviews with students, parents, and teachers.

As an ethnographer, Kohut is sympathetic to the challenges faced by teachers regarding teaching the topic. He has observed that, due to a confluence of personal, social, and political factors, teachers are often motivated to ignore, down-play, or undermine the evolution curriculum.

These results have implications for science education, casting doubt on not only education standards generally, but also for the position of science in society.

Finally, he will explore ways of reframing the debate over teaching evolution in public schools.

Questions and discussion to follow the talk.