The Tree-thinking Challenge: Analyzing the Use of Evolutionary Trees with Secondary Education Students

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Gonzalo Peñaloza
Jairo Robles-Piñeros

Abstract

This paper deals with an analysis of tree thinking development in ninth grade
secondary education students of a public school in Bogota (Colombia); for this, transcriptions of class recordings, field and observation notes, and data analysis documents were used. A qualitative approach was used to study the students’ explanations, arguments and schematic representations about the evolutionary relations between some species and their common ancestor. The observations and interpretations made allow to assert that the students are able to develop tree thinking and to build evolutionary relations. However, using the visual representation of evolutionary trees requires teachers to receive a kind of training that would allow them to take into account and overcome the difficulties documented in this work.

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How to Cite
Peñaloza, G., & Robles-Piñeros, J. (2016). The Tree-thinking Challenge: Analyzing the Use of Evolutionary Trees with Secondary Education Students. Journal of Biology Education, 19(1), (pp. 54–72). https://doi.org/10.59524/2344-9225.v19.n1.22530
Section
Investigaciones y desarrollos
Author Biographies

Gonzalo Peñaloza, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

Biologo de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Master en Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad de la Universidad de Quilmes, Estudiante del Programa de Doctorado Interinstitucional en Educación de la Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas.

Jairo Robles-Piñeros, Universidade Federal da Bahia

Licenciado en Biología de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional de Colombia, Programa de Maestria en Enseñaza, Filosofía e Historia de las ciencias de la Universidad Federal de Bahia.