Exploring student ideas about biological

variation

An understanding of biological variation is important for understanding

ecological interactions, ecosystem function, and species’ response to
environmental change. Biological variation is essential to species survival
because natural selection acts upon the phenotypic variation within a
population: the more varied the population’s genetic resources, the more likely
that the population will persist into the future. We explored how students think
about biological variation by evaluating written assessments and interviews of
grades 6–16 students about starting a captive breeding programme for
species conservation. We created a qualitative framework that describes
levels of proficiency in student ideas about biological variation. Lower level
responses reason about attributes related to an individual’s reproduction and
survival rather than population-level variability. Student responses at a middle
level of sophistication point to the importance of variation but do not link it
mechanistically to species survival and resilience. We also describe alternative
conceptions related to biological variation and natural selection which exist at
all grade levels. Educators can use these findings to inform curriculum and
instruction in terms of addressing important concept areas (e.g. variation at the
population scale) and some common alternative conceptions that may impact
an accurate understanding of natural selection and evolution.