Rationale
This inventory is being developed to assess misconceptions present in student thinking for any and all courses that feature an evolutionary component. It will address key issues in evolutionary adaptation, such as what constitutes an adaptation, why adaptations originate, persist, or disappear, and the link between traits and the fitness benefits associated with these traits.
Development Timeframe
Preliminary open-ended interviews with students have been conducted and a number of questions have now been developed. Following the creation of more questions, student and final expert validation, it is anticipated that this inventory will be ready for use in spring 2013.
Number of Questions
A total of 30-40 questions based on relevant issues in applied evolutionary biology (fisheries evolution, adaptation to anthropogenically modified environments, evolutionary medicine, climate change, invasive species) are planned for this inventory.
Contributors
Michelle Tseng and Greg Bole are teaming up to develop the Adaptation Inventory. To read biographical information about these two, click on their names and head to the ‘People’ page, from where you can also message them directly.
