ASE 2027 Annual Conference

Evolution is the most important concept in biology, yet it is often taught as an abstract topic with limited opportunities for practical investigation. Misconceptions surrounding evolution and natural selection remain common amongst students and the wider public, while teachers can face challenges relating to subject confidence, curriculum time, resourcing and practical accessibility. This workshop draws on ongoing PhD research at the University of Bath investigating how experimental evolution may support the teaching of evolution in a more engaging, accessible and evidence-informed way.

The session aims to:
• explore common misconceptions surrounding evolution and natural selection;
• examine current challenges and gaps in evolution education;
• share emerging findings from an ongoing research project into experimental evolution in educational settings;
• provide participants with hands-on experience of an experimental evolution activity using Pseudomonas fluorescens;
• reflection on how inquiry-based practical approaches may support evolution education across diverse settings.

Participants will begin by exploring some of the most persistent misconceptions surrounding evolution, including teleological thinking, misunderstandings around “survival of the fittest”, and the idea that evolution only occurs over millions of years. Through discussion and short interactive activities, the workshop will examine why these misconceptions remain prevalent and how they may be reinforced unintentionally within teaching and popular culture.
The session will then introduce an experimental evolution teaching package developed as part of an ongoing PhD project. Using genetically modified Pseudomonas fluorescens, the practical demonstrates the re-emergence of bacterial motility under selection pressure, enabling students to observe evolutionary change over a short timescale. Participants will engage with elements of the practical activity themselves and explore how the approach has been adapted to improve accessibility across a range of educational contexts, including schools with limited laboratory facilities.

Emerging findings from the study will be shared alongside discussion of inquiry-based learning, practical science, accessibility and student engagement. The session will conclude with opportunities for reflection and discussion around broader questions for biology education, including how evolutionary thinking might be more coherently embedded across the curriculum as a conceptual “golden thread”.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• identify common misconceptions associated with evolution education;
• discuss barriers affecting the teaching of evolution in schools;
• explain how experimental evolution can be used to support understanding of natural selection and adaptation;
• evaluate the benefits and limitations of inquiry-based practical approaches within evolution education;
• reflect on how evolutionary concepts could be revisited more coherently within biology teaching.