Additional file 1
Survey of Professional Development Needs for Evolution Instructors
Q1.1 The purpose of this survey is to better understand the professional development needs of Missouri biology teachers regarding evolution teaching. Your participation will inform the design of a new evolution course for teachers and may improve the professional development opportunities available to Missouri biology teachers. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. At the end of the survey, you may enter into a drawing to win one of four $75 Amazon gift certificates. To enter the drawing, you will be prompted to enter your email address which will be kept separate from your data. Your participation is voluntary and you may terminate your participation at any time. Your participation will be kept confidential.
Q2.1 Are you currently teaching at least one general biology course?
q Yes (1)
q No (2)
Answer If Are you currently teaching at least one general biology c... No Is Selected
Q2.2 Did you teach at least one general biology course last year?
m Yes (1)
m No (2)
If No Is Selected, Then Skip To End of Survey
Q2.3 Counting this year, how many total years have you taught a high school general biology course? (Do not count student teaching.)
Q2.4 Select your undergraduate degree
q Biology (1)
q Biology Education (2)
q Unified Science with Biology emphasis (3)
q Unified Science, not biology emphasis (4)
q Other (5) ______
Q2.5 Have you completed an evolution course at either the graduate or undergraduate level?
m Yes (1)
m No (0)
Q2.6 Have you completed a master's degree?
m Yes (1)
m No (0)
Answer If Have you completed a master's degree? Yes Is Selected
Q2.7 Which category best describes your master's degree program?
m Education (1)
m Administration (2)
m Biology or Biology Related Field (3)
m Other (4) ______
Q2.8 Which category best describes your current teachercertification?
m Biology 9-12 (1)
m Unified Sciences with biology emphasis 9-12 (2)
m Unified Sciences with chemistry emphasis 9-12 (3)
m Unified Sciences with Physics emphasis 9-12 (4)
m Unified Sciences with Earth Science 9-12 (5)
m Not certified in Biology or Unified Sciences 9-12 (6)
Q2.9 What was your path to certification in biology?
m Undergraduate major (1)
m Master's with certification (2)
m PRAXIS Exam (3)
m Post-baccaulaureate certification with no master's (4)
Q3.1 Which of the following professional organizations are you currently a member? Check all that apply.
q Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM) (1)
q National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) (2)
q National Association of Biology Teachers (3)
q Not a member of any of these three organizations (4)
Q3.2 How many biology teachers, other than yourself, are in your science department?
m 0 (1)
m 1 (2)
m 2 (3)
m 3 or more (4)
Q3.3 Based on the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA), how is your school classified?
m Class 1 (1)
m Class 2 (2)
m Class 3 (3)
m Class 4 (4)
m Class 5 (5)
Q3.4 How would you characterize your school?
m urban (1)
m suburban (2)
m rural (3)
Q3.5 How would you rate the following individual/groups in regard to their level of support for teaching evolution? For the items below, if you don't know, indicate neutral.
not supportive (1) / neutral (2) / supportive (3)prinicipal (1) / m / m / m
school board (2) / m / m / m
community (3) / m / m / m
other science teachers in your buildings (4) / m / m / m
Q3.6 In an average year, how many parents contact you expressing concern related to your evolution instruction?
m None (0)
m 1 (1)
m 2 (2)
m 3 (3)
m 4 or more (4)
Q4.1 Howfamiliar are you witheach of the following web-based evolution resources?
Not familiar (1) / Somewhat familiar, but have not used (2) / Familiar and used once in my classes (3) / Very familiar and regularly use in my biology classes (4)Berkeley's Understanding Evolution website (1) / m / m / m / m
Berkeley's How Science Works website (2) / m / m / m / m
PBS Nova's Evolution website (3) / m / m / m / m
Institute of Human Origin's Becoming Human website (4) / m / m / m / m
Q4.2 List any other web-based evolution education websites that you use.
Q4.3 Howfamiliar are you witheach of the following teacher resource books for teaching evolution?
Not familiar (1) / Somewhat familiar, but have not used (2) / Familiar and used once in my classes (3) / Very familiar and regularly use in my biology classes (4)Science, Evolution, and Creationism (National Academy of Sciences) (1) / m / m / m / m
NSTA's An Inquiry Into Biological Evolution (2) / m / m / m / m
NSTA Tool Kit for Teaching Evolution (3) / m / m / m / m
Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science (National Academy Press) (4) / m / m / m / m
The Creation Controversy & the Science Classroom (NSTA) (5) / m / m / m / m
Q4.4 List any other teacher resources books that you use for teaching evolution.
Q4.5 Other Evolution Education Resources: Please list and briefly describe natural selection labs, computer simulations, assessments, or any other helpful teaching resources that you currently use.
Q5.1 Please rate your level of understanding of each of the following evolution topics.
No understanding (1) / Limited understanding (2) / Adequate for teaching general biology (3) / In-depth understanding for teaching an advanced biology course (4)Natural Selection (1) / m / m / m / m
Human Evolution (2) / m / m / m / m
Origin of Life (3) / m / m / m / m
Microevolution (4) / m / m / m / m
Macroevolution/Speciation (5) / m / m / m / m
Allele frequencies (6) / m / m / m / m
Contemporary Examples of Evolution in Action (7) / m / m / m / m
Cladograms/Phylogenetic trees (8) / m / m / m / m
Molecular evidence (9) / m / m / m / m
Fossil evidence (10) / m / m / m / m
Homologies/vestigial traits (11) / m / m / m / m
Geological Timeline (12) / m / m / m / m
Nature of Science (13) / m / m / m / m
Q5.2 Are there other evolution topics you would like to know more about?
Q5.3 How confident are you in your ability toeffectively teach each of the following topics in a general biology course?
Not confident (1) / Somewhat Confident (2) / Confident (3)Natural Selection (1) / m / m / m
Human Evolution (2) / m / m / m
Origin of Life (3) / m / m / m
Microevolution (4) / m / m / m
Macroevolution/Speciation (5) / m / m / m
Allele frequencies (6) / m / m / m
Contemporary Examples of Evolution in Action (7) / m / m / m
Cladograms/Phylogenetic trees (8) / m / m / m
Molecular evidence (9) / m / m / m
Fossil evidence (10) / m / m / m
Homologies/vestigial traits (11) / m / m / m
Geological timeline (12) / m / m / m
Nature of science (13) / m / m / m
Q5.4 What additional support do youneed to increase your confidence in effectively teaching evolution ?
Q5.5 If you were to participate in a professional development class/workshop for teaching evolution, how much emphasis would you prefer be placed on each of the following?
No emphasis (1) / Some emphasis (2) / Great emphasis (3)contemporary evolution examples (1)b / m / m / m
current evolution research (2)b / m / m / m
evolution simulations (3)b / m / m / m
evolution video resources (4)a / m / m / m
evolution investigations using real data and/or live organisms (5)b / m / m / m
responding to opposition to evolution (6)a / m / m / m
sequencing of evolution topics in the curriculum (7)a / m / m / m
common student misconceptions related to evolution (8)a / m / m / m
writing evolution assessment items (9)a / m / m / m
introducing evolution to students (10)a / m / m / m
connections to other units (11)a / m / m / m
evolution in the Frameworks for K-12 Science Education & Next Generation Science Standards (12)c / m / m / m
evolution in Missouri CLEs (13)c / m / m / m
Nature of Science (14)a / m / m / m
aBasic pedagogy
bContemporary evolution instruction
cStandards-based evolution instruction
Q5.6 Would you be interested in participating in an on-line community of evolution educators?
m Yes (1)
m No (0)
Q5.7 Reflecting on your pre-service teacher education program, how could you have been better prepared to teach evolution?
Q6.1 Please think back to thelast time you needed to respond to a concern or questionregarding your evolution teaching. This concern may have been from a parent, administrator, student, etc. Which statement best describes that experience?
m I felt uncomfortable and unsuccessful addressing the concern. (1)
m I felt uncomfortable but successful addressing the concern. (2)
m I felt comfortable but was unsuccessful in addressing the concern. (3)
m I felt comfortable and successful addressing the concern. (4)
m I have never experienced any concerns or questions about my teaching of evolution. (5)
Q6.2 Currently, what obstacles do you face in teaching evolution?
Not an obstacle (1) / Small obstacle I can overcome on my own (2) / Constant obstacle I struggle with (3) / Great obstacle that hinders my instruction (4)Evolution is not emphasized on state tests (1)a / m / m / m / m
Lack of content knowledge regarding evolution content (2)a / m / m / m / m
Lack of confidence in my ability to effectively teach evolution (3)a / m / m / m / m
Lack of resources to teach evolution (4)b / m / m / m / m
Lack of support from my administration (5)a / m / m / m / m
Lack of support from my department/peers (6)a / m / m / m / m
Lack of support from parents/community members (7)a / m / m / m / m
Fear of controversy (8)a / m / m / m / m
Negative student response (9)a / m / m / m / m
Lack of good labs (10)b / m / m / m / m
Poor textbook (11)b / m / m / m / m
Lack of supplemental materials (12)b / m / m / m / m
m / m / m / m
aObstacles to getting support for teaching evolution
bObstacles to getting appropriate materials for teaching evolution
Q7.1 Consider the last year you taught a general biology course. Did you teach evolution?
m Yes (1)
m No (0)
Answer If Consider the last year you taught a general biology cours... Yes Is Selected
Q7.2 In a typical school year, what percent of your instructional time is devoted to evolution?
Answer If Consider the last year you taught a general biology cours... Yes Is Selected
Q7.3 Which of the following best describes your approach to evolution instruction?
m I teach evolution as one stand-alone unit. (1)
m I teach evolution throughout the year, but do not teach one unit devoted to evolution. (2)
m I teach one unit devoted to evolution, but I also teach evolution as a unifying concept throughout the school year. (3)
Answer If Consider the last year you taught a general biology cours... Yes Is Selected
Q7.4 How much time do you devote to each of the following topics?
No time (1) / Less than 50 minutes (2) / 50 - 150 minutes (3) / More than 150 minutes (4)Natural Selection (1) / m / m / m / m
Human Evolution (2) / m / m / m / m
Origin of Life (3) / m / m / m / m
Microevolution (4) / m / m / m / m
Macroevolution/speciation (5) / m / m / m / m
Contemporary examples of evolution (6) / m / m / m / m
Cladograms/Phylogenetic trees (7) / m / m / m / m
Molecular evidence (8) / m / m / m / m
Fossil evidence (9) / m / m / m / m
Homologies/vestigial traits (10) / m / m / m / m
Geological timeline (11) / m / m / m / m
Nature of science (12) / m / m / m / m
Q8.1 Thank you for completing the survey. If you would like to be entered in a drawing for one of four $75 Amazon.com gift certificates, please enter your email address below. Your email address will be separated from your survey data so that email address and data are not linked. All responses and emails will be kept confidential.