Evolution Education and the Nature of Science: Strategies for the Classroom
Paul J. Narguizian

Abstract
There is a critical need for effective evolution education. This paper highlights some of the evidence that demonstrates that need and analyzes several aspects of the nature of science and how it can be illustrated during the course of evolution instruction. Biological evolution is a critical component to understanding the biodiversity of life on earth. Teachers and students of science alike, address the topic of evolution as a series of facts which tend to focus greatly on definitions and descriptions about life on earth while missing the underlying scientific methodology which was and is currently being used to explain how living things have evolved over time. The teaching of evolution coupled with an understanding of the nature of science (NOS) can provide teachers with a strong pedagogical tool to address important aspects in evolution education (Nickles, et al. 1996). Special emphasis is placed on the concept that science is testable; predictions and explanations about the natural world are based on empirical evidence; and knowledge and information about the natural world can be gathered through scientific experiments and data analysis. Finally, a variety of practical recommendations of effective methods for applying the approach of combining the topics of evolution and the nature of science are presented.

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