Avida-ED is award winning digital evolution software that provides students with the opportunity to learn fundamental evolutionary concepts while simultaneously engaging in authentic science practices. In this way, Avida-ED is exceptionally well aligned with reform-based teaching practices, such as those advocated by the Next Generation Science Standards and Vision & Change. We present preliminary results of a multiple-case study on the classroom implementation of Avida-ED and its effects on student understanding and acceptance of evolution. Students were assessed prior and subsequent to engagement in exercises involving Avida-ED. Both content understanding and acceptance of evolution as a real phenomenon that explains the diversity of life on earth and is sound, evidence-based science were assessed. We found that students in lower-division biology courses saw significant increases in both understanding and acceptance of evolution after engaging in lessons that used Avida-ED.

1. Learning with Digital Evolution Software:
Improving Student Understanding and Acceptance of Evolution
Amy Lark, Wendy Johnson, Louise Mead, James Smith, Gail Richmond, and Robert T. Pennock
Michigan State University
EDUCATION
A real, observable instance of
evolution in action. Populations of
digital organisms genuinely evolve
via Darwinian mechanisms.
Random mutations occur as
individual organisms replicate
resulting in variation that is subject
to selection as organisms compete
for resources in a digital
environment.
A model for biological evolution.
Evolving populations of digital
organisms show the same general
patterns found in biological systems
but do not require the same time and
material resources.
An opportunity for student
engagement in authentic science
practices. Students ask
questions, develop
hypotheses, design and conduct
experiments, collect and analyze
data, and engage in argumentation
from evidence.
Ancestor organism genome and resultant
offspring genome after replication at a
15% mutation rate. Mutated instructions
are circled in green.
Visit our website for more information on the Avida-ED project and to download FREE software and lesson materials. http://avida-ed.msu.edu
A virtual Petri dish containing
a population of Avidians. The
range of colors represents
variation in relative fitness
among organisms.
To what extent does learning with Avida-ED influence
student understanding and acceptance of evolution?
To answer this question, students from a broad range of
institutions were assessed before and after engagement
in lessons involving Avida-ED.
Pre/Post Assessment
Content – Score based on student constructed
responses to two questions on fundamental evolutionary
concepts:
• Explain how variation arises in a population.
• What characteristics of a life form are required for it to
evolve?
Acceptance – Score based on ten Likert-scale questions
(1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree) on the degree
to which evolution: happens, explains the diversity of life
on Earth, and is valid, evidence-based science.
These preliminary data suggest:
• Students are learning fundamental evolutionary
concepts with Avida-ED
• Students are becoming more accepting of evolution
• The more students learn, the more they accept
Six of ten cases showed significant increases in content score from
pre- to post-test. All of these were lower-division courses. Two upper-
division courses did not show significant increases possibly due to the
nature of the assessment, which asked students about fundamental
concepts that the upper-division students have likely already
mastered.
Six of ten cases showed significant increases in acceptance score
from pre- to post-test. These were the same lower-division courses
that showed significant increases in content score. Two of the upper-
division courses showed high initial acceptance, which is perhaps to
be expected of students who have already taken a number of
courses in college science.
A Pearson correlation analysis reveals a significant, positive relationship
between pre/post change in content score and change in acceptance
score across the ten cases. This indicates that cases with increased
content scores tended to show a concomitant increase in acceptance
score.
Numbers in circles represent the size of each institution’s student body (rounded estimates based on published institution profiles; circle areas are not to scale).
Numbers in boxes represent the number of students completing the pre- and post-assessment for each case. Cases are color-coded to match institution.
To investigate the influence of learning with Avida-ED on student understanding of concepts fundamental to evolutionary
biology, we assessed students prior and subsequent to engagement in activities utilizing the software. We used a multiple-
case approach to examine patterns across ten cases at eight different institutions. Cases varied in institution size and type;
course type, level, and size; instructor; and number of students assessed.
The Avida-ED Project is funded by NSF grant #OIA-0939454.