2020-06-082020-06-082020-052020-5May 2020https://hdl.handle.net/2346/85731The teaching of evolution is considered central to developing students’ understanding of biology. Many states have strengthened their evolution standards in high school biology as they have adopted the NGSS standards or developed state standards that align with NGSS. Despite the endorsement of teaching evolution by the standards, evolution education is still controversial particularly in Southern states which can make the teaching of evolution more challenging for biology teachers. There exists a gap in the literature on how changes to state standards for evolution impact the teaching practices of biology teachers. A gap also exists for recent, state-wide research into the teaching practices for evolution in southern states. The present study sought to fill these gaps by investigating teaching practices for evolution and factors that influence high school biology teachers’ practices for teaching evolution in a state in the deep south, Alabama. This mixed methods study investigated internal and external factors related to attitudes toward evolution of high school biology teachers which can influence sensemaking for recently adopted evolution standards and teachers’ subsequent interpretation of these standards into teaching practices. Teachers were sampled from across the state using an online survey to gather quantitative and qualitative data. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with a subset of teachers to add depth and context to the findings of the survey. On the individual level, internal (e.g. attitudes toward evolution, knowledge of science and evolution, creationist attitudes) and external (e.g. education, state standards, challenges and supports for teaching evolution) factors played a role in how teachers made sense of the standards for evolution and their teaching practices for those standards. It was found that attitudes toward evolution correlated to knowledge of science and evolution, religiosity, and creationist attitudes. These factors were also influenced by the external factor of post-secondary education. The findings of this study indicated that having preservice and in-service biology teachers take an evolution course could have a positive impact on evolution education in Alabama. Taking an evolution course was associated with higher levels of perceived relevance and knowledge of science and evolution and fewer creationist attitudes which were associated spending more time teaching evolution. How teachers make sense of standards is influenced by internal and external factors and determines how they will translate the standards into lessons in their classrooms. Most of the sampled teachers assimilated the new standards into their previous frame of reference as they were teaching evolution in the depth and manner described by the standards prior to the adoption of the 2015 standards. Some participants assimilated the new standards into their frame of reference by making changes to their practices to meet the depth and performance nature of the standards. Despite the influence of standards on the teaching of evolution indicated by these findings, it was also found that some biology teachers in Alabama are teaching creationism and/or ID and limiting or eliminating evolution instruction in their classes. This portion of the biology teacher population is likely underrepresented in this study. The present study found that most of the biology teachers sampled were teaching evolution in a manner that is consistent with the wording of NGSS and the Alabama biology standards. They were using a variety of pedagogies and activities shown by previous study deepen student understanding of the process of evolution and reduce student resistance. However, the teaching of evolution was met with some challenges. Sampled teachers most frequently cited religious conflict as a challenge to teaching evolution for which they requested professional development that addresses both evolution content and strategies for managing conflict in their classes.application/pdfengEvolutionBiologyHigh schoolSensemakingTeachersEvolution educationThesis2020-06-08Unrestricted.