Teaching Evolution with the Aid of Science Fiction‪.‬

In the blockbuster X-Men films, mutant people with telepathy, the ability to control the weather, or amazing healing powers consider themselves "the next step in human evolution." In Jurassic Park, DNA recovered from a mosquito embedded in amber is used to recreate the dinosaur it came from. Everyone knows these are fictional stories, but do students understand where science leaves off and fiction begins? In this article I recommend using science fiction to confront their misconceptions about biology and encourage higher-level thinking (application, evaluation) about some of the more complicated issues in evolutionary theory. Using science fiction to teach evolutionary biology has several major benefits. First, it provides an engaging medium for exploring concepts that are difficult because they are abstract. Important aspects of the theory are often fairly subtle, such as the facts that not all mutations are deleterious; that evolutionary change is seen in populations, not individuals; and that organisms may not be perfectly adapted to their environment. Science fiction frequently contains errors, while many students accept the printed word as truth. They must be made aware that evolutionary biologists studying real organisms require hard evidence and falsifiable hypotheses. Once provided with correct background information and a working knowledge of the scientific method, students can discover and correct misconceptions through critical reading and discussions.