In the master's thesis, we will investigate how much prior knowledge about evolution students have in the eighth grade of elementary school, how much knowledge they acquire about this topic in the ninth grade, and how much knowledge about evolution they have left after one year of studying this topic. Through the research, we will also gain insight into students' misconceptions about evolution before and after the topic is discussed. We will also find out which knowledge is best preserved in long-term memory. In the theoretical starting point, we will describe the previous research that has been carried out in the field of understanding and memorizing evolution, which is discussed in Slovenian elementary schools. In the curriculum, we will look for learning objectives related to evolution that students should achieve in elementary school. I will use a causal experimental method and a quantitative research approach. We will include approximately 200 students in the eighth grade of elementary school and the first year of high school in the research. The data will be collected in the 2022-2023 school year, the instrument will be a questionnaire containing a survey part and a knowledge test. With our research, we will get an insight into topics in the field of evolution (humans) with which students have no problems, but above all into topics with which they do. This information will be important for both practicing teachers and other professionals involved in biology education.
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