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Brian Alters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brian J. Altersis a Canadian academic who is a professor inChapman University's College of Educational Studies. He directs Chapman's Evolution Education Research Center,[1]has taught science education at bothHarvardandMcGillUniversities, and is regarded as a specialist in evolution education.

Biography

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Alters has a B.Sc. inbiologyand a Ph.D. inscience educationfrom theUniversity of Southern California.[citation needed]

Alters is the author of several books on biology and theintelligent designcontroversy. With his wifeSandra M. Alters,he has writtenBiology: Understanding Life[2]which he describes as "a university biology non-majors textbook", andTeaching Biology in Higher Education,[3]"a book written to instructors at the college level on how to teach biology". He is also the author ofTeaching Biological Evolution in Higher Education: Methodological, Religious, and Non-Religious Issues[4]which he says is "a book specifically about the conflict that instructors see students bring into their courses concerning evolution". Alters and Alters have also writtenDefending Evolution in the Classroom,[5]with a foreword byStephen Jay Gould,which aims to help science teachers to understand thecreation–evolution controversyand to teach evolution effectively in light of the controversy.[6]He also contributed a chapter to the a chapter inNot in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our Schools,[7]edited byEugenie ScottandGlenn Branchof theNCSE.

Because of this specialization, he was an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the 2005 caseKitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.[8][9][10]He was also brought in for the retrial ofSelman v. Cobb County[11]before that was settled out of court in favor of the plaintiffs.

In 2003, Alters was first awarded the McGill Faculty of Education's highest teaching award, the Distinguished Teaching Award, followed by the University-wide Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching.[12][13]

In 2005, he was appointed to the board of directors of the American-basedNational Center for Science Educationand received its "friend of Darwin" award.

In 2008, Alters became a co-host ofCBC Television'snationally broadcast prime-time science series Project X.[14]His co-hosts were Dr.Jennifer Gardy(bioinformatics/microbiology at theUniversity of British Columbia), Dr. Brian Fleck (professor of mechanical engineering at theUniversity of Alberta), and Marc Huot (mechanical engineering student at the University of Alberta).

Grant controversy

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In 2005 Alters was denied funding for a research project provisionally titled "Detrimental effects of popularizing anti-evolution's intelligent design theory on Canadian students, teachers, parents, administrators and policymakers." by theSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada(SSHRC). The SSHRC's reason for the rejection included the statement, "Nor did the committee consider that there was adequate justification for the assumption in the proposal that the theory of Evolution, and not Intelligent Design theory, was correct".[15]This was reported inNature[16]and other media.[17][18][19]

Letters were written to the SSHRC in support of Alters by theAmerican Institute of Biological Sciences,[20]theAmerican Sociological Association,theCanadian Society for Ecology and Evolution,[21]and others. The SSHRC replied by noting that "theory of evolution is not in doubt" but said that the reason for the rejection was that "the committee had serious concerns about the proposed research design".[22]

Bibliography

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  • Alters, Sandra; Alters, Brian J. (2006).Biology: Understanding Life.Hoboken, NJ:John Wiley & Sons.ISBN0-471-43365-9.OCLC58793066.
  • Alters, Brian J.; Alters, Sandra (2005).Teaching Biology in Higher Education.Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 107.ISBN0-471-70169-6.OCLC86082160.
  • Alters, Brian J. (2005).Teaching Biological Evolution in Higher Education: Methodological, Religious, and Non-Religious Issues.Sudbury, Mass.:Jones and Bartlett.p. 136.ISBN0-7637-2889-6.OCLC56103806.
  • Alters, Brian J.; Alters, Sandra (2001).Defending Evolution in the Classroom.Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett. p. 261.ISBN0-7637-1118-7.OCLC46343269.

References

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  1. ^Hanson, Brittany (January 31, 2014)."Panel forum brings climate change, evolution to O.C."Orange County Register.RetrievedApril 11,2016.
  2. ^Alters & Alters, 2006
  3. ^Alters & Alters, 2005
  4. ^Alters, 2005
  5. ^Alters & Alters, 2001
  6. ^"Defending Evolution: A Guide to the Evolution/Creation Controversy".Jones & Bartlett Learning.Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2008.RetrievedApril 10,2016.
  7. ^Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our SchoolsArchived2006-12-05 at theWayback MachineISBN0-8070-3278-6
  8. ^Expert witness report from Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School DistrictArchivedFebruary 21, 2006, at theWayback Machine
  9. ^testimony in Kitzmiller v. Dover
  10. ^Intelligent design decision reflects Dr. Brian Alters' testimonyArchivedMay 15, 2006, at theWayback MachineMcGill University press release, January 4, 2006
  11. ^Alters Expert witness report for Selman v. Cobb CountyArchivedSeptember 30, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  12. ^Brian Alters Wins Highest Teaching Award at McGill,National Center for Science Education
  13. ^"Ministry of Education and McGill team up to create novel teaching tools".Newsroom: McGill Institutional Communications.Retrieved2023-01-30.
  14. ^Project X - Home
  15. ^Canadian controversy over funding for research on antievolutionism
  16. ^Doubts over evolution block funding by Canadian agency,Nature
  17. ^No intelligent design, no $,The Scientist
  18. ^Prof denied grant over evolutionArchivedOctober 24, 2012, at theWayback Machine
  19. ^Intelligent design not smart enough for scienceArchivedAugust 5, 2011, at theWayback Machine,Windsor Star
  20. ^AIBS Letter to Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Regarding the Importance of Evolution
  21. ^CSEE letter to SSHRCArchivedSeptember 27, 2007, at theWayback Machineand
  22. ^SSHR reply to CSEEArchivedSeptember 27, 2007, at theWayback Machine
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