On Teaching Evolution

Written by members of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science who have tackled the topic of evolution in their classroom for decades, On Teaching Evolution offers practical advice and sample lesson plans for fellow science teachers. Learn about what inspired them to love teaching evolution and the experiences that help guide their teaching practices.

Contributing authors include: Bertha Vázquez, Amanda Clapp, Blake Touchet, Chance Duncan, David Upegui, John Mead, Nikki Chambers, Patti Howell, Reginald Finley, David Mowry, Kenny Coogan, Robert Cooper, and Kathryn Green.

Bertha Vázquez is a retired science teacher who taught middle school for thirty four years in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She is the education director at The Center for Inquiry, an international nonprofit organization that promotes reason and science. She runs a teacher-led network of over one hundred teachers who have presented over four hundred professional development sessions for their fellow teachers in all fifty US States. Thanks to her work in evolution education, she was awarded the National Association of Biology Teachers' 2017 Evolution Educator Award, and the 2023 National Center for Science Education's Friend of Darwin Award. Her multi-faceted approach to teaching climate science has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Earth magazine, and in a book and film series by Lynne Cherry titled Empowering Young Voices for the Planet. Her efforts awarded her the 2008 National Environmental Education Richard C Bartlett Award, among others. She is the lead author of Corwin Press' What Teachers Want To Know About Teaching Climate Change (February 2025). Ms. Vazquez has also worked in several translation projects, including the translation of Maria Jinich's book into English, A Brief History of Four Billion Years of Evolution: Understanding Darwin. A regular contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine and speaker at skeptical and humanist conferences, Bertha is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. In her spare time, Bertha is an avid tennis player and bashful ukulele player. She lives in Miami, Florida with her husband, son, and two dogs.