Evolution is a fundamental principle in biology, yet students, teachers, and the public at large all too often misunderstand the way it works. I introduce a hands-on exercise that emphasizes tree-thinking and phylogenies to organize biodiversity. During the activity, students observe and investigate the patterns and processes of macroevolution by first building unique specimens through gradual, stepwise changes in characters. They then switch specimens with another group and, by observing shared characters, hypothesize the evolutionary relationships of the specimens by drawing phylogenies. The exercise has been used for several years, and pretest—posttest results confirm that it significantly improves student understanding of macroevolution and phylogenetics.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 January 2016
Modeling Macroevolution with Invented Creatures
Christopher G. Brown
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
The American Biology Teacher
Vol. 78 • No. 2
February 2016
Vol. 78 • No. 2
February 2016
active learning.
evolution
evolutionary tree
phylogenetics
phylogeny
Tree-thinking