evolution education at the undergraduate level

Evolution Education at the Undergraduate Level

Peter WhiteMerle Heidemann

Jim Smith

• The Evo-Ed Project: What is it?

• “[Students] leave schools without fully understanding how well supported evolutionary theory is.”

• “Many teachers are not scientifically capable of teaching evolution using modern approaches.”

(above) Word cloud of the Aims and Scope of journals that have “Evolution” in their title

• Science Teaching Must Evolve:– Learning of evolution as an integrative biological

theory.– Resources for science teachers so they can teach

evolution as an integrative biological theory.• The Two-Track Problem:

1. Cell and Molecular Bio., Genetics, Biochemistry2. Organismal Bio., Ecology, Evolution (capstone course? integration here?)

• The Evo-Ed Project:– A Case Approach to Evolution Education– Integrative cases that explore trait evolution

across biological scales.

Trichromatic Vision Evolution

in Primates


in Primates

Fur Color Evolution in Beach Mice


in Primates


Seed Taste Evolution in Field

Peas


in Primates



Peas

Toxin Resistance Evolution in

Clams


in Primates



Clams


Peas


in Primates



Peas


Clams

Mouse Fur Color

c(tyr)

Tyrp1Tyrp2p

MC1R protein is stimulated and facilitates cAMP production.cAMP is used to regulate gene expression.

Pea Seed Taste

LB145: Introductory Cell and Molecular Biology- Spring semester 2012- Second course in intro-bio sequence- 66 Students (mostly sophomores)- Taught by Jim Smith (Peter White G.L.)- Cells & Organelles / Cell Energetics / Dogma

The Evo-Ed Project:– A Case Approach to Evolution Education– Integrative cases that explore trait evolution across biological scales.

LB145: Introductory Cell and Molecular Biology- Spring semester 2013- Second course in intro-bio sequence- 66 Students (mostly sophomores)- Taught by Jim Smith (Peter White G.L.)- Cells & Organelles / Cell Energetics / Dogma

The Evo-Ed Project:– A Case Approach to Evolution Education– Integrative cases that explore trait evolution across biological scales.

The Assessment Tool for Evaluating Evolution Knowledge(ATEEK)

- Iterative design process (Anderson and Bishop 1990)

1. Determine essential concepts important to evolution.2. Design an assessment tool that probes for those concepts.3. Field test the assessment tool.4. Evaluate student responses. Revise a given question if the

pattern of responses differs from the expected pattern.5. Field test the revised assessment tool.6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until satisfied with the pattern of

answers.

The ATEEKQ1. Jaguars can have an orange coat or a black coat. Orange jaguars have either two G alleles or one G allele and one g allele, whereas black jaguars have two g alleles.

When a jaguar has the genotype gg, what happens so thata black coat is produced?

Q2. Toxican mushrooms contain a toxin that causes vomiting when ingested. Recently, some Toxican mushrooms were found that did not produce the toxin.

Describe in detail what might have happened at the molecular level so that these mushrooms no longer produce this toxin?

Q3. The non-poisonous Toxican mushroom has become more frequent in mushroom populations and poisonous Toxican mushrooms have become rare.

Define Natural Selection and use it to explain this scenario.

Q4. Considering genetic mutation –(i) Describe, at the molecular level, what a mutation is.(ii)Use your answer from part (i) to describe the process whereby a mutation results in a

change at the phenotype level.

LB145: Introductory Cell and Molecular Biology

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4i Q4ii0

0.5

1

1.5

2 Pre-CoursePost-Course

Aver

age

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core

(n =

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**

**

LB145

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LB144

BS162

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LB145

*

*

*

*

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(n =

74)

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LB144

BS162

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LB145

*

*

*

*

Did not use integrative cases.

Organismal Biology Courses

Used integrative cases.

Cell and Molecular Biology Course

Aver

age

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ent S

core

(n =

74)

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LB144

BS162

Aver

age

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ent S

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(n =

94)

LB145

*

*

*

*Used integrative cases.

Cell and Molecular Biology Course

Did not use integrative cases.

Organismal Biology Courses

Aver

age

Stud

ent S

core

(n =

74)

Connect genotypes to phenotypes.

Describe the cellular

mechanism of phenotypic expression.

Understand the genetic

basis of mutation.

Describe how mutation results in a phenotype change.

Apply NS to explain

change in allele freq.

The ATEEK

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LB144

BS162

Aver

age

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ent S

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(n =

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LB145

*

*

*

*Learned cell and molecular

biology in a cell and molecular biology course.

Didn’t learn cell and molecular

biology in organismal

course.

Aver

age

Stud

ent S

core

(n =

74)

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4i Q4ii0

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LB145

1. What is the difference between the R67 and C67 alleles? Specifically how do their nucleotide sequences differ and what is the resulting difference in the amino acid sequences they produce?

2. What is the role of the MC1R protein in eumelanin pigment synthesis in Peromyscus polionotus (i) dark fur populations and (ii) light fur populations?

3. What role does natural selection play in determining the coat color of Peromyscus polionotus populations? Briefly describe some of the studies that have been done to support this.

4. Do populations of Peromyscus polionotus with light fur tend to have a high C67 allele frequency? Why or why not?

5. What phenotypes do the following genotypes typically code for: R67R67, R67C67, C67C67

6. Can the genotype R67R67 result in a phenotype different from the one you listed above? Why or why not?

Case Questions(Final Exam)

Multiple Regression Analysis:

Post-Course ATEEK = Pre-Course ATEEK + Course Grade + Case Score

(F3,55 = 13.76, Adjusted R2 = 0.40)

Variable Standard Coefficient

Standard Error t-value p-value

Pre-Course ATEEK 0.37 0.12 3.4 0.0013

Course Grade 0.11 0.054 0.82 0.42

Case Score 0.36 0.13 2.8 0.0077

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4i Q4ii0

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LB145

Variable Standard Coefficient p-value

Pre-Course ATEEK 0.37 0.0013

Course Grade 0.11 0.42

Case Score 0.36 0.0077

• Use of cases was linked to higher post-course ATEEK scores.

• Suggestive that an integrative cases approach may help students in their learning of evolution.

(F3,55 = 13.76, Adjusted R2 = 0.40)

The Evo-Ed Project:• “[Students] leave schools

without fully understanding how well supported evolutionary theory is.” Cases may help students understand how novel

phenotypes arise starting from the most basic building blocks of life.

Cases give students concrete examples of evolution.

Integrative approach good idea anyways? (Data seem to support it too)

The Evo-Ed Project:• “Many teachers are not

scientifically capable of teaching evolution using modern approaches.”

• Evo-Ed Website:http://www.evo-ed.com

• Explanation of cases andcorresponding .ppt resources.

Games/Simulations

LB145LB144

Next Steps:1. Include population genetics and speciation into our

assessment tool (ATEEK).2. Among-courses analysis:

3. Continued development and dissemination of the case approach and our education resources.

Biology Students

Case Approach

Low Use of Cases

Approach

Cases Approach

No Cases Approach

Cases Approach

No Cases Approach

Cases x 2

Cases x 1

Cases x 1

Cases x 0

Acknowledgements:Partial support for this work was provided by the NSF TUES program under Award No. 1043876. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Thanks to Kathis Ellis, Joe Murray, Miles Loh, Kendra Cheruvelil, Chuck Elzinga, Gerry Urquhart, Cherryl Murphy, Andy Jarosz, Doug Luckie, Craig Nelson and Lyman Briggs College for their contributions to the project.

Questions?

evolution education at the undergraduate level

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