Download Teach about the mechanisms of evolution

Understanding Evolution : Personal response question
For the instructor:
Pedagogical research indicates that students learn better if they are actively engaged. The
following slides require only a few minutes each and are designed to actively engage
students with lecture material on the topic of evolution by responding to multiple choice
questions. The class can use response technology (like “clickers”) to record their answers,
which are then presented as a histogram on the screen. A lower cost option is for students to
hold up colored pieces of paper (red = A, yellow = B, etc.), allowing the instructor to visually
assess the distribution of responses. The instructor can have students respond individually
or after short group- or pair-discussions. Used at the beginning of class, this type of question
can assess how well students have understood assigned reading or the previous lecture.
During the lecture, the instructor can use these questions to assess current understanding of
the lecture material, and based on the result, can further elucidate the concept. The
responses may reveal an underlying student misconception, which can then be addressed.
For tenacious misconceptions, instructors may wish to have students respond to the
question, discuss the topic with a partner and explain their answer, and then respond to the
question again, before the correct answer is revealed. In the majority of cases, students “selfcorrect” during these exercises.
This slideshow is provided by Understanding Evolution (understandingevolution.org) and is
copyright 2011 by The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the
Regents of the University of California. Feel free to use and modify this presentation for
educational purposes.
Understanding Evolution : Personal response question
Mutation is a random process.
a. agree
b. disagree
Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of
an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81:
991-1002
Understanding Evolution : Personal response question
Which one of the following statements
is accurate?
a. Natural selection works on variation
already present in a population.
b. Natural selection works on non-heritable
traits.
c. Individuals evolve through natural selection.
d. Organisms evolve structures that they need.
e. None of the statements are true.
Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of
an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81:
991-1002
Understanding Evolution : Personal response question
Genetic drift occurs in all populations, all
the time.
a. agree
b.disagree
Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of
an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81:
991-1002