Evolution

Louise Mead, Michigan State University

In 1973 Theodosius Dobzhansky wrote an article titled “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution,” published in American Biology Teacher. Dobzhansky explains that “seen in the light of evolution, biology is, perhaps, the most satisfying and inspiring science. Without this light it becomes a pile of sundry facts, some of them interesting or curious but making no meaningful picture as a whole.”

By applying a range of pedagogical approaches that focus on student engagement, Evolution helps instructors introduce students to the “light” of evolution by exploring the patterns, processes, and mechanisms that shape the diversity of life on the planet.

Course under development

IN EVERY CODON COURSE, STUDENTS… 

  • Develop more effective study habits through metacognitive practice

  • Actively engage in structured rounds of self-testing in a personalized Study Path

  • Structure their learning around transparent and measurable learning objectives 

  • Understand exactly what the instructor wants them to learn

  • Receive immediate feedback and focus on challenging concepts and skills

KEY FEATURES OF THE COURSE:

  • A personalized Study Path that helps students develop stronger metacognition skills and improve their study habits

  • More than 300 auto-graded interactive assessment questions that include immediate feedback that can be used for pre-class preparation, homework assignments, or exams 

  • 55 transparent and measurable learning objectives (for units 1-5) that can be linked to open resources and journal articles

  • Instructors can customize the courseware to match the topics they want to teach— selecting, editing or adding relevant learning objectives, assessments, and instructional materials

  • Instructors gauge students’ progress and can address conceptual difficulties

Topics (available this fall)

  • Unit 1: Mechanisms of Evolution

  • Unit 2: Evolutionary Trees and Phylogenetics

  • Unit 3: Evolutionary Interactions

  • Unit 4: Speciation and Macroevolution

  • Unit 5: History of Evolutionary Thinking

coming in future releases

  • Unit 6: Molecular and Genome Evolution

  • Unit 7: Life History Evolution

  • Unit 8: History of Life, Fossil Record, Major Evolutionary Transitions

  • Unit 9: Human Evolution

 
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The Author

Dr. Louise Mead is the Education Director for the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action and teaches Introductory Biology and Ecology Lab for the Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University and Teaching Evolution for the MSSE program at Montana State University. Her disciplinary-based education research focuses on student understanding of evolutionary concepts.