This article provides two activities, exploring genetic drift of small breeding populations, highlighting the black-footed ferret ("Mustela nigripes"). According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, all black-footed ferrets are descended from 18 individuals, making them extremely vulnerable to genetic drift. They were thought to be…

In this article, we present the simulation software called Aipotu and we propose a way to use it in order to promote Evolution Learning and Teaching. Through activities, included in a worksheet, students gradually gain new knowledge not only on evolution and its genetic base but on the concept of simulation and scientific modeling as well. Aipotu…

Evolution by natural selection is key to understanding life and of considerable practical importance in public health, medicine, biotechnology, and agriculture. "The Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) include natural selection among several evolutionary concepts that all third-graders should know. This article explores a novel…

Genetic drift is a concept of population genetics that is central to understanding evolutionary processes and aspects of conservation biology. It is frequently taught using rather abstract representations. I introduce three real-life zoological examples, based on historical and recent color morphs of tigers, tapirs, and ravens, that can complement…

In this study, we investigate museum visitor learning and engagement at an interactive visualization of an evolutionary tree of life consisting of over 70,000 species. The study was conducted at two natural history museums where visitors collaboratively explored the tree of life using direct touch gestures on a multi-touch tabletop display. In the…

Molecular similarity is one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution--and one of the most difficult for students to grasp. That is because the underlying observations--that identical mutations are found in closely related species and the degree of similarity decreases with evolutionary distance--are not visible to the human eye. And it's…

The Y chromosome is of great interest to students and can be used to teach about many important biological concepts in addition to sex determination. This paper discusses mutation, recombination, mammalian sex determination, sex determination in general, and the evolution of sex determination in mammals. It includes a student activity that…

Biological evolution is one of the over-arching concepts recommended for student learning by the "National Science Education Standards." As with all such complex concepts, student understanding of evolution is improved when instruction includes hands-on, inquiry-based activities. However, even authors writing in strong support of teaching…

Cladistics is one of the most commonly used methods for reconstructing evolutionary ancestries. Developed by Willi Hennig in 1966, cladistics use patterns of shared derived characters called synapomorphies to infer the order of lineage divergences within a group of organisms. Unfortunately, while this methodology forms the foundation of many…

Describes an interactive computer program which can be used by students to construct adaptive landscapes of two types as an illustration of the expected effects of selection. Simulates effects of selection on populations of this type and changes of gene frequency can be plotted on the same contour map. (Author/MA)

Presents a simple activity that simulates natural selection working on random mutations through many generations. (PR)

Describes the new public television series called "The Secret of Life," and explains how the program can be used in an elementary school classroom. Large color poster is included. (PR)