Describes two investigative labs that use live plants to illustrate important biological principles, include quantitative analysis, and require very little equipment. Each lab is adaptable to a variety of class sizes, course contents, and student backgrounds. Topics include the evolution of flower size in Mimulus and pollination of Brassicas. (DDR)

Explores the use of concept mapping in a college course on evolution and the effect of the use of graphics in the instructional process on the construction of a concept map. Results indicate a positive correlation between concept map scores and the number of graphics used by the instructor during lecture. (JRH)

Presents an activity called "The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, Founder Effect, and Evolution" to allow students to learn about evolution in an engaging, constructivist manner. The activity also uses the tools of mathematics to learn several related biology concepts. (Author/SOE)

Notes that media scholars often resist the use of the evolutionary paradigm. Discusses two problems: an overly simplistic view of evolutionary models; and a distrust of ideological implications. Develops an evolutionary model proposing that gender differences in the consumption of sexually explicit media is, in part, the result of inherited…

Introduces a laboratory activity on biological diversity that focuses on mollusks and trees. (YDS)

Emphasizes discoveries at the frontiers of science. Includes an instructional poster illustrating the hydrothermal vent communities on the deep ocean floor. Describes research activities related to the new discipline of astrobiology, a multidisciplinary approach to studying the emergence of life in the universe. Research activities include the…

Discusses opportunities and challenges for the field of evolutionary biology, particularly in areas related to molecular genetic technologies, the environment, biodiversity, and public education. (Author/KHR)

The relationship between Eastern and Western languages is explored. Possible origins and the spread of language over the Eurasian land mass are discussed. (CW)

Major differences between plants and animals are presented. Discussed are autotrophs and heterotrophs, plant growth and development, gas exchange, the evolution of plants, ecosystem components, the alleged inferiority of plants, and fungi. (CW)

Summarizes recent findings that help in understanding how evolution has brought about the diversity of plant life that presently exists. Discusses basic concepts of evolution, diversity and classification, the three-line hypothesis of plant evolution, the origin of fungi, and the geologic time table. Included are 31 references. (CW)

Presented is a discussion of recent evidence on the evolution of human forms on earth gathered and evaluated using mitochondrial DNA techniques. Theories regarding the possibility that a common female ancestor existed in Africa about 200,000 years ago are discussed. A list of teaching aids is provided. (CW)

People for the American Way, a civil liberties organization that monitors censorship, found fundamentalists more active, better organized, more emboldened, and more sophisticated in their censorship attacks. They are increasingly intimidating school boards, and their focused harassment has increasingly frightened publishers into removing…

Demonstrates the magnitude of an extinction event by using a simulation to illustrate the massive nature of the loss of a family and the number of species that perish to achieve that result. (RT)

Summarizes the development of the Earth's age calculation including the work of Archbishop Ussher, James Hutton, Lord Kelvin, Ernest Rutherford, Bertram Boltwood, and Arthur Holmes. Describes the changes in radioisotope dating methods. (YP)

Undergraduates (n=25) participated in a study designed to describe and evaluate the use of concept mapping in teaching a college course on evolution; determine whether students' concept maps reveal "critical junctures" in learning as the course unfolds; and assess the impact of concept mapping on students' study practices and on…