Why? How? What?
Why?
How?
What?
Answer These Questions
• Why are you in college? Or, what do
you want to get out of your college
education?
• Why are you in this course? Or, what do
you want to learn or accomplish in this
course?
• What are the five most important
concepts in evolutionary biology?
Student Learning Goals
Why students are in college.
They want to be able to…
 Ability to communicate
effectively
 Ability to solve problems
 Gain confidence
 Ability to apply knowledge
 Ability to use time effectively
 Increase opportunities
Selection of responses from past
evolutionary biology courses
Student Learning Goals
Why students are in college.
They want to be able to…
 Ability to communicate
effectively
 Ability to solve problems
 Gain confidence
 Ability to apply knowledge
 Ability to use time effectively
 Increase opportunities
Selection of responses from past
evolutionary biology courses
Habits of highly successful
people (Covey 2011)
 Ability to communicate
effectively with persons inside
and outside your field
 Ability to solve problems
 Ability to obtain and process
information
 Ability to work effectively in a
team
 Ability to plan, organize and
prioritize
Goals For Course
• Big Ideas
– Mutation is random and is
the source of heritable
variation
– Most evolution happens as
a consequence of selection
operating on heritable
variation
– Shared ancestry explains
most of the similarities
among divergent organisms
– Biodiversity reflects the
process of cumulative
change in diverging
lineages over long periods
of time
– We can know the history of
life on Earth from direct
fossil evidence and by
inference
• Core Competencies
– Graphically, verbally, and
quantitatively represent
systems and problems
– Identify, create, and design
tests of alternative
hypotheses
– Correctly interpret
information (graphs, tables,
text, etc) and use the
information to construct
arguments based on
evidence
– Collaborate with people of
varying knowledge and
points of view toward
common goals
– Communicate with brevity,
clarity, and scientific
persuasion
Why These Content Goals?
• Central, foundational principles of
evolution
• Cross-cutting concepts that extend
beyond the realm of evolution and
biology
• Recurrent themes in all discussions
about the diversity and complexity of life
on Earth
Why These Process Goals?
• Map onto qualities that explain why
people are successful
• Align with published documents focused
on improving education (e.g. Vision and
Change)
• Central to the scientific process
Choose the Best Strategy for You?
• A) Lecture-based approach
• B) Student-centered active learning
• C) Some other strategy
How Are We Going to Learn?
• Emphasize activities that engage whole
brain
• Use methods that increase learning
effectiveness
• Concentrate on problems at high
cognitive levels
How We Learn
Senses
Hippocampus
Synapses
Short-term
Sight
Sound
Hearing
Taste
Feel
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
- +
Distraction
One sense
Whole brain
Learning
Consolidation
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
- +
- +
No Context Social
Lack of sleep interaction
List some things
positively
and
Sleep
Lack ofthat
exercise
Exercise
Bad diet
negatively influence
each
process
Good Diet
Attention
Multisensory
Replication
Reinforcement
Novel situations
How We Learn
Senses
Hippocampus
Synapses
Whole brain
Changes to
1) Number
2) Connectivity
Short-term
Sight
Sound
Hearing
Taste
Feel
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
- +
Distraction
One sense
Attention
Multisensory
Learning
What It Is
1) Use
2) Application
Consolidation
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
- +
No Context
Lack of sleep
Lack of exercise
Bad diet
Social
interaction
Sleep
Exercise
Good Diet
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
- +
Replication
Reinforcement
Novel situations
Active Learning
Active-learning
Lecture
Active learning achieves much greater learning gains
Deslauriers et al. 2011. Science
What Are We Going to Do?
• Use research-supported best practices
• Develop a cooperative learning culture
that values the contributions of everyone
• Engage in frequent self-reflection
Overview of a Learning Cycle
Assessment
Lecture
Analysis
Quiz
Case study
Self reflection
Group work
Homework
Review
Reading
What Is Active Learning: An Example
• Construct a concept map
– A concept map is a tool for organizing, connecting
and representing knowledge
A word
Linking phrase
Your Challenge
• Each individual constructs a knowledge
network for 8-10 words (concepts) in
evolutionary biology
• After about 5-10 minutes, each individual
works together with 2 to 3 other students to
construct a consensus network
• Each group draws their network on a white
board
• Students compare and contrast networks