Got Fitness?
or
Does SIZE matter?
Group 4- Evolution
Teachable unit-Fitness
Facilitator- Lianna Etchberger
Brian, Miles, Devon, Ralph, Jane, Cheryl, Nish
Context
• Introductory Biology course (freshman)
• In this same course, students will have
already been exposed to:
– Inheritance
– Genetics
– Evolution and Religion (not mutually
exclusive)
– Scientific processing skills (graphing)
Diversity
• Hands-on activity in small groups
– all students included in learning
Misconceptions
• There are “good”
traits and “bad”
traits.
• Bigger/more/stronger
/faster is better.
Learning Goals
Learning Outcomes Activities
1. Understand the terms:
Clicker questions
components of relative
fitness (survival, ability to Appropriately use all
Online quiz (prereproduce, # and success the key terms
presented in lecture. lecture)
of offspring, etc.), trait,
mutation, environment,
phenotype.
Graph and analyze
2. To recognize how fitness data to demonstrate Bill size exercise
depends on the
the relationship
interactions between traits between environment
and the environment.
and relative fitness.
Homework
3. Apply recently learned
knowledge to real world
examples.
Make predictions of
fitness based on
Second lecture w/
description of trait
clicker cases:
and environment with Darwin’s finches
new examples
Human Skin Color
(application of
concept).
Thanks Sara Olson! We stole this from you!
Assessment
Bloom's Level
Instructor and class
review and correct
misconceptions.
(formative)
2:Comprehension
Discussion after each
trial to evaluate
results.
3: Application
Graph data in class
5: Synthesis
Homework-analysis
and interpretation
In class clickers and
group discussion
Novel example on
final exam
4. Analysis
6. Evaluation
Summative Assessment
• Final exam question:
Apply concepts to a new/different example of
natural selection.
Interpret a brief data set through a set of
multiple choice questions.
Learning Goal: To recognize how fitness depends
on the interactions between traits and the
environment
Relative fitness (Objective 1)
survival
reprod
uction
?
fitness
finding
a mate
?
?
Objective 2
• Illustrate and interpret the relationship
between environment and relative fitness.
• Activity- bill foraging experiment
Bill experiment
•
•
•
•
•
Clips= Bill
Food source: nuts (3 size classes)
Time: 30 seconds/run
Groups=3 individuals with each beak size
2 trials, 3 conditions- mixed nuts, all small, all
large
• Record data on each trial on handout
• Calculate how well each individual did compared
to the most successful one in their trial
• Graph/sketch their own data in class in small
groups.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Three people, each person must have a different size beak (clip)
There will be small, medium or large nuts to pick up with the beaks
Can only pick up one nut at a time! It must be collected in your hand
30 second time limit
Predictions: rank which beak size will get the greatest number of nuts
(first=highest, second, third=lowest)
beak size
large
medium
small
beak size
large
medium
small
beak size
large
medium
small
environment 1 (given)
prediction
counts
calculation
relative fitness
environment 2 (based on student hypotheses)
prediction
counts
calculation
relative fitness
environment 3 (based on student hypotheses)
prediction
counts
calculation
relative fitness
Calculation of frequency
• Example:
# of nuts relative fitness
– Large beak
10
– Medium beak 5
– Small beak
2
100%
?
?
(all nuts present)
Beak size prediction counts
Large
second
Medium
Small
first
third
120
calculatio relative
n
fitness
6
4
6
100
66.66666
667
100
Relative "fitness"
Env. 1
100
80
60
40
20
0
Large
(only large nuts)
calculati relative
on
fitness
Beak size prediction counts
Large
Medium
Small
Env. 3
first
5
100
second
third
2
0
40
0
(only small nuts)
calculati relative
on
fitness
Beak size prediction counts
Large
Medium
Small
Small
BEAK SIZE
Environment 1
third
8
80
second
8
80
first
10
100
Environment 2
Environment 3
120
Relative "fitness"
Env. 2
Medium
100
80
60
40
20
0
env. 1
env. 2
env. 3
ENVIRONMENT
large
medium
small
Homework
• Students can work in groups or individually.
• Using the entire class data set, students must be
able to:
–
–
–
–
Articulate research question
Predict results
Identify dependent/independent variables
Calculate relative average fitness values for each beak
size in each of the three environments
– Graph
– Summarize significant findings
– Limitations of simulation compared to real life examples
Learning Goals
Learning Outcomes Activities
Assessment
Bloom's Level
Discussion after each
trial to evaluate results.
Graph and analyze
2. To recognize how fitness data to demonstrate Bill length exercise
the relationship
Graph data in class
depends on the
interactions between traits between environment
and relative fitness.
Homework-analysis
and the environment.
Homework
and interpretation
3: Application
5: Synthesis