TEACHING ABOUT EVOLUTION AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE: MAKE STRONG HYPOTHESES BASED ON LIMITED DATA

The ability of many students to understand and accept evolution is hampered by a lack of understanding of the nature of historical sciences and their relationship to the “traditional” scientific method. This is particularly problematic when students attempt to understand how a scientist infers past events from incomplete data. This difficulty is compounded by the frequent lack of accessible resources to instructors and the specialized knowledge required to interpret the anatomical and genetic data used in evolutionary studies. We present here two low-cost classroom activities targeted to grades 6-13 designed to serve as supplemental activities in biology and earth science/historical geology courses. The "Checks Lab", originally designed by Steve Randak and revised by Judy Loundagin, has students reconstruct a family's history entirely on the basis of a small number of cancelled checks. The "Paleoclimate Kit" has students compare Late Pleistocene, Late Holocene, and modern mammal faunas on the basis of a limited number of cast teeth, and try to relate these changes to past events. Both activities place an emphasis on constructing hypotheses about past events based on limited data, and help provide a background knowledge of historical science methodology that is needed for students to more readily understand and accept evolutionary concepts.