Understanding Evolution : Personal response question For the instructor: Pedagogical research indicates that students learn better if they are actively engaged. The following slides require only a few minutes each and are designed to actively engage students with lecture material on the topic of evolution by responding to multiple choice questions. The class can use response technology (like “clickers”) to record their answers, which are then presented as a histogram on the screen. A lower cost option is for students to hold up colored pieces of paper (red = A, yellow = B, etc.), allowing the instructor to visually assess the distribution of responses. The instructor can have students respond individually or after short group- or pair-discussions. Used at the beginning of class, this type of question can assess how well students have understood assigned reading or the previous lecture. During the lecture, the instructor can use these questions to assess current understanding of the lecture material, and based on the result, can further elucidate the concept. The responses may reveal an underlying student misconception, which can then be addressed. For tenacious misconceptions, instructors may wish to have students respond to the question, discuss the topic with a partner and explain their answer, and then respond to the question again, before the correct answer is revealed. In the majority of cases, students “self-correct” during these exercises. This slideshow is provided by Understanding Evolution (understandingevolution.org) and is copyright 2011 by The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California. Feel free to use and modify this presentation for educational purposes.

Understanding Evolution : Personal response question Mutation is a random process. a. agree b. disagree Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81: 991-1002

Understanding Evolution : Personal response question Which one of the following statements is accurate? a. Natural selection works on variation already present in a population. b. Natural selection works on non-heritable traits. c. Individuals evolve through natural selection. d. Organisms evolve structures that they need. e. None of the statements are true. Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81: 991-1002

Understanding Evolution : Personal response question Genetic drift occurs in all populations, all the time. a. agree b. disagree Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81: 991-1002